Russian governor spent thousands on car repairs \'for no reason\'

Auditors have accused a provincial Russian governor of spending a fortune on repairing his luxury Mercedes, even though it has not been damaged. Saratov Region Governor Pavel Ipatov\'s Mercedes has been repaired six times a year over the past two years, but there was no single recorded accident involving the vehicle, Saratov region\'s audit chamber said in a statement. The cost of repairs carried out by local firms on the governor\'s vehicles, totaled 5.7 million rubles ($174,000). A service at the official Mercedes outlet in the Volga city would have cost just a fifth of that sum. \"Ipatov\'s chauffeurs claim the damage was caused by items thrown out of ahead moving vehicles,\" the statement read. The Saratov government was not available for comment.