Jordan Dee fleeced almost £25,000 out of the businesses to fuel his cocaine habit.
The 30-year-old persuaded some customers to pay money directly into his bank account so that they could be offered a staff discount and on other occasions made dodgy refunds to himself.
Teesside Crown Court heard how Dee defrauded Teesside Audi out of £15,238.89 between November 2017 and May 18 before moving to Cooper BMW where he pocketed a further £8,548.08 between January 2019 and April 2019.
Ellen Wright, prosecuting, said Dee had used a number of different tactics to funnel the cash into his own account while working for Teesside Audi in Stockton.