Motorists unsuspectingly buy stolen cars

Six cases of motorists discovering that they had unsuspectingly purchased stolen vehicles from local dealerships are being investigated by Newcastle police.

The motorists, themselves, are still coming to terms with the humiliation of having their newly purchased vehicles seized by police, and the frustration of not yet being compensated for their loss.

One of the victims, who chose to remain anonymous, said she had purchased a white Toyota Yaris from a well known local dealership in June, only to have it confiscated by police less than two months later.

“I got a call on my cell phone from the police, saying they needed to talk to me and when they arrived at my place of work, they told me that the vehicle I had purchased was a stolen vehicle.

“Officer Willie Jacobs, who arrived to seize the vehicle, pulled out the carpets and the door panels to show me where the chassis number and the VIN number had been tampered with. “He told me he had to take the car and I burst into tears. I felt like a criminal,” said the victim. She added that the salesperson appeared as surprised as she was when she called him to tell him what had happened, but he promised to, “sort it out.”

“I made numerous phonecalls, but nothing happened. Eventually, I sent a letter of demand through my attorney, and then summons were sent, but I still haven’t received a satisfactory response from the dealership. At one stage, I was offered a replacement vehicle, but not only did they not have anything to my liking but I am afraid to take anything from them again.

“They also offered to pay me R60 000 in instalments of R20 000 every two months. The vehicle cost me R65 000 and since this has happened I have been forced to either borrow a car, use my mother’s car, beg for a lift or walk to work. I am still paying R2 563 every month for something that I don’t have,” she complained.

Asked what she would do to protect herself from becoming a victim of this type of crime in the future, she said she would contact the vehicle police and ask them to do a check herself, as this is a free service, and make sure all her documents are in order with the dealer’s signature on every piece of paperwork.

With regards to the criminal case being investigated, police sources say that it is possible that the dealership  themselves were victims in this case and alluded to the fact that an arrest was imminent. The owner of the dealership said that the victim not only refused his offer of a replacement car but had also asked for R20 000
more than the R60 000 he had offered to return.

The additional money  was intended to cover her damages. “I am only prepared to pay what she purchased the  vehicle for. We were also victims in this case.

“Usually, when something like this happens the dealership waits to get an official letter from the police once their investigation is complete indicating that the car is stolen before we issue a refund. The reason is because we had a situation before when a car was seized because it was suspected to be stolen, and we paid the customer the full value of the vehicle. When the investigation was completed and the car was found not to be stolen, police didn’t return the car to me; they returned the car to the customer, so not only did he get his money back but he got the car back as well,” claimed the dealer.

He continued, “We are a reputable dealer and I know that it is my duty to refund her, and in the end, we are the only real victims here because what are the chances that I will get my money back from the man who sold me the stolen vehicle? How does SAPS issue a police clearance certificate and then seize the same vehicle a month later? SAPS needs to get their act together. They need to employ people in the police clearance department that can spot when a car is tampered with so that stolen vehicles can be impounded at that stage. That way dealers are protected as well. In the future, I will refuse to buy vehicles from the public. I will only work through other reputable dealers.”