Dealer offers $2000 reward for stolen car

By ALISTER THOMSON | 15th October 2009

A Napier car yard is offering a $2000 reward for the recovery of a blue WRX Subaru Impreza stolen last week from the AA vehicle testing centre.

The theft was one of four high-performance cars stolen from Napier in the past month.

Bruce Stuart, the owner of Mega Save Cars on Ford Rd, said he was offering the reward because he wanted to catch the thieves.

"We need to make some sort of effort and the public need to be made aware of what happened," he said.

The stolen car, a 2000 model turbo WRX Subaru Impreza, was worth $12,000.

Thieves broke into the AA vehicle testing station on Hyderabad Rd, where it was awaiting certification after being imported, on Thursday night by cutting a chain on the gate.

Mr Stuart said he was out of town at the time and did not hear about the theft until Friday morning.

The car had no licence plates as it had just been imported.

The car was also not insured for theft outside of his car yard and AA also had no insurance.

Global Finanz in Corunna Bay has also been hit.

Owner Percy Annan said a silver WRX Subaru Impreza was taken from his yard nearly two months ago.

It was recovered by police near Eskdale after thieves abandoned the car when it ran out of petrol.

The customer who he was holding the car for wrote off the vehicle, worth $10,000, because it was so badly damaged.

Mr Annan said police told him the theft was part of a car ring stealing cars and stripping them of their parts to order.

Napier Police Intelligence Sergeant Carla Gilmore said four high-performance cars had been stolen in Napier in the past month.

Ms Gilmore said that did not necessarily point to a stolen-car ring operating in Napier.

However, there was a "heightened awareness" from police as high-performance cars were not stolen that often.

Police usually recovered about 70 per cent of stolen vehicles. Last month, 14 were stolen in Napier and eight were recovered.

The $2000 reward is for information leading to the arrest of the culprits and the recovery of the vehicle.

Police are investigating.