[csentil]

I'm off to Sivaji Nagar tomorrow to see if I can get the alloys there tomorrow. You just need to know the contacts

What's an E class worth? Almost 50 lakhs. If he scraps the car he can make a lot of money. But selling the car as a whole could be a problem.

Lets not make this thread into something from rediff please.

[ramzsys]

Well to bring in another dimension, if the car is driven up north, it means it is more away from the purview of Karnataka police, hence it is easy to sell it off- and vice versa- if a car is stolen at North, then it is easy to sell off in South. Or even to the local area black market where the car would have been nomore by now.

[Cesc]

I think the guy very well knew what he was doing and the agency has some serious procedural issues. IMO Sundaram is now selling a version of events that makes them look less stupid.

Such cars these days are not stolen on a car thief's whims and fancies. Most of the high end cars are stolen 'on order' and the thieves know exactly what they want and where to dispose them off. Somebody might already be stripping out identification info from the car and preparing fake documents.

The next few days should tell us whether the thief was smart or not. If the car is found in the next 10 days or so (at the most) then fine, otherwise somebody is going to enjoy a Thanksgiving sale on a Merc.

On related notes:

Khoj - You've got some writing skills buddy. Very well written.

Alok - manoos/non manoos

[rjalihal]

A Merc got stolen and it did not come in TOI? That is weird. But car thefts are on the rise off late. As most have mentioned, it must have been an inside job, and the car jacker has studied the showroom up close and personal. Well, I am sure those spare parts will pop up in Shivajinagar/JC Road and abouts!

[akas_chauhan]

Have you seen the movie "sankat City". It's almost same as this. Faking a gate pass is no big deal if he planned properly.

My take chances dim of getting the car back.

[tanwaramit]

I am surprised by the confidence of the so called thief, he went in, checked the car, waited for the sales guy to come, who kept him waiting and just drove the car away. Waiting to see if the car is found !

[DieHarder]

If only the thief had access to this thread...so many options and so many ideas....

[Speeding@160mph]

if he makes it to delhi and gets a fake registration, it will be near impossible to catch the dude - cops here don't even bother stopping the bimmers n benzes for fear of their job!

Take that you morons for not allowing GPS/NAV in Indian cars!

[.anshuman]

Cars getting stolen from Service center parkings is a common thing here in NCR as most cars are left with Keys in the switch. If the service center staff says they have lost the keys or you find the key any different demand a lock set change before taking delivery.

A similar incident happened to my friend some time back, here is the thread (Sorry its not properly spaced, it was written in hurry) http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian...i-gurgaon.html

[GTO]

Merc must be feeling terrible about skimping on that GPS-based security tracking system

Originally Posted by ajmat

I doubt he will get far as:

1: Not many are around

2: It will need a service and the ECU will show up VIN no

Could service it at an independent. And believe me, if this car ends up in one of the smaller towns with an overwhelmingly strong political rogue type, no one can get it back. Even if yo send Merc a picture of the car, they'd dare not intervene. I've seen cars owned & being run without numberplates for years at stretch in rural MH.

Originally Posted by mjothi

Seems the person came for a test drive. And he just drove it before the sales person came out with the delivery slip.

I wouldn't blame dealerships if they start photo-copying your licence prior to testdrives (as in the States).

[ajmat]

Originally Posted by GTO

Merc must be feeling terrible about skimping on that GPS-based security tracking system

I wouldn't blame dealerships if they start photo-copying your licence prior to testdrives (as in the States).

1: In today's DNA - they mention it had a GPS system but it was not connected since it was not paired to any satellite ( don't ask me what it means)

2: DownTown VW take your licence details prior to a TD


Car will turn up after a rigorous 3 year virtual ownership no doubt

[.anshuman]

Originally Posted by GTO

I wouldn't blame dealerships if they start photo-copying your licence prior to testdrives (as in the States).

They already do this at most dealerships in north India.

[ikoneer]

Originally Posted by GTO

I wouldn't blame dealerships if they start photo-copying your licence prior to testdrives (as in the States).

Originally Posted by .anshuman

They already do this at most dealerships in north India.

Nope, not a practice in chennai yet.
Many of the dealers do not even check if the person can drive when they go for a TD.

My doubt is how did he manage to get out of the compound without the gate pass.
There's no gate pass, no sales person hmm...something really fishy happened

[Latheesh]

Think about the condition of sales person who was dealing with him. He may even quit this profession because of this experience!!

[khoj]

Originally Posted by GTO

I wouldn't blame dealerships if they start photo-copying your licence prior to testdrives (as in the States).

This is already being done at dealerships at Delhi and NaviMumbai/Thane. Maybe the sales guys at the higher end auto dealerships do not want to antagonize their prospective clients by asking for the D/Ls.