Taken at face value

Press, 8 June 1989, Page 1

Taken at face value

By

BARRY CLARKE

A car dealer duped by a “responsible looking clean-cut” man who failed to return with a vehicle he took on a test drive has taken the loss in his stride. The imported Mitsubishi Lancer four-wheel-drive, being sold on behalf of a private owner, was taken from David Craw Cars, Ltd, St Asaph Street, yesterday morning. “We don’t know where it is. It’s a four-wheel-drive; he’s probably gone up to the ski-fields,” said the company’s sales manager, Mr Mike Akehurst, yesterday. He said staff became suspicious when the vehicle failed to return “an hour or two” after it left the yard. “He said he would be out for half an hour. Sometimes they’ll take the car to a mechanic so we didn’t get too concerned for a while,” he said. "He looked a real responsible guy; real clean-cut. Not the guy you’d expect to pinch a car.” Mr Akehurst said the vehicle was covered by the owner’s insurance. "I imagine he’s brassed off. But he has realised it’s one of those things.”