Vehicle Test Drive Turned Into Theft, LaFontaine Dealership Tells Dearborn Police
The following information was supplied by the Dearborn Police Department. Where arrests or charges are mentioned, it does not indicate a conviction.
Photos
A test drive by a potential customer turned into grand theft auto this week, according to Dearborn police reports.
An employee of LaFontaine Volkswagen called police at 6:34 p.m. on Monday, March 4, to report a 2002 Honda Odyssey that the dealership had for sale as stolen.
According to the report, a man took the car for a test drive at 12 p.m. that day and never returned. Because he had given his information to the dealership prior to the drive, officers were able to track him—and the vehicle—down at his home in Detroit.
Officers spoke with the man and his wife at around 9:33 p.m. His wife explained to officers that he has mental and health issues due to a gunshot wound to his head that he had previously sustained. She said she also believed that he had was beginning to suffer from dementia.
Dearborn police did not arrest the man, but did recover the dealership's vehicle.
For questions on this crime report, email dearborn@patch.com.
Tom B
10:02 am on Wednesday, March 6, 2013
That salesman must have some problems, too, if he let a vehicle go to a stranger without accompanying him. Zerox his license and away he goes. I guess after six hours and a lot of prayers, he(salesman) thought he better tell someone. It's not theft, but mental illness.
Historian
8:08 pm on Wednesday, March 6, 2013
I guess no one here remembers the Dearborn Cadillac salesman who took a ride with a prospective buyer around 20 years ago. They found his dead body in the lot of the church on Brady street, north of Cherry Hill.
NBC
10:23 am on Wednesday, March 6, 2013
Didn't the wife wonder about a brand new car in the driveway?
Ken
1:10 pm on Wednesday, March 6, 2013
This car was also 11 years old. I have taken plenty of test drives of new cars without the salesman going with me. All they did was take a copy of my license. I prefer a test drive without the salesman.
Tom B
4:40 pm on Wednesday, March 6, 2013
Yes, I have done this too, but I always left my car and I often knew the salesman. I guess you "play it by ear" if you want to sell car. Good point, though.
cmg
12:48 pm on Thursday, March 7, 2013
I've never had a salesperson drive with me since the incident 20 yrs ago. I don't blame them. I wouldn't want to get into a car w/someone I didn't know either.
malak
9:19 pm on Thursday, March 7, 2013
why did it take him so long to call police?
Jay Cain
1:32 pm on Saturday, March 23, 2013
The saleman at this dealership was obviously trying to service this customer, which is something every customer expects. By doing so, he got taken advantage of, although he still provided the best service he knew possible. W2G!!