Toyota Fortuner is most popular"Two thieves tell how they do

[Sebata]

now this is sickning just to think how much our cars are worth???




Some take one minute. Others take two. At tops it’s five minutes. And if they can’t steal it, they hijack it.
The going rate is anything from R3000 to R30 000 a car depending on what they steal.
And when it comes to hotspots, shopping malls are still their preference, offering a wide variety of cars to choose from.
Two Soweto car thieves spoke to The Star on condition of anonymity and revealed the ins and outs of the car theft industry.
Keith*, aged 33, is a serial car thief. Serving time for hijacking, he has stolen more than 100 vehicles in areas from Randburg to Melville.
“The Nissan 1400 bakkie and a Toyota bakkie,” said Keith, “take one minute to steal. A Golf takes two minutes and a Polo five minutes.”
But it depends on how you steal a car, he added.
One way is to bring your own computer box for the car. When cars don’t have computer boxes, a customised size eight Allen key will do.
The shorter end of the “L” shape is welded to a metal rod for the hand to rest on. The tip of the longer end is ground to a sharp point, flattened and then used to either unlock the car or start it.
“Golfs and Yarises are still in but the Toyota Fortuner is most popular. In fact 4x4s are in demand because they go over the border. You get good money for a 4x4 – between R15 000 and R20 000 on the spot.”
A Conquest is worth R3000 on the black market. The newer Toyota VVTI bakkie fetches R10 000.
For a Yaris and a Run X, Keith pocketed R7000 and R8000. A Golf 5 got him R25 000. A CitiGolf is worth R4000, unless it’s a Velocity or CitiRox model, which fetch between R6000 and R7000.
Keith’s haul would head for a scrapyard to be stripped for parts. The dealer, Keith said, wound make three times what he got by selling those parts separately.
For Thabo*, 25, who is not in jail, it’s different.
He specialises in Toyotas. And he works only on orders. A buyer calls and specifies what he wants. It’s his job to get it within two days.
His team will go to malls or to the suburbs. “We sit for an hour to see the situation,” he said.
Thabo’s role is to open and start the car.
“Two of us will approach the car we want. The third guy will sit in the car we came with.”
First Thabo forces the Allen key into the door lock to open the car. Then he uses the allen key to start the car. Sometimes he just strips off the ignition cover and “hot wires” the car by connecting the red and black wires together.
Both Keith and Thabo are unperturbed about alarms, tracking devices, car guards and police.
With tracking devices, each has his own method.
Keith would check the car himself for the device as they drive off, whereas Thabo drops the car off with an “expert” to locate the device.
“Security guards, car guards and petrol attendants are not a problem. Everyone needs money. If you give him R100 you can get away with that car,” Thabo says.
And their target areas?
“I often go to the Oriental Plaza in Fordsburg. We get most of the cars there, but Sunninghill and Randburg are easy to steal in. And Auckland Park, near the SABC, there are lots of cars that park in the street,” Thabo said

[coz it can]

oh my goodness.its sad that our vehicles are worth such a lilttle,i mean we work hard,earn a little,save for so long,get the vehicle we desire,and boooooOOOm,these idiots take it as if its chocalate off the shelf,and sell it for a mere R10 000,time to invest in a good weapon,i see these .......im gonna hurt them,realy realy badly.

[jacques kotze]

Just like that :wth: :wth: :wth:

[ismail]

actually scarey

[Sebata]

come to think of it, your truck is only worth 2 months worth instalments

[Mud Dog]

These guys act with impunity. They see the law as being on their side since they are protected under it in many ways. As mentioned, bribery of guards and officials is rife. And with all this you cannot take the law into your own hands to protect what is yours, yet the police service is of little or no help .... in many cases they are in cahoots with these low-lifes.

So what does one do? Once they have your vehicle there is very little chance that you will get it back although there are some options. The ideal is to prevent it from being stolen in the first place, but how, when they are so ingenious in their efforts to steal. There are ways and means, some legal and others not, but when you are forced into a corner ...... well, one's just got to do what one has to do. :roll:

[OOOOMS]

Scary report :!:

My mate was jacked in his ML 2011 at gunpoint, within 2 hours while driving around with him a third person in the vehicle sold his 3 month old jammie for R50k......

[Donkey]

This being a family forum, I will withhold my thoughts

[Fred79]

Ag nee, ek is dan vertel dat Toyota het so goeie 2nd hand value

Ja dis vir my altyd die ergste as die Polisie die voertuig wel terug kry en hy is goed deur die dinges getrek.

[Mikem1]

Hi Guys.
Everytime you buy car old or new you pay vat.
The goverment must be smiling big time so why stop it?
Regards
Darrell