Toyotas a hot target, with some cars or parts shipped oversea

By Mavis Toh, Published on Aug 26, 2011

Last year, 85 cars were stolen in Singapore – or one car every four days on average.

These cars are often left unlocked or with their keys in the ignition, making them easy targets.

Older vehicles are especially susceptible because their worn-out locks make them easier to break into.

 A common method to this safety issue is to use a remote control that

mimics the vehicle’s locking system or just simply jack the car up and tow it away.

 Last month, a car at a multi-storey carpark in McNair Road in the Boon Keng area was stolen. The owner had parked his Toyota Vios on the third storey at 8am and returned that same night to find it missing.

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 – ST PHOTO: MUGILAN RAJASEGERAN

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Posted: 16 September 2010 1721hrs, By Imelda Saad

SINGAPORE: A high-speed chase involving a lorry believed to be stolen resulted in a crash along the Ayer Rajah Expressway (AYE) towards Tuas, near Alexandra Road.

Police said they received a call at just past 11am on Thursday about a vehicle being stolen from Ubi Road 3.

The lorry was spotted shortly after, along Upper Changi Road North towards Changi Prison.

Officers gave chase in their vehicle but the driver refused to stop.

The chase ended at 11.50am when the lorry crashed into several vehicles along the AYE, trapping the driver in his seat.

Singapore Civil Defence Force officers used a hydraulic spreader to free the lorry driver, a man in his 30s, within 15 minutes.

The man has been arrested and sent to Changi General Hospital.

Investigations are ongoing.

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Fri, Apr 23, 2010, The New Paper
By Lester Ho and Danson Chong

SOME people like their rental cars so much, they do not want to return it. In one case, a customer even attached fake licence plates to his rented Toyota Vios to mask its identity.

A check with six rental car companies here showed that it is not uncommon to encounter customers who do not return their rented cars.

They said they each have five to 10 such cases every year.

The manager of a rental car company, who gave his name only as Mr Wong, told The New Paper that a customer rented a Vios for $70 a day on April 9.

The 41-year-old, who was supposed to return it after three days, called to ask for a one-day extension. But he did not return the car when the time was up. He also did not answer calls from Mr Wong, who then mobilised his staff to keep a lookout for the missing grey car. Some of them came across the car at a Sultan Place carpark last Wednesday.

Mr Wong, 32, said: “We saw someone who looked a lot like him (the customer), but we did not approach the car then.”

What threw them off was that the number plates were different. But they suspected it was the right car as it had similar scratches.

A staff member showing the fake and original license plate.

…

That same day, Mr Wong’s company lost a BMW 5 Series after a customer failed to return it.

…

Mr Wong agreed to rent out the car(BMW) for $800, with a deposit of $500, but only under the condition that the car be returned by 8pm that day.

…

Mr Wong: “Losing a car is a major inconvenience for us.”

“Firstly, we still have to pay for the instalment of the car. Secondly, we’re not getting any income which can be generated by renting out that car to a paying customer. Thirdly, there’s someone out there using the car for free.”

$2,000 reward

That is why one rental car company is offering a $2,000 reward for information on one of its cars, a Toyota Axio. It placed a newspaper notice on Friday.

…

Mr Jeffrey Ee, 54, the general manager of Alpine Car Rental, said the car had been stolen while it was rented to a customer on a long-term contract basis.

…

Mr Ee: “The police told me the car didn’t even go under any ERP gantries. Usually, if hirers don’t return the car to us, we can try to track them down from the summons. But this time there’s been nothing.”

Mr Ee claims his loss is about $30,000.

“The customer would have to take some responsibility, but it’s unlikely we’re going to recover the full cost,”

“If there’s no news I’ll put up another notice this week. I’ll gladly pay the $2,000 to get my car back.”

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