CRUSHING CAR NEWS

A HOBART couple has had a car stolen and sold off for parts in less than 48 hours. The car broke down on the Southern Outlet on Sunday night but when they went to retrieve it late on Monday it had been stolen and towed to a wreckers.

A HOBART couple has been left devastated and confused after their car was stolen and ended up crushed at the wreckers and sold for parts less than 48 hours later.

Tasmania Police is investigating the theft of a dark green 1992 Nissan Navara from the Southern Outlet on Sunday night.

Owners Emma and Kieran Dooley said they lent the car to a friend who was returning from the Huon Valley Mid Winter Festival when the car broke down on the Southern Outlet near the Tolmans Hill underpass. When Mr Dooley went to retrieve the car on Monday evening, it was gone, but a Facebook search revealed it had been put up for sale for parts. By the time police arrived on Tuesday, the car had been towed away and dropped off at a wreckers, where it had been crushed and parts had begun to be sold, Mrs Dooley said.

“All we got back was the bullbar,” she said.

“I just don’t understand how a person can call a towing company and ask them to take it to the wreckers when they don’t own that car — where are the checks and due diligence?”

Mrs Dooley said the car was worth about $2500, but was not insured.

A spokesman for Able Towing and Cartage said the company was working with police and doing it own internal investigation to understand what had happened. He said the company had received a call purporting to be from the owner of the car asking for it to be collected from Brighton, not the Southern Outlet, for scrap metal and the person had a set of keys.

“There were no red flags,” he said.

“He had the car keys with him and unlocked the car for the tow truck operator to get it onto the truck — we don’t usually pull up to every single tow job and ask the people for their registration papers — usually when they’ve got the keys it’s a good indicator they’re under control of that vehicle. We did all our normal checks and got someone to sign a piece of paper relinquishing all rights to the vehicle for the purpose of scrap metal disposal.”

A State Growth Department spokesperson said any vehicle posing a safety to state road users could be towed away, but in cases of a suspected abandoned vehicle, the department contacted police.

Anyone with information about the vehicle, registration number EW 4146, can contact police on 131 444 or Crimestoppers on 1800 333 000.