Thieves Switch Keys During Test Drive to Steal Porsche Panamera

[akiruno]

The cast of Gone in 60 Seconds would be proud. No forced entry, no threats; just a devious plan that netted two thieves a $148,000 Porsche.

As the story goes, two men in their 20s showed up to Princeton Porsche in Lawrence, N.J. Monday to test-drive the Porsche Panamera. They claimed one had just won a nice chunk of change in a legal settlement and was looking for a new set of wheels.

After the spin around central New Jersey, the men took off. And the next day, so did the Panamera they had driven earlier. Police think that the thieves handed the dealer a fake key after the test drive. “It looks like they may have done a switcheroo on the keys of the car,” Lawrence Police Lt. Charles Edgar said.

The dealer, who accompanied the men during the test drive, noticed the car was missing upon opening shop the next morning. How could this have happened to such an expensive car with such a (presumably) expensive security system? Simple: the car features a keyless ignition system, with no physical key. An electronic key sits in the driver's pocket allowing one-touch access to opening the doors and turning the car on. Sounds like a fast pass for a simple switcheroo for these techy thieves.

http://newsfeed.time.com/2011/10/01/...#ixzz1ZzSeGgio

[mboverst]

Wow! Maybe next time the dealer should make it harder to drive off the lot (lots of dealers around here pull big SUV's to the gates at closing).

[daunwaun]

Wow, I wonder if it had gps tracking?

[Oyster1982]

This has been going on for a while, when I was in the car business we had a Nissan Maxima stolen from the lot using the same method. The police found the car wrecked in Newark with a 40 on the floor.

[blackmsport]

very smart

[Pix]

Most dealers copy your DL, not that it would be hard to forge one of those.

[Tri-Tip]

Anytime I've test driven a car, they leave it smack in front of the dealership, hoping you will take it home that day...it's never put away during the test drive. Had they done this, the dealer would have known right away that they didn't have the real key back from the theives.

[threemonkeys]

Smart kids.

[InTime]

the dealers are suppose to be smarter by making sure they have the right keys at the end of the day.

[F&Iguy]

somebody's out of a job
the dealer has insurance it might cost them a 1K

[unclesallie]

another example of true creativity coupled with criminal intent......

[Cru Jones]

panamera sales must be pretty slow to take two dudes in their 20s, one of whom claimed to have won a legal settlement, on a test drive.

[azguy]

These FOB things are funny, Harley added them a few years ago. No key, just have the FOB in your pocket.

[Timber Loftis]

I like keys. Real keys, that you instert. They're unnecessary, but so are five thousand dollar analog watches.

[kareemthedream33]

If some of these criminals put half of their efforts and schemes towards something legal, they would be successful members of society instead of losers.

[kcmo]

Originally Posted by kareemthedream33

If some of these criminals put half of their efforts and schemes towards something legal, they would be successful members of society instead of losers.

True!

[JUSTROLEXES]

If those guys put the effort and the planning into something positive rather then driving off with the car, I'm sure they would do good and the world would appreciate their presence more

[Esexx]

Pretty smart, however I think I have one better...

A guy dressed up like a valet and waited in front of McCormick & Schmick's. A new Range Rover pulled up and the woman gave the guy her keys and he just drove off. She reported it stolen a few hours later.

The "valet" was picked up a few weeks later and I asked him "Why?" He said he just wanted to drive a nice car for a while and yes he knew he would eventually get arrested.