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Woman takes Mercedes-Benz S550 for test drive from dealership, never returns

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<i>Image: iStock</i>
<i>Image: iStock</i>

Kansas - Have you ever gone for a test drive at a dealership? You would know that sales people never allow anyone to test drive a new vehicle without being accompanied by a staff member.

Perhaps they do things differently over in the United States, or at least in Kansas City?

A woman recently took a Mercedes-Benz for a drive from a dealership but failed to return the vehicle. This according to an attendant at a used car dealership where the incident occurred, FOX4 News reported. 

Read the original article here. 

The woman, who is currently still unnamed, visited the KC Car Gallery in Kansas City on April 19.

According to Fox4 News, she provided a temporary driver’s license, phone number, address and also signed a form that stated she would accept insurance responsibility should the car be damaged during her drive.

No car, no lady...

According to Fox4 News, this was the second time she visited the dealership. She had been informed she didn't have the proper paperwork to test drive a car but later returned with the correct forms and identification.

She set off in a 2007 Mercedes-Benz S550 and after 20 minutes there was still no sign of the woman and that set off alarm bells with staff.

The dealer called local authorities, who reported that the woman’s driver’s license number was falsified, as was her name.

'Everything seemed legit'

Raymond Castaneda, an attendant at the dealershsip, told Fox News: "This has never happened before — she went the extra mile to take the vehicle.

"She provided a drivers license with a picture, everything seemed legit.” 

Efforts to track the vehicle was in vain because its navigation was not enabled at the time it was stolen, said Fox4 News.

READ: Man drives to court with stolen car

Apparently on May 1 , the dealership received a tip of the car’s location. The car was found in perfect condition, but the woman was nowhere to be found.

According to the dealership, no charges have been filed against the woman because her identity is unknown albeit footage of her can be seen on the CCTV footage.

'Daylight' robbery

According to Castaneda, the dealership might find it difficult to file any charges against the woman. He said: "We were the ones who gave her the keys and approved the documentation she provided.

"I believe she figured out kind of how we operate our test drives and realized she didn’t need as much documentation.”

He also added that in future, KC Car Gallery attendants will most likely accompany all customers during test rides. The dealership is currently looking into ways to better verify insurance and driver’s licenses.

Read the original article here. 

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