A good-hearted Fredericton car dealer may have to start locking his vehicle doors after discovering a rash of thefts.
John Eliakis, the sales manager at Jim Gilbert’s Wheels and Deals, says staff like to leave the doors unlocked after hours so potential buyers can access the vehicles whenever they please.
But Eliakis says the business – which is known in the city as the ‘huggable’ car dealership – has been hit four times now by someone stealing motor vehicle inspection stickers from the windshield.
“Whoever’s doing it is taking our inspection stickers and they’re peeling them off and just taking them with them,” he says. “The first couple times it happened, he only has taken probably two or three at a time. This last time, he actually took 12.”
The latest incident happened just after 2 a.m. Sunday. Surveillance footage appears to show someone targeting a line of Jeeps, only taking a few minutes to peel what looks like stickers from the inside of the windshields.
Eliakis says it has made staff think twice about their trusting tradition.
“We have a lot of feedback from our clients saying that, you know what, we appreciate you leaving them unlocked so we can look in them, and then they come in the next day when we’re open and they already kind of know the vehicle they like,” he says. “So it’s unfortunate that we might have to start locking our cars.”
Police confirm they are investigating the thefts, saying the stolen inspection stickers could bring in a couple of hundred dollars each.
Anyone with information about the thefts is asked to contact police or Crime Stoppers.
With files from CTV Atlantic's Laura Brown
