BURGLARS have broken into a used car dealership and stolen all 148 of its keys – landing it with a £60,000-plus bill to change the vehicles’ locks in case the thieves came back to drive off with the vehicles.
Cobra Car Sales, in Atherton, Greater Manchester, has put up a £5,000 reward for information leading to the conviction of the culprits, plus another £1,000 for the keys’ recovery.
The dealership, which sells brands including Ford and Renault, only opened last November and has now forked out on new security and getting new keys cut.
It is believed the criminals got in by breaking a window in the back office. They also made off with a £3,000 diagnostic machine as well as a CCTV system.
Keytracker Ltd, which is the UK’s largest provider of mechanical and electronic key management systems, told Car Dealer: ‘We are dreadfully sorry to hear the news about Cobra Car Sales. Unfortunately, they are not one of our customers.
‘Key management and security is paramount within the automotive industry and we have worked with numerous automotive outlets to ensure the safety, security and organisation of their vehicle keys. Whilst attempts have been made in the past to break into our secure cabinets, we are unaware of any instances of keys being removed from the premises.
‘We have tried to contact Cobra Car Sales to offer advice to ensure that they are never in this situation again.’
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