Car taken for 6,200km test drive: court
Honda Accord on five-day test driveA man who took a new car for a test drive in Melbourne ended up travelling 6,200 kilometres across Australia, it is alleged.
Tam Thai Luu, 30, will face court in Alice Springs on Friday over the five-day test drive, which stunned the car dealers who handed over the keys to the $40,000 Honda Accord sedan.
Luu was arrested about 5km south of Tennant Creek in the Northern Territory on Tuesday after failing to pay for petrol at the Wycliffe Well roadhouse.
He has been charged with unlawful use of a motor vehicle valued at over $20,000 and appeared in Tennant Creek local court on Wednesday.
Ian Mackenzie, from the Frankston dealership that owns the car, was shocked to hear of the car's unexpected adventure.
Luu allegedly spent about 20 minutes chatting to one of Mr McKenzie's dealers last Friday, convincing him he was a genuine buyer keen to test drive the car.
The 30-year-old filled out the necessary paperwork but then took off before the salesman could get in the passenger seat, it is alleged.
Once out on the open road, Luu allegedly travelled from Melbourne to Adelaide and then on to Tennant Creek - the equivalent of London to Istanbul.
NT police said the sedan had been sent back to Melbourne.
"We've had the recovered vehicle put on a truck and it's on its way back to where it came from - with a few more kilometres on it and probably a bit dirtier," Tennant Creek Police Superintendent Bruce Porter said.
Source: AAP 2008
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