Dealer suffers fresh vandalism blow

A car dealer says vandals living in a nearby apartment building are hurting his company’s profits as he keeps having to pay costs for vehicles damaged after having various items thrown at them.

Ali Faqeeri, who runs NZ4X4S in Glen Eden, Auckland, was left fuming after he recently found the windscreen of a ute at his yard had been smashed.

He told the NZ Herald he discovered a large marble next to the vehicle and believes it was thrown off a balcony by someone living in an apartment block that overlooks his yard.

It was a fresh setback for Faqeeri, who revealed in December he had called police at least 10 times since opening the dealership in August last year.

He alleges items such as apples, potatoes and a frozen chicken have been thrown at staff and vehicles, causing chipped windscreens, scuffed paint and dented bonnets.

Faqeeri has concerns for the future of his business as he must pay costs “for the damages these people are doing” while also dealing with other financial pressures, reports the NZ Herald.

“It leaves us very little profit and it’s quite hard for us having to pay thousands in damages,” he says.

The neighbouring apartment building is run by a community housing provider, Home In Place, and features 77 privately owned units and 90 public housing units.

Chris Trypas, chief executive of Home In Place, told the NZ Herald it was contacted by Faqeeri about the latest incident and has provided security camera footage to police, who are investigating the matter.

Faqeeri has bolstered the number of security cameras at the yard and considered installing netting to prevent objects from hitting his vehicles, but for now he is parking them facing away from the apartments to try to protect the windscreens.