By Liv Woolf
A Ford Fiesta owner discovered there is a growing shortage of spare parts after his car was stolen in Leicester and later recovered but needing repairs.
Damian Woolf, 58, woke up one morning to the shock of his silver Ford Fiesta not being on his drive in Leicester Forest East.
It had been broken into and hot wired by thieves.
“I was devastated and worried on what I was going to do,” said Damian.
“I had no car to get to work and no money to purchase one until I got my insurance, if I got my insurance.”
After phoning the police and having no luck, he later found out his cars number plates had been changed immediately to fake ones.
The police later contacted Damian in high spirits after finding his car but it led to heartbreak for him.
The next time he saw his car it was battered and filled with a fire extinguisher, bottles of vodka and a crowbar.
“Seeing my car in such a state and being so mistreated was unsettling and I suspect it was used for many crimes with the items left inside it,” he said.
Damian had to rent a car through Green Rental for the time being and take numerous buses to get around and manage costs with no car and no money for a new one.
It was only after the theft, which happened in November last year, that he discovered people in the business had been speaking up about the troubles Ford Fiesta owners were having since that model of the car had been discontinued.
Mark Dalby, the owner of Ford Motors in Coalville, told Damian about the struggles of finding parts for the car since its discontinuation.
He explained that as the struggle to find parts for the car increased, so had prices increased, resulting in people stealing the Fiestas and parts for them in order to mend their own cars.
The Ford Owners Club has stated that Fiestas are the most stolen car in the UK, with fears that is only going to get worse.
Top Gear reported 5,796 Fiestas were stolen in 2023, averaging out to be 16 stolen a day.
Many other people have taken to social media to highlight how they are also facing these issues with their recently stolen Fiestas and suggesting ways to prevent the problem.
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