Wary Dealers Apply Brakes on Test Drives

So, having scanned the Sunday classifieds, you decide to drop into a dealership to test drive one of those top-of-the-line luxury cars--”Pure Power . . . Ready to Deal! . . . Hundreds in Stock! . . . “

It probably will not be as simple as finding a salesman, picking a car and taking off. In the wake of last week’s disappearance--and reported murder--of a salesman who was giving a demonstration ride in a new $21,000 sports car, the Greater Los Angeles Motor Car Dealers Assn. has issued an emergency bulletin to its 200 dealer-members with guidelines “to prevent tragedies like this from ever happening again.”

Recommended procedures include: taking a photocopy of a customer’s driver’s license or current state I.D. card bearing a photograph, and requiring them to fill out a check-in slip giving insurance information.

“Everybody’s shocked” by the disappearance of Charles Washington, 61, from the Barish Chrysler-Plymouth dealership on South La Brea Avenue, said Alan Rueff, a San Fernando Buick dealer who is vice president of the dealers’ group. “I don’t believe it’s ever happened before. We’ve all had somebody take a salesman for a ride and say ‘get out’ and steal the car.”

Police in Nebraska reported Friday that Yale Booska, 21, spotted near Grand Island driving the stolen 1989 Chrysler Conquest TSI and captured after a high-speed chase, had admitted shooting Washington and dumping his body near Interstate 10 “between L.A. and Palm Springs.” As of midday Wednesday, police had not found the body and Booska was fighting extradition.

Precautions Urged

Dealers always have urged sales personnel to take precautions, Rueff said, but “everybody gets slack.” Washington had not photocopied the suspect’s license, although he was a veteran salesman described by a Barish manager as “very street wise.” But, Rueff said, “I’ll bet everybody’s real tight right now.”

Demonstration drive safety procedures recommended by the dealers’ group also specify:

--When possible, have a second salesman accompany the primary salesman on demonstration drives.

--Notify another salesman or a manager when leaving the lot so the time can be noted.

--Avoid taking more than one person at a time.

--Take note of the vehicle in which the customer arrived. Be wary of couples or groups who arrive in more than one car.

--Never leave keys in the ignition of a demo car, not even when switching seats with the customer.

--Don’t go on a drive with any customer about whom you have strong misgivings or premonitions.

What of individuals selling a car, the ones identified in classifieds as “pp” (private party)? How can they protect themselves from “buyers” with theft or violence on their mind?

Detective Gary Redel of the Los Angeles Police Department’s Burglary-Auto Division suggested:

--”Never invite anyone to your home” to see a car. “I’ve arrested enough people to tell you that bad people look in the newspapers for high-dollar cars--for the sole purpose of stealing that car.” It’s safer, he said, to meet prospective buyers on “neutral ground” such as a supermarket parking lot--and have the meeting in daylight.

--Before showing a car, remove all documents with your address. “They pull a gun, you get out, the car is theirs,” he said, adding they know where you live. “They probably think if you have the kind of money to buy that car, you live in a $300,000 or $400,000 house and have a lot of jewelry.” Those in most jeopardy, he said, are those selling expensive cars--Mercedes, Porsches, BMWs. “Those cars bring big prices on the black market.”

--Should sellers ride along when buyers ask for a test-drive? “I don’t think you have any choice,” Redel said. “You can’t let him take off by himself. You have to take some chances in life.” Holding drivers’ licenses and letting them go is fairly futile, in his view. “Big deal. Maybe it’s not him. Crooks are so sophisticated today.”

--As an added precaution before meeting buyers--”Tell somebody where you’re going” or “bring a friend. It doesn’t hurt to have a witness.”

When dealing with the public, Redel said, “You never know what’s going to happen at any time. In Los Angeles, you always have to be aware or you’re going to be eaten alive.”