Darwin man’s vehicle stripped of tyres and rims in the dead of night

Darwin man Samuel Saalfeld has been forced to find alternative modes of transport after the tyres and rims of his beloved Mazda were pilfered in the dead of night.

Darwin man Samuel Saalfeld woke up to find all four tyres - and their rims - had been stolen in the dead of night. Picture: Pema Tamang Pakhrin

Darwin man Samuel Saalfeld has been forced to find alternative modes of transport.

Balancing on rusty car jacks, his Mazda MX-5 will be resigned to the shade of the car port after the tyres and rims of his beloved Mazda were pilfered in the dead of night.

On Friday morning, Mr Saalfeld, 24, was preparing to go to work when his roommate urged him to “come outside”.

“I put my head out and sure enough the arse end of the car was a lot higher than it normally sits,” he said.

“My first reaction was just to laugh, it just catches you off guard.”

All four tyres and rims were pinched. Picture: Pema Tamang Pakhrin

Thinking only the back tyres had been pinched, Mr Saalfeld was in for another surprise when he took a closer look.

“Then I saw the front tyres were gone as well,” he said.

“I called my boss who was like ‘lol that’s wild’.”

With no CCTV to have caught the theft in action, Mr Saalfeld said there was little hope of catching the crafty crims.

The only evidence left behind by the thieves. Picture: Pema Tamang Pakhrin

To his relief, however, the car was otherwise in good nick.

“They didn’t leave a mark on it,” he said.

“It was little dirty beforehand, but no, not a touch so 10 out of 10 for performance.”

The setback was worth a “couple grand” according to the local, with the stolen wheels specific to MX-5s and similar models.

“I’ve been watching Facebook marketplace all day,” he said.

“Unless someone else has an MX-5 and desperately needs tyres, I can’t think of a logical explanation to steal them.”

Mr Saalfeld has reported the theft to Northern Territory Police and investigations are ongoing.

Originally published as Darwin man’s vehicle stripped of tyres and rims in the dead of night