The all-new Ford Ranger has thus far proven to be a popular entity in the many global markets in which it’s currently sold, with demand far outweighing supply to this point. However, that’s long been the case in South Africa, where the Ford Ranger is built locally at the Silverton Assembly plant while the Struandale Engine plant also builds that pickup’s 3.0L V6 Power Stroke diesel engine, as well as 2.0L single- and bi-turbo diesel powerplants. In South Africa, the Ford Ranger is sold in various trims and configurations that aren’t offered in places like the U.S. – which may soon include the all-new plug-in hybrid version of the mid-size pickup, too. However, the strong appeal offered by the Ford Ranger Raptor, specifically, recently prompted a South African man to go to extremes to purchase one, which wound up landing him in jail, according to iReport.
There, a 24-year-old Polokwane, Manong Tshehla native headed down to his local Blue Oval dealer, picked out a Ford Ranger Raptor he wanted to purchase, and proceeded to start the process of buying it using a loan. Problem is, he presented lenders with a fake bank slip and pay stub to gain approval for that loan, which was subsequently approved, allowing him to take home his new Ford Ranger Raptor.
It’s unclear how this happened – nor if the bank ran a credit check on the man – but at some point, someone was tipped off that the paperwork he provided was not legitimate. This prompted an investigation from police, who wound up arresting the man and taking him to jail, returning his new pickup to the seller.
Now, this clever thief will face his day in court, but many questions and concerns remain, particularly for lenders and dealerships. It seems as if this type of crime is on the rise in South Africa, which may necessitate some changes to the loan approval process, if nothing else.
We’ll have more on the Ranger soon, so be sure and subscribe to Ford Authority for more Ford Ranger news and non-stop Ford news coverage.
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