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Quebec woman faces $15G in repairs after car stolen, used in Vaughan mall robbery

Quebec resident Taylor-anna Kobinger's damaged stolen Audi that was stolen and used in smash-and-grab robbery at Vaughan Mills Mall on Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2023.
Quebec resident Taylor-anna Kobinger's damaged stolen Audi that was stolen and used in smash-and-grab robbery at Vaughan Mills Mall on Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2023. Photo by Supplied /Taylor-anna Kobinger

Reunited — and it didn’t feel so good.

Quebec resident Taylor-anna Kobinger picked up her damaged black 2011 Audi S4 around 6 p.m. on Thursday night from a garage in York Region after the stolen car was used in an bizarre crash-and-grab theft Wednesday at Vaughan Mills Mall north of Toronto.

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She estimates it will cost about $15,000 to fix and she had only listed it for $12,500 last Saturday on Facebook Marketplace before a man, claiming to be potential buyer, sped off with it while test driving the vehicle near her Laval home on Sunday.

“It’s still very hurtful to think that people can actually do such a thing — there’s a lot of damages,” Kobinger, 27, told the Toronto Sun.

Taylor-anna Kobinger, of Laval, Que., was shocked to learn her stolen 2011 Audi S4 was used in a bizarre robbery at Vaughan Mills Mall on Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2023.
Taylor-anna Kobinger, of Laval, Que., was shocked to learn her stolen 2011 Audi S4 was used in a bizarre robbery at Vaughan Mills Mall on Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2023. Photo by Supplied

“The whole passenger side has to be changed. The roof too,” she said. “And after washing the car, there was water leaking inside, so I think it’s kind of finished. And the front bumper is all the way inside.”

Still, Kobinger — after having to pay the garage $700 in towing and attachment fees — was able to drive the Audi back to Laval where a local car wash, Lave-Auto Excellence, offered their services for free so she could better see the damage.

“It’s driveable,” said Kobinger. “I did drive it 550 kilometres (from Toronto to Laval). It’s not the same drive at all. Everything is shaking in the car. If it goes faster it’s fine but if I drive slow, there’s something wrong with the wheels in front. Something is not okay.”

  1. Investigators are searching for a 2011 Black Audi A4 with Quebec licence plate X10 SNP after a car smashed its way into Vaughan Mills mall during a robbery on Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2023.

    'AUDACIOUS CRIME': Video shows car driving through Vaughan Mills mall during B&E

  2. A stolen 2011 Black Audi A4 with Quebec licence plate X10 SNP car smashed its way into Vaughan Mills mall during a robbery and then crashed through another set of doors to flee the scene on Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2023.

    Quebec owner 'surprised' her car used in Vaughan mall crash-and-grab

Before she left Toronto, Kobinger also stopped by a York Regional Police station so they could retrieve a rap CD — she didn’t remember the artist — she found inside her car’s CD player that wasn’t hers.

“They’re investigating it to see if there’s fingerprints on it,” said Kobinger.

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The single mother said for now she’s giving up on her dream of putting a down payment on a house, which she had hoped to do with the sale of her car.

“To be honest, I don’t think I’ll repair it. I think I’ll leave it as is until it dies,” she said. “A lot of people are asking me, ‘Oh, I’m willing to pay extra since the car is famous,’ and ‘If ever you want to sell it, let me know?’ But I’m not there yet.”

She said there are also two separate GoFundMe campaigns set up by strangers Anna Christina Sales (with only $50 raised of a $2,000 goal) and Roger Windsor.

“(Roger) said, ‘We need 500 people to put up $20 each including myself to make her pain go away. Words are not going to comfort her. Our help will help her.’ It was so nice.”

jstevenson@postmedia.com