Inderjeet Singh’s Lexus LX570 was stolen from a mechanic and car dealership in Benalla Rd at about 3.30am on Wednesday, August 12.
Police said two people jumped the fence to gain access to the business.
The car dealership owner said the black Lexus was then driven through a locked chain mesh fence to leave the property.
Police said it was not known how the people gained access to the vehicle or how they were able to turn it on.
The car dealership owner said the keys to the vehicle had been locked in a key safe in an approved locked key room inside the building at the time of the theft.
The building was not broken into and the keys had not been taken, leading the car dealership owner to believe that a portable unlocking device had been used to take the vehicle.
Inderjeet had had the SUV towed there for repairs about three weeks ago after smoke started coming from the engine while he was driving it.
The vehicle was still waiting for parts to be sent from Lexus in Melbourne to finalise all repairs, but it was unclear how much work had already been done on it already.
The Lexus was found by police in bushland in the Bendigo suburb of California Gully early Wednesday evening.
It was still intact, and not burnt out as the owners had feared may happen given the state it was in when taken in for repairs.
Inderjeet’s wife, Preeti, said while the couple were please it had been found, they were yet to find out how much damage had been caused to it.
All they have been told so far is that it has a broken back window.
The first she and her husband heard about the theft was a phone call from the dealership to say it had been stolen and that police had been informed, and that they would need to contact their insurance company.
This is not the first time the couple have had issues with crimes involving their vehicles.
The number plates from Preeti’s vehicle were cloned about three months ago and found by police on another vehicle the same as hers in Melbourne.
The cloned plates also racked up two $4080 fines and Preeti is still fighting to have one of them overturned.
Anyone with information about the stolen Lexus, or who has any dashcam footage related to it, is urged to contact Shepparton Crime Investigation Unit on 5820 5777 or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or online at crimestoppersvic.com.au
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