Teen steals Mercedes E-Class during test drive in Vienna

A 16‑year‑old Romanian teenager without a driver's licence arranged a night‑time test drive of a 31‑year‑old man's silver Mercedes‑E‑Klasse in Vienna‑Floridsdorf after contacting the owner through an online sales platform. During the drive the teen convinced the owner to exit the vehicle to demonstrate the car’s electronic parking aid, then accelerated away, leaving the owner on the passenger seat.

The owner called emergency services, prompting a rapid police search. Officers located the car on Prager Straße near an auto‑showroom and stopped it. The teenager was taken into custody and later released pending charges of attempted theft. The Mercedes was returned to its owner undamaged, and police confirmed the incident was a straightforward theft attempt.

The case highlights a rare method of vehicle theft involving deception during a test drive and has been reported by both Austrian and Swiss media outlets.