Filenews 8 December 2025 - by Dora Christodoulou
The phenomenon of thefts of old vehicles with the aim of finding used parts continues to have serious dimensions in the province of Paphos. According to the complaints made to the Police, the thefts even concern wreckage, which, as the authorities explain, is explained by the increase in the purchase of old cars by foreigners and which are in frequent need of spare parts of every condition and quality.
Typical cases were recently recorded in a central area of Paphos, where on the same night two vehicles were stolen, despite the existence of many closed circuits in the area, but also the case of an owner who had left his car parked for months in an open area of Paphos, as a result of which when he went to pick it up, he found it literally in half. Unknown perpetrators dismantled it and took most of its parts, apparently to sell or reuse them.
These cases are not unrelated, according to competent sources, to the recent complaints that thefts and vandalism of cars in Paphos are related to the phenomenon of traffic on the roads of many old vehicles bought by foreigners, with more and more competent bodies or professionals in the field of spare parts pointing out that the too many old cars in Paphos, which are usually driven by foreigners, have created the need for cheap spare parts.
These spare parts, however, they emphasize, on the one hand, are not enough in the market, due to the many damages that wrecked cars constantly present, and on the other hand, genuine spare parts are clearly more expensive than used-stolen ones. Therefore, they easily find buyers, i.e. the owners of such vehicles, who are unable to spend a lot of money on repairs or maintenance. This is also the reason why they own an old car.
There are also calls on the Paphos Police Directorate to increase the mainly night patrols in the districts in order to be able to deal with this ever-growing anti-social phenomenon.
