"We saw the police car rammed into the side of the road and about four other police cars there. We pulled over and talked to them," Pattenden said.
"They told us it had gone and for us to go home, they would let us know if they found it."
In a cruel twist the Nissan was not insured as Pattenden was working hard this week to get the money to pay for insurance next week.
"It was pretty much the worst birthday ever," he said.
And the news didn't get much better as the Nissan has still not been found.
He bought the Nissan in January and had it in the workshop having the rust cut out before getting it out to use off-road.
Pattenden reckons he had driven it about five times before it was stolen.
Whangārei Police Senior Sergeant Darren Sullivan said the stolen Nissan Safari was spotted by an officer on State Highway 1 near the intersection with Maungakaramea about 10.42pm.
The driver stopped but then reversed into the patrol car before driving off southbound.
Sullivan said the officer followed the stolen vehicle but near the intersection with Mangapai Rd the driver did a U-turn, rammed the police vehicle three times, rendering it immobile, and then fled.
The damage meant the male officer had to get out the passenger's side of the car. Fortunately he was not injured.
The stolen vehicle has not been recovered and police appealed to members of the public who may have noticed any suspicious behaviour in Onerahi around the time the vehicle was stolen.
Police said if the Nissan was spotted people should ring 111 immediately and anyone with information could ring Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
Police statistics released in March showed Northland tops the number of pursuits per month with 8.67 per 100,000 people, followed by Bay of Plenty 7.81 and Counties/Manukau 7.67.
