70 cars stolen from dealership. Many high performance Mopars including several Hellcats.
I've seen this happen many times in the past. There were 4-5 such incidents here in Chicago a few years ago. Most cars stolen were just taken for joy rides and then abandoned or stripped. Tell me why does a dealer not secure the keys to his inventory? A safe perhaps?
I've seen the keys to cars in a dealer showroom just hanging on hooks on a board in the office of one of the salesmen or the sales manager.
In reply to jimbbski :
The article says they broke into a lockbox that contained the keys. We have something similar in our dealership, and don't know what else you could really do. I mean, it's just as secure as an atm is.
I do worry this will get out and we will see more of these. I would think, unless you get a really good safe, the only thing you could do is take the keys off site when closing, but I suspect that would be a LOT of keys for some lots.
The dealership in the article says they will have armed guards, but that really does little if the criminals are aware of the laws in CA. I am pretty sure there is no way it is legal to shot someone for trespassing or theft in CA. Heck, they could all wear signs that say "just here to steal cars" to protect them!
maj75 (Forum Supporter) said:How bout you don't keep the keys on site, overnight...
That's kinda hard to do when you have a thousand cars on the lot like many new cars dealers do. A safe is the right answer.
I know someone who owns a car dealership who spent the night camped out in his showroom with a shotgun.
In reply to Saron81 :
I've seen some of these "lock boxes" and they may be nothing more than a steel cabinet with a lock on it. What you need is a damn safe!
Years ago for a a couple of years I moved used cars from dealers to auction yards and back. Talk about low security.
Can't do much with a stolen car these days. The dealers in front of my old shop had their cars vandalized almost every night, one just gave up and closed. police would not or could not do anything even with his videos. And you can't shoot them or you will be in prison sharing a cell with his friends for probably 20 years or more.
In reply to Kreb (Forum Supporter) :
Really? A Ridgeline? Go for something like jfryjfry's Bronco or a real Jeep (CJ, YJ, etc.).
secretariata (Forum Supporter) said:In reply to Kreb (Forum Supporter) :
Really? A Ridgeline? Go for something like jfryjfry's Bronco or a real Jeep (CJ, YJ, etc.).
Not weird enough. C'mon now! That dealership is about five miles from me, and unfortunately for them, just spitting distance from one of the worst slums in the country (East Oakland).
A big Chevy dealership in Mokena, IL has a vending machine the guys use to get keys out of because the salesmen would misplace them and act innocent. They know who last checked them out.
I don't remember how they got back in. Of course glass isn't stopping looters.
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