Dealerships And Repair Shops Need Better Security

Something needs to change.

We’ve been following the growing car theft trend and how thieves are targeting dealerships and auto repair shops for years now. One thing that’s blatantly obvious is that shops and dealers both have too little security. They’re soft targets in the middle of the night, especially since all the keys for the cars onsite are sitting in some wimpy lockbox that can easily be forced open. Now it seems other people are finally starting to catch on to this.

NASCAR drivers have been arrested for DWI recently.

A report from KTVU in Oakland, California of all places points this out. The story focuses on a man named Alex Castro who had his BMW stolen as it sat at the repair shop overnight. Like we’ve seen over and over, the thieves used a car as a battering ram to force their way inside, then pried the key lockbox open, helping themselves to whatever vehicles they wanted.

Castro stated the obvious, saying, “These businesses really need to do better at securing our personal property.” We’re not quite sure how the insurance policies of shops and dealerships are okay with such lame security protocols, but apparently they are.

There are better, far more secure ways of storing keys but these businesses feel zero need to switch. The systems they’re using were good enough back before car theft exploded nationwide. And while some businesses have cameras, the thieves either cover their faces or just don’t care if they’re recorded, so it acts as zero deterrent.

All these dealership and repair shop break-ins aren’t helping with car and component prices lately. For example, Castro’s BMW as recovered but the thieves did $20,000 in damage to it. Since the shop didn’t call him about the theft, letting the police do that hours after the fact, we think he’ll be find a new place to get it fixed.

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