By Steven Symes 
Police in Bridgeview, Illinois busted a muscle car chop shop that was operating out of a storage unit complex in plain sight. In fact, as cops were going through the crime scene, buyers for tires and other parts taken off the stolen rides were innocently showing up.
Teen in a BMW M3 thought he could outrun a cop.
That’s right, the cheap parts you find on Facebook Marketplace might be chopped off a stolen ride. Police say this particular chop shop was concentrating on high-end muscle cars like Hellcats, Scat Packs, and Camaros.
We wish this were an isolated case, but we’ve covered a lot of other chop shop busts all around the country. Many of them have focused specifically on muscle cars, just like this one. And storage units aren’t uncommon bases of operation.
In this case, police found a Camaro and Challenger both in different states of teardown as well as multiple engines, body panels, transmissions, suspensions, and other parts they believe were taken off stolen muscle cars.
While the rate of car theft in some areas has fallen, that doesn’t mean your ride isn’t a target for criminals looking for an easy score. Especially if you have a performance vehicle, you should invest in an immobilizing device of some sort that keeps thieves from reprogramming the ignition or tricking the car into thinking the key is right there.
Investing in at least two GPS tracking devices is another smart move. That way, if the thieves find out and throw it out, they probably won’t realize you have another.
Taking other precautions, like parking in a locked garage, putting cameras up, and locking your doors, even if the vehicle is in a secured building, are also some moves.
Image via Fox 32 Chicago/YouTube
Mike Johnson
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