Thieves Hit Bay Area Service Garage, Steal $425,000 Worth Of Vehicles

We’ve reported previously about thieves hitting dealerships and being caught on camera, but in San Francisco a group of criminals targeted vehicles parked inside the service garage. Authorities say the criminals seemed to know just where to look to find the keys to pull of the heist.

In total, seven vehicles were stolen from a Royal Auto Group garage in San Francisco. According to KTVU, around 12:40 a.m. on Dec. 31, four would-be car thieves cut the lock at the main gate of the Royal Auto Group service garage. Next the thieves drilled a lock to gain more access to the service location, which in this case meant access to vehicle keys.

Using those keys, the thieves made off with seven Audi vehicles worth upward of $425,000. Two of the vehicles belong to customers who had them in for service, while the other five are dealership owned.

Erich Christjansen, the service manager for Royal Motors Group Audi Volkswagen Volvo and Mazda, told NBCbayarea, “They obviously were very efficient at their art. They obviously knew what they were doing,” A representative with the local police also indicated the suspects seemed to know exactly where to find the keys.

Christjansen indicated the dealership would go over the surveillance footage and figure out how to improve security at the service location. Speaking again of the theft to NBCbayarea, Christjansen added, “You (the dealer) feel very violated, you feel very helpless at the same time.”

One could assume vehicles in for service could be at lower risk for thieves to steal since those vehicles may be in the middle of critical repair work, however, that wasn’t the case for this heist. Besides a locked gate and locked area with vehicle keys, what more can a dealer do to protect assets owned by the store and its customers?