I was a city cop over 20 years ago so things may have changed.
Any time we asked ourselves what happened with seemingly-random stolen car parts, the answer was rooted at the local quick-lube places. Notice I say “rooted” as the lube shops were not the problem...
Busy weekend, minimum wage clerks at the lube shop hardly have time to pay attention. The unscrupulous people (I wouldn’t call them scam artists because they did provide the services they were paid for) would have one of their guys planted in the corner, listening to customers. I think the person would wait to find an easy mark, such as a customer who didn’t know much or mentioned that they want to save money.
The plant would wait for the customer to sit down and begin waiting for the shop’s service, then approach the customer. Plant would convince the willing customer to retrieve the vehicle and meet him outside, often in an adjacent parking lot. There the plant’s “employer” would be waiting with his own tools, parts, etc. and would perform the work at a fraction of the cost of the quick lube shop. Parts and tools used were often stolen, with tools being abandoned quickly if someone called the police and the “mechanic” had to make a quick getaway.
Wait two hours, move two miles, and then repeat until the police came once more...
