Illegal chop shop increase as cost of car parts rise

Joint operations between Tracker Network (UK) and the police have uncovered 37 illegal ‘chop shops’ during the first half of 2024.

During 2023, some 55 chop shops that were being used to strip and dismantle stolen cars were found, while Tracker helped police shut down just two chop shops in 2020.

The significant increase seen over the past few years comes as the price of new replacement parts for cars continues to grow.

New analysis has reported that the cost of SUV parts has risen faster than other car types, for example brake discs and pads have risen by 37% on SUVs, compared with 22% for hatchbacks and 20% for saloons. 

For pollen filters, SUV prices are up by 48%, against 41% for hatchbacks and 35% for saloons, while for windscreen wiper blades, SUVs have seen a 25% increase, against 22% for saloons and 19% for hatchbacks.

However, hatchbacks have seen the biggest increase on spark plugs, with a 37% rise versus 29% for saloons and SUVs.

The chop shop locations were uncovered as a result of Tracker’s combination of VHF with GPS/GSM technology covertly fitted to stolen vehicles, leading police directly to them.

As well as recovering large numbers of Tracker installed stolen vehicles, the discovery and closure of the chop shops also uncovered hundreds of other stolen vehicles, and critically put the brakes on numerous illegal parts operations.

Clive Wain, head of police liaison at Tracker, said: “On-going geopolitical unrest is still affecting the supply of parts, which has been unpredictable for a while now.

“Add to this, continuing financial struggles for many which are fuelling illegal activity, and resulting in vehicles of all ages and values becoming targets for thieves.”

He explained that criminals are stealing vehicles to order to strip them for parts which they can then sell-on for “eye-watering sums” on the black market.

“It’s not only the domestic market where parts achieve big ticket prices,” he added. “Thieves will often ship stolen parts overseas too, to places like Africa and the Middle East where they can be sold even more lucratively.”

Industrial-sized jammers continue to be used by thieves in an attempt to block the signal from GPS and GSM-only stolen vehicle locators.

However, Tracker’s technology is immune to GPS/GSM signal jamming so is able to lead police directly to chop shops where stolen cars fitted with its devices were being hidden.

“Determined career criminals are a hard nut to crack and whilst we work hand-in-hand with police daily to find and shut down illegal chop shops, the lucrative nature of the business means they spring up again,” said Wain.

“Chop shops have typically been tucked away in industrial parks or in plain sight as legitimate bodyshops, but we have seen an increasing number of unusual sites being used to hide stolen vehicles and parts, such as agricultural greenhouses.

“The importance of vehicle owners doing all they can to maximise the security of their vehicles and make life as tricky as possible for car thieves cannot be underestimated.

“Simple measures such as crook locks and parking security posts deter opportunistic thieves and tech such as video doorbells and motion-activated security lights can play their part in making thieves think twice before stealing a vehicle.”