Thieves drive off with $400,000 worth of customers' cars at dealership

GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. — Imagine taking your car in for some routine maintenance, dropping it off at the service department that you have used for years and waiting for that call that says the work is done and you can pick it up today.

And then imagine what happened to a dozen customers who took their vehicles to Audi Gwinnett in Duluth. The call instead informed them that thieves got into the dealership's service department between 3 a.m. and 6 a.m. on Oct. 29.

“You are thinking you are getting a phone call to say your car is ready to be picked up (and) they fixed the problem,” said one vehicle owner, who identified herself only as Soyini. “But no.”

She and her husband are driving older cars now because their prized, 2014 Audi S8 and the other vehicles have not been recovered.

“Now what are we going to do?” she asked. “How are we going to get another vehicle?”

Police said that they are still investigating how the four thieves made off with the cars, valued at about $400,000. They aren’t sure if the thieves had a car hauler or other means, or whether they just drove off with them.

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Audi Gwinnett General Manager Keith Monnin said it appeared the men broke in through a side door and just took the keys from a lock box that was broken. They apparently timed the heist for a period when security was away from the main dealership building.

"We have roaming security," Monnin told Channel 2 Gwinnett Bureau Chief Tony Thomas. "So they are constantly in and out, checking through the lot and at the mall. We have security to try and prevent something like this from happening."

Police said the surveillance video from the dealership shows at least four men, all covered in dark clothing and masks, surveying the service lot and then entering the building.

The theft isn’t the first for this dealership. In 2015, a man walked into the dealership through the service department, rifled through the desks of sales associates, lifted two keys and, with an accomplice, drove off with two new models. They were later recovered.

Cox Media Group