Thieves Steal Nearly $1 Million Worth of Luxury Cars From Evanston Dealership During Overnight Spree

A brazen overnight robbery at a high-end car dealership in suburban Evanston was caught on camera, with the thieves getting away with nearly $1 million worth of vehicles.

The theft occurred between 2 a.m. and 8 a.m. Monday morning at the Autobarn Collection, located in the 1900 block of Greenwood Street.

Police say that at least 14 vehicles, including multiple Mercedes, multiple Audi’s and at least two Porsches, were stolen during the theft.

The suspects broke a window with a crowbar and disabled a security system before setting to work on stealing the vehicles.

“Over the course of five hours, they made three separate trips,” dealership partner Sam Mustafa said. “It was shocking.”

Mustafa said that the suspects were able to break into the car key lockbox inside the dealership, and nearly cleared out the entire showroom.

“It doesn’t feel like these criminals are scared to be caught or prosecuted, which is a little scary for us,” he said. “It’s terrifying to think that they were just in here shopping.”

Evanston police say that the suspects seemed to be “relaxed” as they moved through the dealership, but say that while they don’t have any leads in the case, they do feel confident that the unique nature of the stolen vehicles could help lead to the suspects.

“Area police departments have been notified of some of the vehicles that were taken,” Commander Ryan Glew with Evanston PD said. “Some of the vehicles were pretty unique, so they should be easy to spot.”

The thieves also stole a 2013 Bentley and a 2018 Mase Levante, according to a police report.

Now, Mustafa says that even with insurance, the dealership will still be on the hook for well over $100,000 because of the theft.

“It’s going to be substantial,” he said. “Insurance doesn’t pay for everything. There’s a victim here. It’s not just as simple as filing some paperwork and recouping everything.”