Almost three-quarters of the more than 2500 vehicles stolen in Kansas City, Mo. this year are over ten years old and showing their age.
Sgt. Rod Gentry of the South Patrol says many of them are being towed away sold as scrap metal.
"Someone could run out of gas or have a flat tire and leave to seek assistance and return, really in thirty, forty minutes or an hour and find their car gone," says Gentry. "Not only gone but completely destroyed."
The thieves are taking advantage of a new Missouri law allowing the sale of vehicles over 10 years old without proof of ownership. In one case, a stolen car was shredded and baled less than twenty minutes after arriving at the scrap yard.
The City Council moved to stop that Thursday, and now will require all scrap metal dealers to observe a rule that until now only applied only to auto salvage yards. All cars sold for scrap will have to be held 72 hours before they are shredded or crushed.