Thieves steal wheel rims and tires around Philadelphia

PHILADELPHIA (WTXF) - Philadelphia police are warning people after thieves have been stealing rims off of cars.

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"I was actually leaving from work and I got a text message that said, "Sorry! Your rims again!" A lousy start to Hollie's day when she says someone stole the nice rims on her 2016 Honda Accord Sport for the second time.

"I said, 'Are you kidding me?' And I went outside and of course my car was with no wheels on cinder blocks," she told FOX 29.

She took pictures after the thief or thieves struck this past weekend. The price tag--$4,000.

"Besides the thousands of dollars my insurance company has to put out, I have to come out of my own pocket my deductible each time, which is $500," Hollie explained.

"During the night when you are sleeping, they come in like a pit crew." Northeast Detectives Lt. Dennis Rosenbaum said.

According to Lt. Rosenbaum, it's a problem all across the city with well over 100 thefts of wheels rims and tires since January. In most cases it's the Honda Accord Sport rims that stand out.

"The look of them. The style of them. They're sporty looking and there's a market for them," Lt.Rosenbaum said. "Someone usually goes around and loosens up, cracks the lug nuts we call it, gets it ready and they'll drive around for a little bit and come back. Usually within three minutes they're gone."