'I Couldn't Believe It': Tulsa Area Car Wash Thefts Leave Businesses Frustrated

Someone has broken into at least two car washes in the Tulsa area. Business owners believe it’s the same man who’s taking their coin dispensers.

One owner says a change machine costs anywhere from $5,000-$7,000 dollars. Both businesses believe if the man is not caught soon, he’ll strike again.

A vehicle goes in dirty and leaves refreshed. That’s how a car wash works.

But one driver came in Saturday morning with a different goal.

“Oh yeah, it happens every 3, 4, 5 years, but they usually get caught," said Brad Harvick, owner of Splash Car Wash off of Sheridan in Tulsa. He says his business was the latest hit in a spree of car wash break-ins.

“We all knew it was coming, and we’ve all notified the police; I notified the police here for extra security the last two weeks,” he said. 

Surveillance footage captured a man dressed in all black, wearing a mask, tying a chain from the change machine to his truck and yanking it out of the wall.

But Harvick says this man has done this before. 

"There's a lot of people looking for him, other than the police,” he said. 

“The change are set in here, he hooked a palette hook into it, tied a chain to his truck, ripped it smooth out,” said Bryan Wilson.

He's the manager at Crystal Clean Owasso and says earlier in March, they were hit twice in one week, by who they say is the same guy.

Owasso Police can't confirm if this is the same man, but they hope to coordinate an investigation with other agencies to see if these break-ins across the metro area are connected. 

“I couldn’t believe it, I’ve heard of it happening before, just didn’t think it would happen to us,” said Wilson.

Both car wash owners say the man probably only got away with 5 to 10 dollars.

“He did more damage and the replacement cost of the machine he ripped out than what he got away with,” said Wilson.

But Harvick says that’s just what thieves do.

“They’ll burn your building down for ten dollars,” he said. 

Splash Car Wash is offering a $500 reward for anyone with information that leads to an arrest.