Gate Pass, Gaslight, Gone

Inside the Growing Theft Crisis Cox Automotive Doesn’t Want You to See

Dealers are losing high-value cars to organized theft rings.
But the real crime might be what happens after the cars are gone.

The silence.
The avoidance.
The subtle implication that maybe it’s the dealer’s fault for trusting the system they pay to use.

Welcome to the quiet crisis no one wants to talk about … until now.

How It Happens

Stolen vehicles are being moved through a method that’s as clever as it is terrifying:

1. Fake accounts are created within Central Dispatch (a Cox Automotive company)

2. These accounts are used to pose as legitimate brokers.

3. They dispatch real transporters to pick up vehicles using stolen or hijacked gate passes.

4. Vehicles are taken off the lot…legally on paper, criminally in reality.

The vehicles aren’t disappearing into shadows…they’re leaving with all the right paperwork. Only later does the truth surface:

• The transporter was real.
• The broker? Fake.
• The car? Gone.

 And the platform that enabled all of it?
Still functioning like nothing happened.

Real Dealers. Real Thefts. Real Indifference.

Hennessy Auto had a Porsche stolen from Manheim Palm Beach.
The GM didn’t return a single call.
Only one rep...Ann Miller...responded at all. The rest? Radio silence.

Morgan Auto Group had not one, but two vehicles stolen in the same week.
One via Manheim, one via Openlane.

• Openlane reimbursed them in under a month.
• Manheim? Weeks of unreturned calls and legal-style stonewalling…until a complaint was filed publicly.

Cox Automotive’s Playbook: Ignore, Delay, Deny

When reached for comment, a GM from Manheim Seattle stated:

“Manheim does not discuss specific transactions or related concerns with third parties… this will be our only response to this inquiry and any further outreach will not be acknowledged.”

This wasn’t even a theft case.
It was just a general question about arbitration.

Imagine what happens when the question is about a $100,000 unit that vanished.

Cox Knows. They Just Don’t Want to Be Responsible.

A meeting with Cox Automotive’s Lead Product Manager, Regan Mulcrone, confirmed everything we feared:

• Cox is aware their systems were compromised.

•  Fake accounts inside Central Dispatch are at the center.

•  Gate passes have been stolen from dealer logins.

•  Exotic cars are being exported out of Texas, Florida, and the Northeast.

They know. They’ve known. But instead of sounding the alarm, they’ve whispered it through internal memos and hoped it would go away.

“What’s In It for Me?”

One insider put it bluntly:

“Most buyers get paid to buy cars… not protect Cox’s reputation. Why would they go above and beyond to implement fixes that only help Cox?”

That’s the crux.

• The risk is pushed downstream.

• The cost is paid by the dealer.

• And the auction collects their fee regardless.

This Is Just the Beginning

This article is the first in a series of verified reports.
From here forward, Auto Auction Review will document every known case.

• Screenshots

• Emails

• Communications from auction leadership

Nothing dramatized.
Nothing exaggerated.
Just truth.

Join the Task Force

 If you’re a dealer, a transporter, or an industry insider who’s seen this happen—you are not alone.

We are organizing a dealer-led Task Force to:

• Document every theft

• Track the auction response

• Expose systemic negligence

📌 Join the Task Force
📎   Submit a Theft or Tip
🔗 Read Other Dealer Complaints
🔗 Manheim Palm Beach Complaints

Share this article.
Someone in your circle has already been hit—and doesn’t even know it yet.

The cars are gone.
But we’re just getting started.

👉 Visit www.autoauctionreview.com

Bob Manor

Co-Founder-Auto Auction Review