A 2023 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 gifted to a graduate was stolen, recovered, and stolen again in just a few days. The Camaro was gone on Monday, found on Tuesday, and gone again by Friday, according to the woman who bought it for her son.
It was supposed to be an ultimate graduation gift, but it quickly turned into an automotive nightmare. A mom and dad gifted their son a 2023 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 to celebrate his third graduate degree from the University of Maryland, according to NBC News 4 Washington—only to see the 650-horsepower muscle car stolen, quickly recovered, and then stolen again just two days later.
Mimi Arnett told News 4 that she and her son's father, who had purchased the Camaro ZL1 for their boy, had the car parked at their home in Beltsville, Maryland when she heard the LT4 engine bark to life at 3 o'clock in the morning on May 25. Unfortunately, she says her son was sound asleep in his room at the time; the $80,000 graduation gift was apparently being stolen.
View Price on AmazonLuckily for the Arnett family, the Camaro was found the very next day, and the only damage was a broken window. The car was taken to the police station and processed for fingerprints and DNA evidence, according to News 4; after processing, it was taken to the AutoNation dealership where it was purchased. The car was to undergo an inspection. That was on May 27.
Two days later, Arnett says AutoNation called her and asked her where the car was. She told them the car was still with them. That's when they reportedly told her, “We have checked the whole lot. The car is gone. It's been stolen again.”
The muscle car was reportedly taken in broad daylight, with a dealership employee even allegedly seeing the thief drive off with it. Arnett says the dealership employee thought the person getting into the car was a dealership technician pulling the car into the garage for the inspection; in fact, the Camaro was reportedly driven off the lot and has not been seen since.
While this is certainly an unfortunate turn of events, it's not that surprising. According to a 2025 report from the Highway Loss Data Institute (HLDI), the Camaro ZL1 had a whole-vehicle theft rate 39 times higher than the average for all vehicles in the United States.
And now that the Arnett Camaro ZL1 has apparently been boosted twice, they're not taking any more chances. Arnett said she doesn't want her son to have it anymore, even if it is found. “His safety is number one," Arnett said. "We're going to put him in something where he's safe.”
According to the HLDI, the Tesla Model 3 is the least stolen vehicle. It's a drastic change from a Camaro ZL1 ... but at least the Tesla will probably still be in the driveway in the morning.
Source: roadandtrack.com
