LA woman’s car was stolen. The internet showed her exactly where it was, and then she went down a rabbit hole she wasn’t ready for

Most car enthusiasts see their performance vehicles as evolving projects they just never quite finish — but as the IKEA effect suggests, that unfinished business only makes them more attached to the end result. An Instagram car influencer from Los Angeles woke up on April 2 at 3 a.m. to find her modified Nissan 370Z stolen, and after realizing the police weren’t quite up to the task, she took the investigation into her own hands — and what she discovered was, unfortunately, not the kind of “build progress” anyone wants.

The influencer goes by the username Keiko on Instagram. In her explanation online, she said her car was stolen in Pasadena, and even when she made a public plea for information about her red 370Z, she admitted she wouldn’t be surprised if she eventually found it “parted out” by the side of the road somewhere in downtown LA.

She shared with her 80K+ followers that all she wanted back was her personal effects, especially her grandfather’s Polaroid. Soon after, she had over 1,000 message requests in her DMs. Some of those messages even included videos of her car being taken apart by a local “striker” group.

Keiko soon learned that the group allegedly targets modified performance cars specifically, stealing them to strip for parts and fund street takeovers. Most people don’t know the difference between F1 and IndyCar, so they’d probably struggle to fully grasp what a street takeover is — but in simple terms, it’s cars doing illegal burnouts while pretending traffic laws are optional.

By the time Keiko received photos, videos, and even voice notes about what was happening to her Nissan 370Z, nothing about the updates was encouraging. The car was found stripped of its expensive carbon fiber RS1 fenders, the Weds Kranze Cerberus II wheels were gone too, along with most of the body panels. The interior and suspension had also been ransacked — leaving the car as more shell than machine.

She later decided to release all the information publicly, including alleged threats from the people involved. Keiko made it clear she intends to pursue the matter all the way. As for what the parts were being used for, reports suggest they end up powering street takeovers — essentially closed-road burnouts that look like a low-budget Fast & Furious spin-off with no permits and even less restraint.

The group has also allegedly been playing pretend as Lewis Hamilton in the underground LA car scene. If you attend one of their events, you’ll likely see Infiniti G37s, G35s, Nissan 350Zs, Dodge Challengers, and Chargers modified well beyond factory intention. As for who owns what — or what’s even still street-legal — that’s often part of the mystery.

Keiko has also shared some details about how the group allegedly operates. The so-called “strikers” reportedly steal cars and then hide them in plain sight by covering them with ordinary car covers, making them look like any other parked vehicle. In some cases, they allegedly use radio-frequency spoofers to mimic key signals. Police are still investigating these groups.

So if you have a high-performance car in LA, it might be worth keeping an extra eye on it — or at least hoping it doesn’t become someone else’s “parts project” overnight.