Once a month, Joyce Lara and her husband carve time out of their busy schedules to make sure they go out on a date night in Vail, Arizona. After all, it keeps the romance alive. When they two came home, they were shocked by what they saw in their driveway.

“My husband turns into the driveway and… there’s this guy… fussing with my tire,” Joyce told KGUN. Looking at the car he drove to their home, they assumed he was using their car to replace a bad tire instead of going through insurance.

“He was going to replace our tire with his blown tire because ours was a 2007 and his was a 2008,” she said. “I was pissed. I want to say violated, you know? In the most not physically violent way, but how dare you?”

She thought quickly and pulled her phone out to snap a picture. It was blurry, but it inspired him to drop Lara’s tire and book it.

After the man left, they promptly bought an anti-theft device for their other tires

The man proved to the couple it was easy to remove their tire and walk away with it if someone was motivated enough. So, they told the outlet they bought wheel locks for all four wheels.

With wheel locks, someone would need the key to remove it. Wheel lock prices vary from around $15 to $50, depending on the manufacturer and the type of lock.

Rick Becker, the owner of Monsoon Automotive, said most thieves are hip to wheel locks and tend to skip cars that are equipped with them. However, those that don’t have wheel locks are seen as fair game.

“If somebody sees your car with a wheel lock, and somebody else’s car without one, they’re most likely going to choose a car that doesn’t have a wheel lock on it,” he explained.

Viewers relayed their own crazy theft attempt experiences

Those who watched the outlet’s YouTube video of Lara’s story took the time to recount their own unfortunately similar stories.

“One morning I found my VW Bug sitting on two concrete clocks, sans wheels and tires,” they wrote. “This was in the early 1990s.”

Another told a story about how they found out how effective their wheel locks were.

“I have wheel locks and could not find my lug key, and went to about five different shops, and no one had one that would work,” they said. “So, I feel safe that my wheels are secure.”

Someone else noted that a prepared thief will hardly be slowed by wheel locks, though someone else responded by saying they’re more likely to pursue easy prey.

“Thieves tend to move on to less secure vehicles,” they said.