Yes, a car can be stolen without any damage - and the thieves don’t even have to get inside.
All they need is a tow truck and a pair of caster wheel sets.
They jack up the rear wheels and put the caster wheel sets under them. Then they just raise the front end and tow it away.
If a chop-shop had it, this might be how they got it.
Or it could be the guy from the Volkswagen commercial. If so, just wait and he’ll bring it back - but only if your audio system is equipped with the new Wilco album anti-theft device.
If they have a “roll back” wrecker, they don’t even need the caster wheels. With the high price of scrap iron lately, it’s been happening a lot around here. The cars are immediately sold to a car crusher. No questions asked. No title needed. I don’t know how they get away with that part of it, but they do.
You missed the mark here, boys. Here in San Francisco, I have heard a lot of scuttle-butt over the years about the limited number of alternate keys for some cars. (Some manufacturers make innumerable different keys, while other car makers only make a few alternate keys.) Japanese cars used to have that drawback. Someone comes across a Honda key (for example. I am not singling out any car maker.) He walks it down the street and lets it take a walk in every Honda door lock he comes across. Suddenly, the key works!! He gets in and drives off. He may just be trying to get to school, so he parks, gets out at school, and takes a bus home. He’s got the car’s number now. That car can be his regular ride to school from now until the lock is changed.
In most cases, there are only 10000 combinations of car keys. But car thieves rarely use that approach. Usually they break in or pick the lock.