Eight days. It took just eight days from the time we purchased our new 2015 Honda Fit long-term test car until a thief decided to claim the wheels. And this isn't the first time our staff has experienced this. A few years ago one of our editor's personal cars, a 2007 Honda Fit Sport, had her wheels stolen. Related: We Bought a 2015 Honda Fit This time around the car was parked on a residential street in a north side neighborhood of Chicago when it was targeted around midnight. Photo Editor Evan Sears heard noises and noticed a suspicious car from his window; when he opened his front door to look outside the perpetrators took off. They managed to take just one wheel, but left the Fit on blocks. Police arrived quickly and took a report. While there aren't statistics on thefts of the 2015 Fit to delve through, the previous-generation Fit Sport, which also came with standard alloy wheels, saw significantly higher thefts than other cars. The 2013 Fit Sport had 50 percent higher insurance claims for theft according to Matt Moore, vice president of the Highway Loss Data Institute. While the group's data doesn't drill down to what specifically was stolen, the average cost of the claim was half the average, suggesting the entire vehicle wasn't being stolen. There's other anecdotal evidence for the trend as well. EveryBlock.com — a website intended to connect and update neighbors — has two other reports this year of Fits getting their wheels stolen in Chicago. A perusal of Google News brings up a smattering of recent stories of Honda Fit wheel theft across the country from Charlotte, N.C., to the San Francisco Bay Area of California. The Honda Fit is a popular target because its 15-inch alloy wheels can be used on a variety of popular Honda models including the Civic, which is one of the most stolen vehicles in the country. We put a spare on the Fit and drove it to the closest Honda dealer (not the dealer from which we purchased it) to get a quote on repairs and replacing the one wheel and tire. There was minor damage to the lower rocker panel but we found the body shop's estimate of $1,061.03 high and plan to shop around for a more reasonable price to repair to the hardly noticeable damage. None of the underbody was damaged during the theft. We were hit with another shocker when the repair bill for the single wheel and tire replacement came through. Here's the breakdown: wheel, $338.43; tire, $108.07; mounting the tire to the wheel, $50; wheel center cap, $23.56; recommended wheel alignment, $139.95; wheel locks, $56; and labor, $30. With taxes, the cost of a single wheel being stolen cost us — drum roll please — $800.67. All of these prices were higher than other dealers in the area, but due to various circumstances our immediate need for the car outweighed potential savings. Unfortunately, we paid for that need. We believe there will be less chance of theft with the newly installed wheel locks, but one of stories we Googled contained an ominous warning on using the deterrent. The owner of that Fit had used wheel locks but the thieves smashed his window to find the key inside.