Police say someone is stealing thousands of dollars from car washes in Central Texas. They pry open the machines and grab the coins.

Business owners say the number of burglaries has increased in the last three months.

"I've spoken to about a dozen people some of them multiple times we've been hit three times, and we've found they've done probably about $200,000 worth of damage," said Brandon Armbruster, owner.

And that's the really expensive part -- the damage. Thieves sometimes only get as little as $7, but repairing or replacing the machines can cost thousands.

"Unfortunately, with the pry bar they also hit all the computer circuitry that's in here, broke this machine and because the two machines are connected, it short circuited it and ruined it," said Armbruster, who says he's spent between $40,000 and $50,000 in the past three months.

Workers that replace and repair the machines say they've never seen it so busy, from Waco to Mexico. One law enforcement officer says while some may be connected, the crimes are too widespread to be one person.

Part of what makes this crime spree difficult to solve is that the thieves are hitting in several different cities.