Stealing a bright yellow $300,000 Ferrari 488 is only half the battle for ambitious car thieves. As you might imagine, an Italian supercar draws loads of attention, making them especially difficult to hide in plain sight. However, a set of thieves in Mexico thought they had found a solution to hiding a freshly stolen Ferrari.

According to GT Spirit, the thieves decided to give the brand-new yellow supercar a fresh coat of matte black paint to hide it. Since this paint job was completed in a rush, it is far from comparable to what Maranello typically delivers. As a result, it didn’t take long for local law enforcement to notice.

How do you steal a Ferrari 488 in Mexico?

According to Notialtos, this stolen Ferrari 488 story took place several years ago when it was brand-new. In fact, this stolen car was reportedly one of the first examples to arrive in Mexico. Aside from that, no details exist regarding exactly how thieves got a hold of this car in the first place.

A few days after the car went missing, local law enforcement noticed a matte black Ferrari 488 parked on the side of the road. Since these cars were far from abundant at the time of the story, police officers decided to stop and take a look.

Thanks to a less-than-stellar paint job, officers quickly determined that the car was actually yellow. According to GT Spirit, the thieves didn’t manage to damage the car in any way before abandoning it. However, there is no clear indication why they chose to abandon it when they did.

How did thieves paint this car black so quickly?

As you might imagine, you can’t simply squeeze a Ferrari 488 in for a quick color swap. As a result, the thieves that stole this Italian supercar opted for a quick and cheap alternative Plasti Dip.

In case you’re not familiar with Plasti Dip, it’s essentially a removable rubber coating that can be used to simulate auto paint. While you can buy complete kits to change your car’s exterior finish properly, you can also get it in cans from any major auto part store.

That’s exactly what the thieves did in this case. Judging from the photos of this Ferrari 488, the finish looks incredibly uneven and dusty. Additionally, the coating itself is falling apart, revealing the yellow paint underneath. While it is far from effective, the thieves at least get points for originality.

Where is this car now?

The best part about Plasti Dip is that it can easily be removed, quickly returning your car to its original finish. Since GT Spirit reports that the Ferrari 488 didn’t suffer any physical damage due to its theft, chances are the owner’s insurance company didn’t total it.

While this might sound like a good thing, it isn’t. A Ferrari with a theft on its records likely takes a major depreciation hit. Since most of these cars retain their value due to their ownership history, this incident likely cost the original owner big time.