Top Tips
There are many different ways to help reduce car theft, and this page is here to give you some simple common sense tips that may greatly improve your chances of avoiding being a victim. Following most of this advice will not cost you a penny, take very little time, and could save you thousands of dollars.
It is worth knowing that if a professional car thief really wants to steal your car, there is not a great deal you can do to stop him if he has the time and resources. What you can do however is to make his task seem as difficult and time consuming as physically possible, cutting out all the obvious and easy ways of stealing it, and making it the least likely to be stolen, so at the worst he would target a different car.
Firstly – Always lock your car! It sounds silly, forgetting to shut the car’s windows and sunroof and lock the doors when leaving the car is one of the major reasons for opportunistic theft. Even if you are only leaving the car for a few seconds to go back into the house because you forget to turn off the oven, or quickly visiting a shop or paying at a gas station always lock the car properly.
Secondly, following on from the first point, never leave your car with the engine running and always take your keys out of the ignition. Even if you have been involved in an accident, always remove the keys. If you are stopped by a stranger, be wary of winding down the window or getting out of the car to talk to them. A recent from of carjacking involves the would be thief driving into the back of your car at low speed at a junction or set of traffic lights, and when you get our to take a look at the damage, they jump into your car and drive off. If you are suspicious, don’t get out of the car, and call the police to report the accident immediately from your cell phone.
Thirdly – don’t leave valuables on display in the car. Content theft makes up a high percentage of overall vehicle crime, so leaving any of your personal possessions on display simply invites trouble. Popular targets are laptop computers, jackets, bags, cell phones, and recently the number one target is portable satellite navigation systems, which are frequently left attached to the windscreen.
What thieves also look out for with these GPS systems are the mount still attached to the windscreen even if the system itself isn’t there, as most drivers put the system in the glove box rather than taking it with them, so thieves will break into the car just to see if it is in the glove box. Police recommend removing the mount, and even giving the screen a wipe so the tell tale round suction cup mark isn’t visible.
The fourth tip is sensible parking – At home if you have a garage then make sure you use it all the time – it may save 30 seconds on a morning not having to get the car out of the garage, but it will be much better protected – thieves thrive on people’s laziness, and a car locked away is invisible to thieves, whereas outside it is both visible and vulnerable. If you do not have a garage, park the car in sight of the house, and if you have a single driveway, parking one car behind another will protect at least one of the cars from being driven off.
When parking in public areas, us a secure well lit car park, and if you can find one with barrier entry and exits then even better. If you have to park on the street, do so in a highly visible and well lit area, as thieves prefer not to be seen if at all possible.
Fifth – minimise the chances of being towed away. Always leave the car in gear if it has a stick shift, or in Park if it’s got an auto gearbox. Always apply the park brake, and turn the steering wheel to point the front wheels towards the kerb.
Finally, consider investing in extra security. have a look through our Car Security for information on all the different kinds of devices that are available on the market – there are hundreds. We would recommend if your car does not have a standard electronic immobiliser fitted as standard, then to invest in one, fitted by a qualified installer, and make sure you use it at all times. Following on from this, use at least one form of mechanical immobiliser, such a s steering lock, pedal or gear lever lock to provide a highly visible physical deterrent to the potential thief.
Other options are the fitment of an alarm system, VIN etching on the windows, or at the top end of the budget installing a tracking system that reports the location of the car to the police. They are expensive, but they can sometimes reduce your insurance premiums if fitted.
To sum up, don’t make the car thief’s life easy, have as many different layers of extra security as you can afford, and above all remember to use them!
Finally a big thank you to the guys at Orangewheels.co.uk who supply new Ford Cars who gave up their time for free to help us put together this information site.