Ten Tips to Thwart Car Thieves

As someone who’s had a car stolen, I know just how terrible that can be.  Mine was stolen from the parking lot of a repair shop – it was an older car, easy to hotwire.  Fortunately, the gas gauge was broken, the thief ran out of gas, and left my car on the side of the road about 600 miles away.  I was one of the lucky ones – most cars are never recovered.  I didn’t want to have that kind of a claim against my comprehensive auto insurance either!

The National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB) recommends a layered approach to protecting your car from thieves.  Here are some ways to discourage thieves from helping themselves to your car.

1.  Don’t leave your keys in the ignition.  Surprisingly, many people will do this, thinking that they’ll only be gone for a minute, but a minute is all it takes a professional to steal your car.

2.  If you are parking in a parking lot, park under the light.  That increases the risk of a thief being seen while forcing their way into your car, and could encourage them to go after another target.

3.  Close your windows and lock your doors, even if the car is parked in your driveway.  Even if you live in a safe neighborhood, this could lull you into a false sense of security and make your careless.  Thieves count on that.

4.  If you have a garage, use it and lock it!  If you don’t have a garage, park front end first for a front-wheel drive car, and back in if you have a rear-wheel drive car.

5.  Always turn your wheels to the side and set the emergency brake; it will make your car harder to tow if that’s the thief’s plan.

6.  Don’t hide a spare key in the vehicle – the thieves know all the places to look to find it.

7.  Consider spending a few dollars on some vehicle protection items, like an ignition kill switch which is spliced in your ignition and disables the vehicle.  Hood locks will prevent access to engine parts, and a steering wheel lock won’t let anyone turn that wheel their way.

8.  Vehicle alarms do work.  Thieves do not like lots of noise drawing attention to them in the act.  Just remember to learn how to work your alarm system so you won’t wake up the neighbors at 2 a.m.

9.  VIN etching involves permanently etching the vehicle identification number onto the car’s windows and windshield.  Before a thief could sell the car, he would have to replace everything, which just wouldn’t be worth it when there are easier vehicles all around.

10.  Go the whole route and install a Vehicle Tracking Device, something like ADT Auto or On-Star into your vehicle.  That way if it’s lost or stolen it can be instantly tracked and even disabled, literally stopping the thief in his tracks.

Things like VIN etching and Vehicle Tracking Devices can actually lower your auto insurance rates.  Make sure to ask if a discount is available when you are comparing car insurance quotes. 

It only takes a few minutes to do many of these things, yet they can make the difference between driving your car home or having to file a police report.  Taking the time to protect yourself is always worth it in the long run.