It is fair to say that we’ve all been either a victim, or know a victim of vehicular break-ins. It is fair to say that they can happen at anytime and anywhere. These immoral crooks will either smash their way into the vehicle to make a grab for the goodies they can spot through the windows, or take off with the car in attempt to sale it as a whole or in pieces. The car doesn’t even have to be an expensive new model like you’d find in a car magazine – in fact, it’s more likely to be a less-well-protected older car! Pay attention to the following tricks and advice, and adding yourself to the climbing car crime statistics.
You first idea might be getting a car alarm. But know that by this day and age, an activated alarm poses no physical barrier to anyone who is already plundering his way into your vehicle. All that matters is the psychological impediment an activated alarm may hold towards a less experienced thief. A sticker displaying the logo of a famous car alarm company can produce this effect.
If you have a more tolerable taste for colours, you can think about a paint-based deterrent. A study has shown that the differently coloured vehicles of the same model have produce different probability of being stolen. This is no doubt due to the different resale value different colour schemes produce on each vehicle. A bright, unusual color is a safer bet than black or white, but note this deterrence only works on thieves thinking of selling your vehicle intact.
Leave nothing potentially rewarding inside your vehicle. Cellphones and iPods are evidently thief-magnets, and the same could be said for a coat or a briefcase for anyone looking to plunder the goods each of them might hold. Just by placing these objects inside the trunk can demote the temptation appeal of your vehicle in the eyes of car park thieves.
The presence of a steering wheel lock can give headaches for a car thief. It turns out when it comes to ranking the challenges car thieves come across in their routines, disarming one of these bar clamps surpasses the processes of breaking in or hot-wiring your car. Make sure to purchase one with high quality and install it whenever you have to leave your car unattended for a long period.
Larger outfits of car thieves have been known to deploy tow trucks, and this allows them to haul away their victim’s vehicle in broad daylight under the cover of legitimacy. Next time you use public parking, steer your frontal wheels toward the curb and apply the emergency break. Both of these actions will make your car harder to tow.
Finally, it is imperative that no matter how little time you think you will take, never ever leave your car with the key still in the ignition. A few seconds is all they need for car thieves to emerge out of hiding, make a run for your car, then take off whilst laughing at your stupidity. There is no need to commit this easily avoidable mistake, and then lamenting at the fact you never got car insurance.
We definitely do not want to reward criminal’s hard work. When you have your eyes set on a used car, check online for the car history of the vehicle to ensure that it is not a stolen car.