or vandalizes your vehicle you suffer in cash terms (insurance excesses, loss of no-claims bonus), and, even worse, you’re deprived of your usual means of transport, having to rely instead on public transport — which may mean walking home from the nearest station or bus stop late at night — or cadging lifts from friends.
DETERRENTS
• Etching
• Vehicle Identification Number (VIN)
• Caravan security
• Don't advertise
• Radios
• At home
SECURITY CHECKLIST
• Parking Dos and Don'ts
A few years ago joy riding accounted for two-thirds of stolen cars, but now that honour goes to cars stolen by professional thieves. This is because of a boom in the market for secondhand parts — thieves steal popular makes and strip them down for spares. Old cars are possibly even more at risk than new ones (top of the thieves’ hit list in Britain is a 10-year-old Ford Escort 1.3), partly because the owners think that no one will be interested in stealing their old banger. New models and high-performance cars are likely to be ‘ringed’ — given a change of identity and sold on (possibly to an unsuspecting buyer). Whether it’s been ringed or stripped, once it’s been stolen there’s little chance of getting your car back.
And car crime doesn’t end with vehicle theft: in Britain a car is broken into and something stolen from it every 20 seconds. The cost of repairing the damage, let alone replacing the items stolen, can be considerable — so it’s well worth investing in the best security devices you can afford to protect your car. Some insurance companies will reduce premiums (by as much as 50 per cent in some cases) when an approved electronic security system is fitted.
It’s almost impossible to make a car totally thief-proof. What a security device can do, however, is to make access as difficult and time-consuming as possible to deter thieves. Most car thieves are opportunists, seizing upon easy targets — it takes only a matter of seconds and little effort to break into an unprotected car, and the chances of being caught are slim. A device that takes several minutes to disarm, and which sounds a piercing alarm the whole while, will make your car a much less attractive prospect.
There are hundreds of anti-theft devices on the market, ranging from inexpensive mechanical immobilizers such as steering wheel clamps to sophisticated (and costly) electronic systems. In deciding how much to spend you will need to think about the level of risk for your car (is it a high-performance car, attractive to thieves and a target for vandals), whether any security features have been incorporated by the manufacturer (such as built-in immobilizers or alarms), and the sort of areas you use your car in (do you have no choice but to park in the street or use high-risk inner-city car parks?).
Before buying any product, seek an unbiased opinion of its performance. It’s a good idea to check out reviews in motoring or consumer magazines — often a range of comparable devices will be put to the test and the results published. Or ask friends and colleagues what they use and whether they can recommend it.
Whichever security device you opt for, make sure it is as visible as possible to act as a deterrent. The idea is to let the thief know that breaking into your car will be more trouble than it’s worth, so that hopefully he’ll give up on the idea and move on to the next easy target. Use window stickers supplied by the manufacturer to advertise the fact that you’ve got a state-of-the-art electronic immobilizer/alarm fitted, because if the thief has to break in to find out it’s there you’ll be faced with an expensive bill for damage. [The downside of these stickers is that they alert professionals to what they can expect, but a determined pro will probably find his way round any security device if it’s worth his while, so settle for deterring the opportunist amateurs.) Electronic alarms usually have a flashing LED light display which can be seen from the side window. Mechanical devices tend to have neon yellow parts to catch the eye of the would-be thief.
An alarm should have a siren loud enough to warn you if anyone is tampering with your car and, hopefully, frighten off the would-be thief. In a recent official survey, convicted thieves were asked whether they would try to steal a car if they knew it was equipped with an alarm; 83 per cent said they would be deterred from tampering with the car, and that if an alarm sounded while they were trying to gain entry they would run away.
On the other hand, another survey aimed at members of the public found that the majority tend to ignore car alarms, assuming that it’s a false alarm. It’s important when selecting a car alarm to make sure that it is not going to be set off by a strong breeze or a passing car. In some countries, including Britain, local authorities have the power to prosecute owners of vehicles whose false alarms cause a nuisance. And thieves have been known to use the alarm to work to their advantage, by rocking a parked car to set off the alarm in the middle of the night and then hiding. Once the owner has reset the alarm and gone back to the house, the thieves emerge and rock the car again until the alarm sounds. By doing this several times, they fool the owner into thinking that the alarm is faulty. The owner then disconnects the alarm and the thieves can make off with the car in peace.
Many car manufacturers now offer built-in car alarms as an option. This is worth