Which Cars Attract The Most Thieves?
Flashy, posh and expensive luxury and sports cars are worth much more and are usually placed under tight security for fear of theft. On the other hand, family cars are not worth as much and security is generally more lax. So, which cars attract the most thieves?
If statistics released by crime bureaus around the world is to go by, old family cars are more susceptible to theft, while luxury cars are nowhere in the list. When the list of most stolen vehicles is published every year, the same old targets resurface. Before we reveal the list of top stolen vehicles, here are a few reasons why they are targeted.
Reasons Why Old Family Cars Attract Thieves
1. Older Cars Tend To Be Easier To Break Into
This is quite obvious. The Honda Accords and Toyota Corollas of the 1990’s are easier to break into. The lock mechanisms used on the doors are well documented, and one only needs a hooked wire to unlock instead of a hard object to smash the window in. Besides, breaking a window makes a lot of noise which can attract unwanted attention. Having said this, some old cars have excellent security features (e.g. BMWs with deadlock features), and some newer ones do not.
2. Hot Wiring Them is Easy
Newer cars have circumvented hot wiring techniques used by thieves with the aid of proliferation of computer-chip-coded keys as well as built-in engine immobilizers. None of this modern tech stuff will be found in an old Civic or Corolla, and the casual thief will want something that he/she can get away with, and quickly for that matter.
3. Their Spare Parts Are In-Demand
Many families around the world are still using older car models as they cannot keep up with annual restyling (budget, you know). On the other hand, the automakers have moved on to other car marques and are designing new cars with different improved parts which are (allegedly/ statistically) more durable. The older car owners therefore often find themselves unable to acquire a spare part or two. The void encourages thieves to steal the older cars and disassemble them to their constituent parts and then sell them online to unscrupulous car part dealers. So if your old car goes missing, it may never cruise the streets again as a whole vehicle.
Here are the top five most stolen cars by brand and model year(s):
1. Honda Accord
This has been topping the charts for a while now with hundreds of thousands of units stolen The most repeatedly stolen are the 1994, 1996 and 1997 model years.
2. Honda Civic
Seems like older Hondas are on a roll. To be fair, these are some of the best family cars of their age. Models for the years 1997, 1998 and 2000 are most prone to being stolen by thieves.
3. Ford F- Series
These are full-size The model years 2004 to 2006 are most susceptible.
4. Chevrolet full-size pickups
Same old story as the Ford.
5. Toyota Camry
Only the 2014 version seems to have piqued the interest of car thieves. The other years don’t have as high statistical theft rate.
WHAT SHOULD YOU DO TO ENSURE YOUR CAR IS SAFER?
Some of the stories from car theft victims are just jaw dropping. Accidently left your keys in the ignition? Didn’t lock the windows or the sunroof? Some of these things are common sense, and you should apply it for your car to be safer. Avoid leaving your car in the driveway and make parking in the garage a habit.
You should also consider using Anti-theft devices like a steering wheel lock or installing hidden fuel cut-off devices and ignition kill switches. Installing tracking devices that leverage GPS will help locate your car if it goes missing (find the best deals for car accessories at Carro Accessories). Better still, get a car with solid anti-theft features and systems.
