Tips and Tricks to Prevent Your Car From Being Stolen

                There is no doubt that auto theft is a serious threat to your personal security nowadays.  It was reported in the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reports that a motor vehicle is stolen in the United States every 26.4 seconds, and that the odds of your vehicle being stolen are about 1 in 200.  Basically, what this means is that there is a good chance that your car could be stolen, especially if you live in an urban area.  So, in order to help prevent that theft as much as possible, I am focusing this article on providing tips and tricks to prevent your car from being stolen.

                The first and most obvious thing that comes to my mind is to NEVER leave your keys in the car when you are not in the immediate area of your car.  A lot of people will think they can run in quickly to grab something they’ve forgotten, or maybe they will leave their car running on a cold winter day in order to heat it up first.  Interestingly enough, many car thefts occur when people just leave their car running in the driveway, which appears to be a blatant invitation for car thieves to do their handy work.  Even if you live in the smallest neighborhood of Timbuktu there is always the risk that some thief passing by will get the scent that there is a car to steal.  Don’t risk it!

                In addition, there are some great tips you can follow to decrease the chances your car will be stolen.  Location, location, location, plays a huge role in this.  If possible, it is always best to park your car beyond a gate or garage where it can be covered from roving eyes.  However, if you are like many others and have to park on the street, usually the surrounding neighborhood is a pretty good indicator of what you can expect there.

                Another good practice is to always have a copy of your vehicle registration and title at home somewhere secure.  The reason being, if your car is ever stolen, authorities will not have any clue what they are looking for if you can’t provide any information about the license plate or other pertinent information.  It is also helpful to prove that you are indeed the owner of the vehicle-in-question.

                Finally, I thought it might also be helpful to provide information regarding the most stolen cars in the U.S.  This is to serve as a guide in helping you to purchase a car that will be less noticeable and inviting to thieves.  The following table lists the vehicles most stolen in the year 2006:

1. 1995 Honda Civic
2. 1991 Honda Accord
3. 1989 Toyota Camry
4. 1997 Ford F150 Serues
5. 2005 Dodge Ram P/UP
6. 1994 Chevy 1500 P/UP
7. 1994 Nissan Sentra
8. 1994 Dodge Caravan
9. 1994 Saturn SL
10.1990 Acura Integra

 Source: http://www.auto-theft.info/Statistics.htm

                In the end, some of you may be thinking that it is a whole lot cheaper to have your car stolen than to pay for the gas that fills it up every day.  However, I hope that this information helps you out a little bit in protecting your car.  Granted, you can only do so much to protect your car, but thieves will generally look for the easiest way when stealing cars.  So, the more difficult you make it for them, the better!  Best of luck to everyone.