Do You Leave Your Car Unlocked?
Over half of Brits worry about their car being stolen, yet a quarter have admitted to leaving our cars unlocked and unattended, according to a recent Halfords poll.
We recommend that for any newly bought car, be it new or old, bought outright or on finance, you protect your investment with MotorEasy GAP Insurance. It will cover you in the event of a write-off or theft and you can get a quote in seconds.
Car Theft On The Rise
Write-offs due to theft are on the rise, seeing a 7% increase in the last 12 months. So much so that the police have created a new vehicle theft taskforce to combat the growing problem.
How Are This Taskforce Catching Thieves
Keyless entry car theft is also on the rise with techo savvy thieves using signal boosters, to boost the signal from your car key to your car. At the very least if you don't want to buy a RIFD Wallet (see below) put your keys further away from your front door and car.
Owners are becoming increasingly security conscious and are buying more anti-theft devices, but in case you aren't sure what is best, we've listed our favourites.
Stopping Car Theft: RIFD Wallet
Letting a thief get into your car is not the end of the world, but it will be the last you see of your valuables, so it is a very good idea to lock your car for that reason alone.
In-car security systems can only do so much to prevent your car from being stolen. If your car has a keyless unlocking system a simple RFID wallet can prevent your fob being hacked by a thief intercepting the electronic communication between the fob and your car.
You can get yours from The MotorEasy Shop
Stopping Car Theft: Steering Lock
Once inside, if a thief is determined to take your car has stolen your keys or accessed the electronic control port inside your car there's not much you can do, other than pop on a steering lock.
That’s probably why Halfords has seen sales of old-school steering wheel locks rise by 50% in the past year. These are basic, but will considerably slow down most thieves or just make them think twice and move onto another vehicle.
We recommend a Disklok, not least because it covers the whole steering wheel and costs £119.99.
Stopping Car Theft: Wheel Clamp
Even more of a deterrent would be a wheel clamp. A Bulldog Euroclamp is £82.99. We highly doubt that any potential thief will take more than one look at a car with this on it.
So there is plenty that you can do to prevent your car from being stolen. Obviously locking it is a great start, plus there are many devices you can buy.
Perhaps the best advice is to park your car in a garage if you have one, so no more excuses to get rid of that junk. Ensure it also has an alarm system and CCTV. At the very least make sure the area around your car or garage is well lit.
Car Theft Further Reading
High Tech car crime on the rise
