Unfortunately in this day and age it seems that almost daily we hear about vehicles being broken into and vandalized or even being stolen. Even though certain vehicles are more susceptible to being targeted by these criminals we all need to be aware of the threat.
We assume the risk of our vehicle being vandalized or stolen every time we park it. According to statistics over one million vehicles are stolen annually which is one vehicle every 25 seconds. This has evolved into a multi billion dollar industry controlled by organized crime rings that work together and steal cars to fulfill orders for specific cars or parts. A stolen car can be stripped down and parted out to bring in more money than the actual value of the car itself!
Do you think that these thieves are targeting high end exotic sports cars like those depicted in the film, “Gone in 60 Seconds”? Think again. Out of the top ten most stolen cars different models of the Toyota Camry and the Honda Accord accounted for the first eight and Chevy and Ford trucks took the last two.
What happens is this, the auto theft ring gets an order for parts for a particular vehicle or vehicles which they dispatch out to their network of car thieves who in many cases know exactly where to go to find a car like the one being ordered. Sometimes you will see theft rings operate in particular areas for a length of time until it becomes to hot or risky for them and then they move their operation elsewhere.
Using the bars that go on your steering wheel like those advertised on TV is pretty much a waste of time and money. It takes a good thief less than 30 seconds to cut the bar off and hotwire the car.
The alarms that make noise when a thief gets close are just ignored. Additionally, I once heard of a theft ring in Houston that would take a cat and throw it on the car so the owner would come out and see the footprints and think it was just a cat. After a time or two of being awakened they just leave the alarm disabled. Thieves are well versed in cutting the wires and bypassing these systems as well.
Generally speaking almost all of the factory systems installed on vehicles can be overcome or bypassed so you should look into a proven aftermarket system.
Gregg Hall is a business consultant and author for many online and offline businesses and lives in Navarre Florida with his 16 year old son. For car care products to keep your vehicle looking new go to http://www.carcarewizards.com
