How to Make Your Car (Virtually) Impossible to Steal
I once had a powerful Toyota Camry that I thought was worth so little that no one would steal it , but I was wrong. One morning I woke up and saw an empty parking space. A few days later the car was found abandoned with minor damage (thanks to the thieves!) and I had the joyful experience of paying the police a fee to return my property to me. I cleaned it and set it up, and a few days later it was stolen a second time.
Of course, I’m not alone in this experience; More than 1 million cars were stolen in the US last year, thanks in part to the ” Kia Boyz “, meaning you’ll have to worry about your car being stolen, even if it’s not exactly a valuable asset or classic. You can’t make it truly impossible for your car to be stolen; if a thief really wants to steal it, he can probably do it. But you can make your car as stealthy as possible by adding a few parts.
Steering wheel lock
Depending on your age, you may not remember a time when a steering wheel lock called The Club was a real fad – it was everywhere, and everyone had one strapped to their steering wheel. This is the basic concept: Similar to a bicycle lock, it’s a steel device that hooks onto the handlebars and extends outward, making it impossible to turn the wheel (some options also prevent you from using the brakes).
Steering wheel and brake locks are not as common these days and can be bypassed quite easily by professional car thieves. But it’s a good start for two reasons: it’s a big, obvious visual sign that your car will be harder to steal than others, and it will discourage casual thieves like the “Kia Boyz” just looking for opportunistic joy rides.
Wheel clamps
Have you ever parked in the wrong place and returned to your car only to find a wheel clamp (aka trunk) on it? Then you know that it is impossible to drive a car with such a baby attached , and removing it without special tools is not so easy . If you install the consumer version on your car when you park it, it will be extremely difficult to steal. Combined with a steering wheel lock, any reasonable car thief will simply keep going.
Emergency shutdown switches
A kill switch is a simple idea: a switch is installed in a hidden but accessible location between the battery and some of your engine components, such as the fuel pump or ignition. If the switch is off, the car won’t start even if you have the key or fob, and if you don’t know where the switch is, it can’t start. Any professional mechanic (or competent car owner ) can install it fairly easily and fairly cheaply—a mechanic will charge $250 to $350 for the job, but you can do it yourself for under $20 if you know what you’re doing. You can even install remote kill switches that cut off battery power at the touch of a button .
GPS tracker
If all else fails and someone does manage to steal your car, installing a GPS tracker will allow you to alert the police to its location. Many of these devices also collect data while the car is driving, which can be useful not only when chasing a car thief, but also when communicating with your insurance company, as it can demonstrate that you were not driving when the car was damaged. .