Prevent Car Theft With These Simple Tricks and Devices

Car Theft is an extremely common happening, and it’s no surprise that it is a popular thing to be stolen by thieves. In fact – car theft is growing at a rate of 7% per year, that’s about the same rate at which the GDP is growing. So it becomes important to prevent car theft, and keeping this in mind, automakers have increased the number of security features in their car line-up. However, even thieves have upped their game, which is why you need to learn about these 5 simple ways to prevent your car from being stolen:

Basic Things you should know to Prevent car theft

Before you read about the gadgets and do’s and don’ts to prevent car theft, you must know these three basic things in order to prevent car theft, and protect your car from being stolen.

Roll up all the windows

The most basic yet most often missed out by everyone thing, to keep in mind when leaving and locking the car is to check if the windows are all rolled up properly,including the sunroof, which is a lot of times missed out.

Many times we tend to roll up the windows in a hurry and it remains a tiny bit unclosed. Even if the window is open a small tiny crank, it would be sufficient for today’s street smart thieves to open the car using his tricks. Thus ensuring that all the windows are closed and shut completely is very important in order to prevent car theft and protect your car from being stolen.

Lock all the doors properly

Another simple step to follow, but lousily not taken care of by many people. Yes, there are still a staggering number of cars that are stolen just because they weren’t locked. It’s simply giving the thief a free lunch. If you really want to prevent car theft, then it’s pretty obvious that your gonna have to follow this step.

Although you might be thinking that this is a step which you already ace at, it is still advisable not to be overconfident and check if all the doors including the boot are properly locked. There are lots of times when we subconsciously think that we have locked all the doors, but due to other thoughts in our brain, we skip them.

Apart from this, there are many other such instances where the central locking system doesn’t work properly and so only the driver door gets locked, or the door isn’t shut properly in the first place and is only half closed. Therefore, in order to prevent car theft, checking that all doors are locked and closed properly is a great practice.

Remember your number plate and the car model

Last, but certainly not least is to remember your car number plate and car model. Yes, just remembering a four digit number won’t help in preventing your car from being stolen, but it would help in finding and recovering your car back, in case it is in the wrong hands

Although not many people would have an issue in remembering their car model, name, and company since cars anyways have their badging at all sorts of places. But what people do forget sometimes is that simple number which is asked by the police, in order to recover your car from theft.

If you have been following these steps to prevent car theft, then read about the list of must have devices to prevent car from theft.

Must-have Devices to prevent car theft –

1. Kill switch engine button-

   A kill switch button is a security device that is also known as emergency stop or E-stop. The function of the kill switch engine is to kill the power of the important and vital parts of the car that are required to start it, such as the ignition or the fuel tank. [However, this would only happen when the kill switch is engaged or is in ‘on’ position]

   Whenever you feel like you are done driving for the day, engage the kill switch to the on position and remember to hide it in a place where the thief may not be able to find it and disengage it.

   Also, whenever you feel like driving, simply go to the spot where you have hidden the kill switch and disengage it with a simple flick. After this, your car would be working like normal again.

   The average cost of installing a kill switch button would be around 1500 rupees, give or take a bit. This cost includes the cost of the switch and the approximate labour charges.

   Thus, a kill switch is one of the best ways to opt for if you want to prevent car theft.

1. Car Steering lock + Gear lock –

   One of the oldest ones in the book, yet the most popular and still effective, because after all – ‘old is gold’.

   A car steering lock, or a steering wheel lock, is another safety device that is visible, unlike a kill switch that needs to be hidden. It is basically a locking rod that is made up of metal that is installed along the width of the steering wheel. It disables the steering wheel to be turned or steered by a thief to a great extent.

   Another similar device is a gear lock for car. As the name suggests, it is a device that locks the gearbox. Once a gear lock is put into action, it prevents the thief from moving the gear lever. It is usually integrated into the reverse gear. Gear locks are generally factory fitted and are not completely exposed out in the interior. However, for cars that don’t have this, you can buy an additional aftermarket gear lock. Some types of gear locks are a U-Type gear lock and a pin-type gear lock.

   Autocop gear locks are one of the reputable brands to buy gear lock for your car and cost around 2000 rupees.

1. GPS tracker-

   A GPS tracker for car is a modern-day tracking device gadget that most automakers have in their accessory list. It is supposed to provide the exact location of the car 24×7 via a connected device, such as your mobile phone.
   A car tracking device is one of the most useful gadgets to prevent car theft as it allows you to keep track of your car at all times, providing you with necessary information about your car’s location. It enables you to know where your car is in real-time. So if your car is in the wrong hands, you can check where the car is and take action accordingly.

1. Install a dashcam –

   A dashcam is a great way to steer off car thieves. It’s one of the best deterrents to use. A dashcam basically is a camera, but not for looking at your surroundings, as normally a car would have, but is used for recording an unexpected event, such as car theft, an accident etc…

   In case of an accident it helps to claim insurance, in case the company says that you aren’t eligible for it [even though you are] and in case of car theft, it would help in tracking down the culprit and finding the car’s location, as most dashcams have an inbuilt GPS module.

   Dashcams start at around 5000 INR and can go up to 16000 INR, depending on the brand, screen size, camera quality, inbuilt storage space and features it offers. Some reputable dashcam brands are Nextbase, Rexing, and Garmin. While it is even better to go for a dashcam your car company offers in the accessory list.

Do’s and don’ts to prevent car theft –

1. Never keep an unlocked idle car –

   Keeping an unlocked idle car with the ignition on, is almost like asking the thief to steal your car. Thus, whenever you leave your car for a short errand, never leave it unattended with the ignition on, unlocked. If you have to warm your car up in the winters, always be in close proximity to the car, or you can start the car, close the door and then lock it with your key from the outside.

1. Avoid leaving valuables –

   Thieves always look for cars that are more valuable for them and leaving valuable items will definitely attract thieves, as it would be more beneficial for them because after all, all they care about is the amount of money they’d be getting from the steal. Thus, keeping valuables inside a car is a strict no, especially when you have decided to call it a day and have no more driving to do for the next few hours.

1. Try to Park in well-lit areas with high footfall –

   According to a statistic, about 60% of all vehicle thefts happen between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m, i.e when it is dark. This is because of obvious reasons such as a low amount of people are in the surrounding area and low visibility by other people. Thus it is a good practice to park your car in a well-lit area with street lights, during the nighttime as by doing so chances of catching a potential thief increases.

1. Don’t leave keys inside the car –

   With the introduction of remote keys and keyless entry systems, leaving keys inside the car is becoming more often these days. As the car doesn’t require a key to be used and slotted into the car’s ignition, people tend to forget to take the key out of the car with them. And as an obvious result, the car would be locked. But what would happen is that your car would be very vulnerable to being stolen by a thief, as if the key comes in sight with the thief, it would be an easier task for him to take off and drive the car by simply breaking in.

1. Don’t put the key fob in your pocket –

   Another strict no, that many don’t realise of. Putting the key fob in your pocket might sound like a smart thing to do since you won’t have to remember to take out the key fob outside the car.

   But the negative side to this is that if you do so, there would be a high amount of chances that you’d forget to take them out of your pocket, which would mean that you might forget to lock the car. Although there are cars coming in the market that come with auto-locking features as soon as you walk away, the majority of the cars aren’t equipped with this. Thus, a more advisable thing to do is keep it in your car but put it at a place where it would be in direct contact with your eye, like a parcel tray, bottle holder, near the handbrake or on the dashboard.

Also read – All you need to know about car central locking system + FAQ’s

1. BONUS – Get good insurance:

   Although this won’t prevent car theft, it sure would be a saviour if your car is stolen by any chance. But if you follow all the tricks mentioned above, there would be almost nil chance of theft. However, being prepared for the unpredictable future is the best thing one can do. So buying a comprehensive car insurance policy that provides coverage for car accidents, car theft, fire, natural calamities, other unforeseen circumstances etc… is very advisable. Many insurance companies are offering popular annual comprehensive car insurance ranging from 13000 INR to 23000 INR, depending on the company and the coverage. Some reputable companies with their insurance plan prices are –

Motor Insurance Company	Comprehensive Car Insurance Price (without any add-on) Excluding GST @18%
TATA AIG General Insurance	Rs. 13,616
Digit General Insurance	Rs. 15,226
Royal Sundaram General Insurance	Rs. 17,793
Bharti AXA General Insurance	Rs. 20,071
Liberty General Insurance	Rs. 20,378

Source – InsuranceDekho

So these were the easy tips and tricks about how to prevent car theft. Try to follow all of them to achieve the desired results.

We at Carorbis hope that this article helped you to learn about the ways to protect your car from being stolen. If you found this blog informative, make sure to check out other interesting reads on the Carorbis Blog.