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How to Protect Your Vehicle From Theft
Last week?s column discussed key cutting polices at new-car dealerships that are in place to protect customers? vehicles from theft (view the column online at www.tada.ca). Today?s column will address what vehicle owners should be doing.
Last year, at the Etobicoke coffee shop that I frequent each morning, the owner of a $100,000-plus Mercedes Benz left his car running, unattended, on a cold winter morning, while he ran inside for coffee. His car was stolen in broad daylight.
Have you ever left your car running with the keys in the ignition, while you stopped to run an errand? Approximately 50 cars are stolen in the GTA every day and, unbelievably, about 20 percent of car theft is the result of drivers leaving their keys in their vehicles. An idling vehicle is a neon sign that invites car theft ? not to mention the harm it causes to the environment.
Car thieves love it when drivers leave their keys in the ignition. It makes their job so much easier, and less stressful than having to steal/duplicate car keys or break windows. You may think a vehicle is safe in your driveway (with the key in the ignition), but car thieves often case neighbourhoods in search of idling, unattended cars.
Even at many dealerships, salespeople leave cars idling, right outside the doors. When asked about it, they say not to worry ? they are warming up the vehicle for a customer, and they are keeping an eye on it. If a thief tried to steal the idling vehicle, what would the salesperson do? Throw himself in front of the moving car? Give chase on foot? Provide an accurate description of the thief to the police?
Based on dealership experiences and advice from our police contacts, we can offer the following suggestions to help protect your vehicles and to minimize the risk of car theft.
- Do not leave documents that contain your key code in your glove box. Car thieves will break a passenger door window and search for the key code, then return at a later date (after you have repaired the window) with a duplicate key, and steal your vehicle.
- Remove valet keys from the glove compartments of your vehicles. Sometimes owners will forget that these keys are often in the manual wallet.
- Do not leave ownership and insurance papers in your vehicle. Your personal information can be used by organized theft rings to impersonate you.
- Install security etching, which is a system that permanently marks each window of your vehicle with an identification number. This type of deterrent makes it more difficult for thieves to re-sell a vehicle, as all of the windows have to be replaced.
- Put valuables in the trunk BEFORE you arrive at your destination. Thieves are watching for people to put personal belongings into their trunks after they have parked their cars.
- Park near similar types of vehicles as yours. Thieves are often looking to fill a ?steal to order? model of vehicle, and if several vehicles within close proximity fit that description, odds are reduced that your vehicle will be targeted.
- Keep your car keys in a secure place; don?t hang them on keyboards in the home and definitely make sure they?re not visible through windows.
- Always lock your doors and close your windows when you leave the vehicle (even if it?s just to grab a coffee or to buy a newspaper).
- Park your vehicle in well-lit and well-travelled areas.
When it comes to protecting your vehicle against theft, no system is foolproof. If a thief wants your car bad enough, he/she will find a way to get it; that?s just reality. But, the more your dealer and you do to minimize the risk, the less the likelihood that your vehicle will end up as a statistic in a police report.
Ken Shaw Jr. is President of the Toronto Automobile Dealers Association and is a new-car dealer in Toronto. E-mail comments to president@tada.ca
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