Three Car Theft Misconceptions That Will Leave You Without A Car

Car theft usually happens when you least expect it. You may be walking to your car after a hard day at the job only to find an empty spot where you thought you left it. As you walk through the parking lot, hoping against hope that you may have parked it in another spot, the awful feeling finally sinks home: your car was stolen. Unfortunately, this all too common experience happens to many people because they weren’t prepared. They thought it couldn’t happen to them because they acted on common car misconceptions about theft that left them without a car. Here are three of them:

NO ONE WILL STEAL MY CAR BECAUSE IT’S AN OLD CLUNKER

There are at least two reasons why this is a myth. First, old cars are easier to steal because they lack the latest anti-theft technology of the newest cars. While it’s true that smart thieves do find ways of defeating state of the art anti-theft devices, there are fewer of them around. It’s basically a bell-shaped-curve thing. The more smarts required to steal a car, the fewer thieves around with the required smarts. The rest simply go after easy targets like your old clunker.

The second reason is that professional thieves often prefer older cars because there’s a big market for car parts. Specifically, they’re interested in successful and popular car makes that have been around for a very long time. The reason is that there are lots of these cars in use that require parts for their repair. Thieves respond to this demand by targeting these popular everyday “bread and butter” car makes that have been around for a long time — such as your old clunker.

MY CAR IS SAFE BECAUSE I AVOID PARKING IN UNSAVORY PLACES LIKE DARK ALLEYS

Many cars are stolen from the victim’s home. It can happen overnight or even in the morning while the car is warming up in the driveway. A car warming up in the driveway is an easy opportunity. It’s unlocked, the engine is already running, and the interior is warmed up and cozy.

MY CAR ALARM WILL DETER THIEVES

That may have been true several decades ago when the very first car alarm came out. Today, most people regard car alarms as an annoying form of noise pollution. Too many cars have sounded false alarms because their owners sat on their key chains or something bumped the car. Most people assume this and aren’t going to investigate. Experienced thieves can disable car alarms in a matter of minutes.

If your car needs repair or maintenance services, contact us at Paul Campanealla’s Auto & Tire Center.

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