STOP CAR THEFT!

With contents theft on the rise, an in-car safe makes perfect sense to protect all your valuables. Items such as Satellite Navigation systems in particular are targeted and simply leaving them in the cars glove-box is not very secure – the locks on most glove-boxes are usually flimsy plastic affairs that can easily be forced with something as simple as a screwdriver. Equally the majority of cars have a boot release inside the car, so after forcing entry all the criminal has to do is pull a lever and he has access to your belongings.

Safes are available in all sorts of different sizes with everything from being able to accommodate a Sat Nav to a laptop or briefcase. Fitment methods also vary, some are designed to be bolted to the structure of the car, with the bolt heads only accessible through the inside of the safe. Others are designed with flexibility in mind, and allow a cable to be passed through the safe to tether it to a hard point making placement easier, and both systems have their benefits.

A recent review was carried out on several in car safes currently available by Auto Express Magazine, with 8 different car safes rated. You can read the full article here: Auto Express In-Car Safe Test.

Finally, many thanks go to Orangewheels.co.uk who supply Nissan Cars in the UK for their free help in compiling this website.

Steering Column Locks are simple but effective devices that encase your steering column in a protective metal casing, which blocks the potential thief from accessing your ignition switch, and also from tampering with the surrounding casing and wiring.

This means the thief will have great difficulty trying to start the vehicle by pulling out wiring or getting to the ignition switch buried beneath the key barrel to hotwire the car.

Some steering column locks also include a bar which can also limit steering wheel movement, acting as a kind of steering wheel lock too. Column locks or protectors are a cheap and worthwhile investment particularly on older vehicles that lack a more sophisticated electronic immobiliser. They can be a little cumbersome to carry around, but are very effective at protecting the ingition.

Finally, many thanks go to Orangewheels.co.uk who supply VW Polo Cars in the UK for their free help in compiling this website.

Electronic immobilisers are now fitted as standard to most makes and models of new cars, and have been mandatory fitment on all new cars in the UK since 1998 and in Australia since 2001, and 2007 in Canada.

Most systems work in a similar way – a transponder fitted into a keyfob or in the key itself contains a microcircuit with a code that the car checks for whenever anyone attempts to start the car, and if this code does not match the code in the car, then the system blocks both the ignition circuit and the fuel system. Note that this is a separate system from the mechanism and code which deactivates the cars deadlocks and unlocks the doors.

The microcircuit itself does not have an on-board source of power, but is activated by an electromagnetic field generated by the car, which causes current to flow through the circuit and in turm broadcasts the code to the cars Electronic Control Unit (ECU) for recognition.

Early electronic immobilisers had a fixed code that could be copied, but more modern examples have a rotating code, or a calculus based code that has made copying virtually impossible. Because the immobilisers in most modern cars are embedded within the cars ECU and wiring loom rather than aftermarket add ons, they are very difficult to bypass or remove, hence most car crimes on newer vehicles revolve around the thief acquiring the car keys.

Even if your vehicle does not have a standard electronic immobiliser, current aftermarket systems are of a high standard and often include an alarm, and a well worth investing in to help keep your car safe. In the UK, all systems are rated by a government approved independent body called Thatcham that publishes a list of all reviewed and approved systems, including those currently fitted as standard by manufacturers on all cars for sale. You can view this list here: Thatcham Approved Immobilisers.

Finally, many thanks go to Orangewheels.co.uk who supply Audi UK Cars for their free help in compiling this website.

When you’re considering buying a used car, one of the most important cost effective things you can do it have a car data check carried out, as one in 3 cars has a hidden past – maybe the car has been stolen, has outstanding finance or has been involved in an accident, and this check will tell you this and a lot more. Car Data checks typically cover most if not all of the 10 points below:

1. If the vehicle ever has been reported stolen – the cars identity will be cross checked with the police national stolen vehicle database, and you will be notified if it is currently or has ever in the past been reported stolen.

2. If the car has outstanding finance – if any previous owner has taken out a finance agreement linked to the car, then the obligation to pay off the outstanding amount passes to the new owner. The current owner may be hiding this from you, and you could be in for a nasty surprise, having paid for the car you may have to pay for it all over again to the finance company – all outstanding finance should be checked.

3. If the car has been written off – if the car has been involved in an accident and recorded as a write off, wither from being too badly damaged to be roadworthy, or being roadworthy but beyond economical repair you will be notified, as a previously written off car may be dangerous to drive, and may effect your insurance on it.

4. If the car has been scrapped – if the car really has been scrapped it obviously should not still be on the road, this may uncover evidence that the car has been ‘ringed’ or given a new registration number or identity by using a previously scrapped cars VIN number or chassis.

5. If the mileage has been tampered with – if previous owners have recorded the mileage of the car when sold on, this will show you what those mileage amounts were – if the displayed mileage is currently very close or less than this amount you have every reason to suspect the cars odometer has been tampered with.

6. Valuation – data checks usually also provide as an extra an approximate market value of the car you are considering buying to give you an indication of whether you are being offered a good deal.

7. VIN Number check – the Vehicle Identification Number will be cross checked with the current registration to make sure they match – if one or the other is incorrect it could be another sign the vehicle has been given a false identity.

8. Full Specification – The car data check should give you the make model, age spec and trim level of the car, so if the owner is advertising it as a GTI, you can make sure it actually is, and not a different model with a high spec badge stuck on the back.

9. Previous owners – the data check will show you the number of recorded previous keepers that car has had, a large number in a short period may indicate the car is trouble and previous owners have sold it on quickly to get rid of it. You should also check this with the number of previous owners the seller is advertising it as having.

10. Insurance – some vehicle data check companies provide insurance against errors, so if for example they say the car is not stolen, but it turns out to be, they will pay you money towards of the cost of replacing it.

Finally, many thanks go to Orangewheels.co.uk who supply VW UK Cars in the UK for their free help in compiling this website.

Vehicle Tracking systems have been around since shortly after the launch of GPS. Many different systems are available, and most work in a similar fashion, being connected to a cars alarm immobiliser system, and activate once the car is in motion without the owner present. They then notify the police of the position of the car so it can be recovered.

M0st tracking systems are fitted in a hidden location on your car, and you should not advertise their presence to thieves who might remove them if they notice. The systems are usually connected to a mobile phone device that is used alongside / instead of GPS to pinpoint the position of the car, or its last known position if it is hidden from the satellites by hiding the car inside a metal container etc.

Systems typically cost a few hundred dollars for fitting and then require a subscription fee to keep the service activated. Should you sell the vehicle, the new owner can choose to continue paying the subscription if they desire.  What differs is the exact manner of the performance of the systems – some notify the manufacturing company as soon as they detect illegal movement, the company with then contact you to see if you are aware of your car moving, and if you are not then they report it to the police immediately. Cheaper systems rely on you calling to report the car stolen and activate the system yourself. As most crimes regarding higher value vehicles that are likely to have tracking devices fitted involve the use of the keys, some systems now have additional cards or sensors that verify the owners location so if the car is stolen with the keys and the immobiliser not activated, then the absence of the card will notify the manufacturers of the illegal movement of the car.

Having one of these systems fitted to your car may well get you a discount on your insurance policy, and some insurers may require that very high value cars have such a system fitted before they will agree to insure it.  There are several reviews of these systems on the Internet, once recent one is here via Auto Express Magazine, examining several tracking devices available in the UK. Follow this link to read the article: Auto Express Tracking Article

Finally, many thanks go to Orangewheels.co.uk who supply Toyota UK Cars in the UK for their free help in compiling this website.

Locking Wheel Bolts won’t stop your car from being stolen, but they will do a great job in protecting your wheels and tyres from being removed, and are another cheap and effective investment to help safeguard your property. Locking Bolts are a simple idea – you replace one retaining bolt on each of your 4 wheels with a locking one, which then requires a special adaptor to be placed over the top of the bolt to allow it to be released, meaning that wheels cannot be removed without this adaptor.

It is worth noting that this adaptor should be securely hidden inside your car, so that a potential thief does not just break in and find it easily. The adaptor also should not be left at home just in case you have a flat tyre, puncture or blow out as you will not be able to change the wheel for the spare tyre without it, and don’t forget to take it with you when you are having new tyres fitted too!

These bolts are a great investment if you have a new and desirable set of alloy wheels fitted to the car, but can protect your tyres just as well, with tyres being particularly expensive nowadays. Fitments are usually universal, with just one diameter bolt used on most cars, meaning the bolts can be removed and fitted to your next car should you purchase a new one, making them a great lifetime investment.

The quality of the bolts is usually dependent on just how difficult they are to remove for criminals, and how easy it might be to make a master copy of the adaptor to remove them – the more complicated the design and amount of variations available, the more secure the wheels. Manufacturers often now fit locking wheel nuts to their new cars as standard equipment when alloys are fitted ,but these typically only have 20 – 30 different combinations, so a buying your own bolts with 1000+ combinations is a much safer idea.

There are several reviews and tests online regarding Locking wheel Blots, and one of the best is from UK car magazine Auto Express – follow this link to read their comprehensive review with a security expert attempting to remove several types of bolts. 
Follow this link: Auto Express Review

Finally, many thanks go to Orangewheels.co.uk who supply Volkswagen UK Cars in the UK for their free help in compiling this website.

Car wheel locks and clamps are a great way of securing your vehicle. Working exactly the same way as commercial clamps used for parking fines, these disable the vehicle by placing a clamp either over or through the wheel (if it’s an alloy wheel rather than a steel wheel) stopping it from rotating.

The locks can be a bit cumbersome to carry round and use, but they provide a great visual deterrent as they can be spotted before the thief attempts to break into the vehicle, discouraging them immediately before any damage may be caused to the car by entering it.

Lock quality varies, and usually you get what you pay for, the more sturdy the clamp the better. Cheaper clamps can sometimes be removed by attempting to drive the car off at speed – often damaging the cars bodywork, but this may not be a concern to the thief if they are just looking for a joyride.

Finally, many thanks go to Orangewheels.co.uk who supply Volvo Cars in the UK for their free help in compiling this website.

Car Security Cameras come in all sorts of different shapes and sizes, and with many different applications. Several vehicle security companies that also produce alarms and immobilisers such as Toad, also produce ranges of in car hidden cameras, similar to those used by ATM’s to record what is happening inside your car. These can be used to both notify you of a potential thief and possibly identify them at a later date.

Camera locations can be hidden anywhere on the dashboard and advancing technology means they are physically tiny and well hidden – just look at the size of the camera lens on the back of a cell phone to see the potential sizes.

Most cameras come with a recording facility, some will even send images live to you computer via the Internet so you can keep a constant track of anything happening in your car. Costs can vary dramatically depending on how advanced the system you require is, and more specialised systems need fitting by a motor electrician.

Security cameras can also be fitted in your garage or driveway to monitor the exterior of the car at all times and can be a good deterrent to thieves.

Finally, many thanks go to Orangewheels.co.uk who supply new Jaguar Cars in the UK for their free help in compiling this website.

Brake and Clutch pedal locks work as a mechanical immobiliser by disabling the pedals so that either the brake or clutch (or both) is fully applied in the car unless the lock is released, making the car undrivable.

There are a few different systems, with cheaper ones working as a brace between the steering wheel and the pedal, and more expensive versions bolted to the footwell floor, locking and clamping the pedal in place. The second set is the version to go for if you can afford it, as the brace versions can easily be removed by the thief  forcing or cutting the steering wheel.

These locks are a great visible deterrent to criminals and while not as widely available as steering wheel locks, can still be bought at most good car accessory stores.

Finally, many thanks go to Orangewheels.co.uk who supply Ford Cars in the UK for their free help in compiling this website.

Ignition kill switches are one of the cheapest and most effective means of protecting your car. In simplest terms they are a switch inserted somewhere into your ignition circuit that stops the circuit from being completed without the switch being on.

This means that the would-be thief must find and activate the switch before he can start the car. These switches can be infuriating for thieves as they may have done everything else to override the cars security but cannot start the car for an unknown reason.

Switches can easily be installed yourself, or by a qualified vehicle electrician, and should be in a hidden location that would not be easily found by criminals. Almost any sort of electrical switch can be used, and are incredibly cheap to buy from any electrical hardware store. If you can source one that requires a key to activate then even better. Do not advertise the fact that you have a kill switch fitted or criminals will just go looking for it.

Just remember to switch the system off when you leave the car, and remember you’ve got it fitted when you get back in. This is an ideal system for older cars where an electronic immobiliser system may be too expensive, and works great in tandem with a mechanical immobiliser to provide visual discouragement.

Finally, many thanks go to Orangewheels.co.uk who supply VW Golf Cars in the UK for their free help in compiling this website.

Etching the VIN number onto your car windows is one of the cheapest and simplest ways of helping to reduce car theft. Every car ever made has its own unique VIN (Vehicle Identification Number) in a standardised format agreed across all car manufacturers, and it can be found on your vehicles registration document, and often on newer cars is made visible beneath the front windscreen.

VIN etching simply carves the number permanently onto each piece of window glass on the car, usually in the corner, about 2-3 inches long. This means that if the car is ever stolen and the thieves attempt to give the car a new identity by forging a new VIN number, then the original number will be clearly in display on the windows.

If you are looking for a new car and the car has window etching, always check the number against the one on the chassis and the registration document to ensure they match.

VIN etching often costs very little $10 – $20 dollars and can deter criminals looking to give your car a new identity. Often local police forces and authorities will offer this service for free, and some even hold VIN etching days when you can take your car along to a specified location and have it done while you wait for free – check with your local authority to see if they offer this service.

Finally, many thanks go to Orangewheels.co.uk who supply Toyota Auris Cars in the UK for their free help in compiling this website.

Car steering wheel locks are one of the more basic forms of physical immobilisers, and are available from almost any car accessory store. Prices range from just a few dollars to over 100 dollars for the most expensive systems, and quality and effectiveness varies just as much, but generally you get what you pay for.

The basic systems (pictured above)  brace themselves against the inner parts of the wheel, stopping the car steering wheel from being turned, making it tricky for the would be thief to drive the car. Unfortunately the most basic and cheapest systems are not particularly strong, with fairly flimsy locks that can easily be broken, with some locks being force-able with just your bare hands of the thief is strong enough, or with a crowbar if required.

The next level up sees devices that clamp around a small part of the wheel, these are slightly trickier for a thief to remove, but what most drivers don’t realise is that car steering wheels are actually quite soft, and generally made of plastic to keep weight down, make the easy to manufacture, and cushion impact with your head or body in a crash. Unfortunately this hollow plastic design makes them relatively easy to cut through, meaning that this sort of clamping device, or the more basic braces can simply be slipped off.

The best protecting and most expensive steering locks shield a good part or all of the steering wheel, like the disklok system above. They are not cheap to buy, but are made of the sturdiest materials, usually all thick solid metal, and also make it tricky for the thief to break the cars own standard steering lock which is can be forced by inserting a long bar or piece of scaffold through the wheel and violently levering it.

These full cover steering locks do not guarantee safety for your car, but car make any potential criminal think twice due to the extra effort required, and when presented with several cars in a car park, they are more likely to choose a car without this sort of protection to target. They are expensive at up to $100 dollars a time, but are one of the best visible deterrents short of leaving a gator in the car, so we do recommend them, and the author uses one on his own car whenever parked.

Finally, many thanks go to Orangewheels.co.uk who supply Vauxhall Cars in the UK for their free help in compiling this website.

Car alarms were originally a popular device for aftermarket fitment to a car. Now due to several reasons they have lost their popularity.

Early kits were quite basic and triggered only when the cars door was opened, sounding the vehicles horn and flashing the lights. Following this motion & vibration sensors were added to systems meant to detect of the car was being moved or towed, and if anyone had gained entry to the car and was moving about inside. Unfortunately these sensors often produced false alarms, being triggered for all sorts of reasons such as a cat jumping on the car, or vibration from a truck passing by.

Car Alarms going off (especially at night) became one of the pet hates of society, causing regulations for the amount of time an alarm can sound for, and more importantly meaning that alarms were being ignored by the general public, assuming it was a false alarm and rendering the systems next to useless.

An article in the New York Times mentioned that a car alarm industry spokesman told the New York City Council that an alarm is effective ”only in areas where the sound causes the dispatch of the police or attracts the owner’s attention.”  article link:  NY Times Article

Alongside this, early systems were easily defeated by thieves – alarms that flashed the cars indicators could be short circuited by smashing an indicator bulb for example, or cutting the wire to the siren under the bonnet.

Newer systems have got much better – false alarms are much reduced, and systems can include things like a back up siren, a back up power supply should the main one be cut, and sensors attached the bonnet and trunk to stop would be thieves disabling the system.

Car alarms can be a valuable addition to your cars security, and may startle an amateur thief, but should be accompanied with some form of immobilisation system as the noise itself can be ignored and presents no barrier to stealing the car.

Most good aftermarket car alarms on sale nowadays come combined with an electronic engine immobiliser, and they should always be fitted by a qualified professional. If buying in the UK, most alarms are rated by an independent body known as Thatcham, who give ratings to alarm systems, and these may get you a discount on your car insurance.

Finally, many thanks go to Orangewheels.co.uk who supply Toyota Yaris Cars in the UK for their free help in compiling this website.