Every week, we hear horror stories about people who lost either their cars or their valuables to car thieves. But sometimes you need to park your car, and there’s no safe garage in sight. Here are 5 suggestions that will help you keep your vehicle safe.
a. Lock your car.
This one is obvious. Do not leave your car unattended and unlocked under any circumstances. Don’t leave it running, either, especially while it’s unlocked or unattended (or both!). Also, remember to close your windows.
b. Do not leave a spare key near your vehicle.
Many people leave spare keys under their cars or in their mailboxes in case they get locked out. These are the first places thieves look for spare keys. If you get locked out of your car, you can always call the police, but if a thief steals it, you might never get it back. If you need to have a spare key somewhere, leave it with a friend or co-worker.
c. Do not leave valuables or personal property in your car.
Your car is not a safe place to leave your laptop, jewelry, or important personal documents, especially in an exposed place. We don’t recommend leaving these things in the car at all, but if you must leave them, use a locked glove compartment. Out of sight, out of mind – the less thieves see of your items, the less incentive they’ll have to choose your car.
d. Install and use safety devices.
Good old-fashioned steering wheel locks are a great place to start. These locks prevent the wheel from moving, even if they can hot-wire the car to start it. Though experienced thieves may know how to unlock them, why bother? The car next to yours probably doesn’t have one. In addition, consider higher-tech anti-theft devices. Your anti-theft device should have an audible alarm; alarms attract attention when they go off, so thieves look for them and avoid them. Also, a GPS tracking system might not prevent a thief from breaking into your car, but it may prevent your car from being driven away. Consider installing one of these higher-tech devices: they’re worth the investment.
e. Use your emergency brake.
Not only is it good for your transmission to use your emergency brake when you park, but it deters thieves. Often, car thieves try to roll a car to a darker or more secluded location in order to try to get the engine started. If the emergency brake is in use, they can’t do that.