**Collaborative post**
After property, cars are usually the most valuable things we own. Car crime has risen year on year in many areas and criminals are becoming more sophisticated too. While it’s not possible to protect against every eventuality, there are some basics you can implement relatively quickie. So how do you avoid being a victim of a car thief or vandal when your car is at home?
Keep it in a safe location
Where do you keep your car at night? Is it safely locked away in a garage, parked on a drive, or in the street? Of course, you may not have many options depending on where you live but the safest place for your car is inside a locked garage. Car thieves are opportunistic, so they don’t want to have the hassle of breaking into your garage to get to your car.
If you don’t have a garage but have some outside space, then you might want to get a carport constructed. It’s a simple structure topped with corrugated roofing sheets that can protect your car from weather, tree sap, and birds.
Failing this, try and put the car on your drive if you have one and have gates fitted.
Install lighting and video cameras
No car thief wants to do their work under the glare of bright spotlights. Motion-activated LED lighting has become pretty inexpensive these days, so you can use this as a deterrent.
The same goes for video security. Install a camera, with night vision. Today, smart cameras aren’t expensive and can be controlled by your smartphone or smart speaker. Not only will the site of the camera act as a deterrent, but if something does happen to your car, you have the footage you can give to the police.
Keep things out of sight
Make sure that all valuables are out of sight, either locked in the glove compartment or the boot. Ideally, you won’t have a lot of expensive items stored in your car at all. It’s not just handbags or phones, even keeping coins in your centre console is enough to attract the attention of an opportunistic thief. Do this even if your car is being stored in a garage or on a driveway as getting into the habit of removing or locking up your items is a good one to get into.
Use visual deterrents
As we’ve previously mentioned, unless you own a particularly high-value car or classic model, car theft and vandalism are usually opportunistic, which means that anything you can do to put them off or make the task seem harder or high risk, is worth the effort. These things include using a steering wheel lock which is usually bright yellow and easily spotted.
Alarms with flashing LEDs can also work, as is drawing attention to any surveillance security by putting up signs.
Key points
Keeping your car safe is important, and not just for your no-claims bonus either. A lot of the things you can do to reduce your risk are very basic and can be done cheaply and without a lot of technical knowledge.
Related Posts:
Discover more from Emmy's Mummy
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
