This post brought to you by Insurance Hunter. All opinions are 100% mine.
Each year the Insurance Bureau of Canada releases the annual report that lists the most stolen vehicles. Thieves prefer these cars because they are easier to steal and it might shock you if you see that your vehicle is on the list.
What I noticed on the list of the most stolen cars of 2012 that the Ford F350 was listed four times, all manufactured from 2004 to 2007. This can certainly make owners of the truck very nervous. However, you can take precautions to decrease the chances of your vehicle being stolen.
Whether your vehicle is on the list or not, use these safety measures:
- Always lock your doors and roll up your windows. You should do this even if you are just leaving your car for a few minutes.
- Park your vehicle in a high-traffic area or attended lots. It is much more difficult to steal a car when there are people around.
- At night, park in your garage or a covered area. In a garage, your vehicle will be away from the eyes of thieves A covered area will make your car less attractive to steal because they want something they can easily take without being noticed.
- If you do not have a car alarm, then consider getting one installed.
- No matter what, never leave valuables in your car. If you must have them, then put them in your trunk when you are not with the vehicle. My mother-in-law recently had her windows broken and purse stolen because she left it in her SUV. She only intended being gone just a minute and thought that locking her doors would be enough. It was too tempting for the thief and the only reason her vehicle was not stolen, too is because a passerby started yelling, which scared him away.
Most people think their car will never get stolen or that they live in a safe area where things like that don’t happen. Often, it isn’t until their vehicle is taken that they realize that it can happen to anyone.
Don’t be a statistic; be smart and take steps to protect your investment by visiting Insurance Hunter‘s website and reading their blog posts. They have important information about stolen vehicles and how to prevent it from happening to you. You can get 3 auto insurance quotes in 3 minutes
Image Credit: 2012 Ford F-350 Crewcab Platinum by Kyle Harris
If I forget to lock my car at night, it can be guaranteed to be rifled through. It is bad to feel like you can’t trust people in your own neighbourhood.
My old car was one of the most stolen. I never was, but it was broken into.
Great tips! Many people are notorious for thinking that their cars are invisible to thieves and that theft won’t happen to them. However, I can’t tell you how many people I know who have been a victim of having their car stolen or broken into. These tips are great ideas on how to protect your car and yourself from this type of crime.
These are great tips. Every few months, I see a similar report on our local news and this truck is usually on the list!
Glad to see my vehicle isn’t on the list :)
I’m not sure how effective alarms are these days. They go off so often that most people don’t even bat an eye. I had my vehicle broken into recently and the alarm, although it went off, was not a deterrent at all unfortunately. But I certainly learned not to keep anything valuable in my vehicle, even if I’m just going to be gone for a minute.
Both of my cars have alarms, and I am glad of it!
Dawn
Those are good tips. The lock on my driver’s side just broke so I need to get that fixed pronto.
Great tips! My husband is AWFUL about forgetting to lock our vehicle. Our auto has been broken into three times now, thankfully they just made off with our CD collection and some pocket change.