Car Security !

 Like the price of homes, the average family car in Australia has increased in price because of the build quality and the vast safety improvements that have become standard in recent years.  Car crime has also become more sophisticated.  It is now not uncommon for a stolen car to simply disappear because it has been shipped overseas.

This is becoming common in the high end of the market and the theft method has changed accordingly. Car security has improved and taking a car by " hot wiring " is mainly used on older models.  The modern thief wants the car - and its keys, and often this is achieved by burgling the owners home.

Another method gaining credence is to wait until a wanted make of vehicle pulls into a petrol station  and the driver goes to the cashier to pay for the fuel.  Many people leave the keys in the ignition and a cunning thief slips behind the wheel and is gone in seconds.

We are also seeing a more brazen theft method when the driver returns to their parked vehicle and is confronted by a thief armed with a knife.  This type of crime is known as " car-jacking " and is fast becoming more common.  In particular, women are often the victim because they offer less resistance to an armed thief.

This high end car theft takes two forms. In some cases the stolen car is stripped for parts which are sold overseas on the second hand market, and in other cases the entire car goes into a shipping container and shipped overseas to a country where few questions are asked at the registration bureau.

The sheer volume of shipping containers in and out of Australia means that all can not individually have their contents certified and this is profitable for crime gangs.  Now older and cheaper model of cars are falling victim to a new kind of car theft.

When someone with an insured vehicle suffers damage in a crash they get a repair quote from an auto repairer.  This repairer lists the body panels required and costs them in at the price available from car dealers and this is then approved by the insurance company.

Some shonky repair firms then hand that list to local hoodlums and quote a lower price  they will pay than was applicable to buying new parts.  Often, they will offer a bonus if the parts come from a car of the same colour as the damaged vehicle to enable a cheaper paint job.

The hoodlums then seek a car of that make and model - and colour - to steal, and strip for the parts needed. They have the expertise to do this quickly and the remainder of the stolen vehicle is then left in a suburban street.

This is developing into a form of organized crime.  Gangs of youths specialise in supplying the car trade with parts to order.  Car security is becoming a growing problem for owners of both new and old cars as the parts business flourishes !