What car do you think would be the most stolen car?
“I would say an older vehicle, something that didn’t have an alarm system,” Nick Chamberlain replied.
“I would guess like maybe like a Honda,” said Liza Anderson.
Bingo.
According the North Carolina Department of Transportation, the 1994 Honda Accord and the 2004 Ford pickup were the most stolen vehicles across the state in 2015.
“I’ve had friends who have Hondas and they’ve been broken into and that’s like the most common car I’ve heard of,” Liza said.
But why?
The National Insurance Crime Bureau reports certain models of older cars and trucks are popular with thieves because of the value of their parts. Many are not insured against theft.
However, all vehicle thefts are on the rise. In 2016 alone, 5,044 car thefts were reported across the Charlotte area. In Hickory, Lenoir, and Morganton there were 729 reports.
CMPD reported 612 car thefts charlotte in the first 3 months of 2017, up 10% from the same time last year.
So here’s how to protect yourself:
- Lock your doors
- Add an anti-theft device, such as an alarm system or steering wheel lock
- Install a vehicle immobilizer system, like a starter ignition or fuel disabler
- Finally, install a tracking system
According the FBI’s 2016 Crime Report, burglaries and theft from cars were down, but car thefts rose six percent from the year before.