How Safe is Your Car at Home?

How Safe is Your Car at Home?

With Queensland the number one state in Australia for car theft, are you doing all you can to keep your car safe?

Thieves these days are moving away from stealing cars from a dark street or empty carpark, to stealing the vehicle from your very home, while you are there!

Across the state, the National Motor Vehicle Theft Reduction Council found that the Moreton Bay Region had 32 car thefts last year, Brisbane City at 29 and Logan at 16. The numbers aren’t looking good, so what can you do to protect your car?

LOCK IT

Let’s start with the most obvious first, locking your car is the safest way to keep thieves out. Even if you are gone for 2 minutes, lock it. If you park it on your driveway, or street, lock it. When you park it in the garage, lock it. With that being said, also fully close your windows and do not leave your car with a set of keys in the ignition!

HIDE YOUR KEYS

Thieves will take your keys first, and car second. The second trip to your home is likely to be when your car goes missing, so be sure to leave your car and garage keys in a more discreet location than the kitchen counter or on a designated key hook. This will limit the chance of someone being able to walk into your house, grab the set of keys and leave.  If you have your car in your garage, avoid leaving it open. Move your car to a safe location if you have had your keys stolen, the thief will be coming back to your house knowing where you keep it parked.

SECURE YOUR PROPERTY

To deter a thief from entering your home while you are or aren’t home, close all windows when you leave the house, even if it is for a short time. Be sure to not leave large or unsecure windows open when you are not in the room and do not leave your garage open if you are not in it. All a thief has to do is walk through an open door/window, spy your keys, take them and go; this can be done in seconds. If you believe someone has stolen your car keys, call the police and move your car to a safe location as the thief knows where your car is parked and will be coming back for it later, guaranteed.

So is your car safe at home? If not, it might be time to start taking extra precautions to ensure it is still there when you go to use it.