Vehicles Anti-Theft Devices: Their Usefulness & how to Select the Best for Protecting Your Vehicle

No one wishes to lose his car or its components to thieves. We all value our Automobiles. Unfortunately, stealing is one of the most typical crimes in human history. We can only prevent thieves from taking advantage of us as much as possible. The topic for discussion today boils down to car theft and how to minimize it by Choosing the best vehicle Anti-Theft device.

I shall mainly focus on curbing the attempt to steal your car when you are not around.  Sadly, only one anti-theft method can work effectively when your car is stolen (tracking devices). Luckily, Stealing cars at gunpoint is not a very common phenomenon or not as standard as stealing vulnerable cars. While you can’t prevent a man holding a gun from stealing your car, you can retrieve such a car after the theft(as long as you had installed a tracer before the incident).

Furthermore, some societies are more prone to car theft than others. In society A, stealing cars by armed robbers might be the norm, while in society B, their preoccupation is breaking into cars to steal components such as the battery, stereo, wallets, etc. You sincerely need to determine the kind of car theft prevalent in your location before you buy an anti-theft device for your car. After reading this article, you must have learned one or two things about how to put yourself in a position to prevent your car from being stolen.

What is Vehicle Theft?

We can call motor vehicle theft the criminal act of stealing or attempting to steal a motor vehicle or its components/contents. Motor Theft is not limited to stealing the vehicle as a whole alone. If you steal the contents of the interior of a vehicle or the components of a vehicle, you are also guilty of motor theft. For example., if a vehicle owner parks his car and you go there to steal his battery or stereo, you are guilty of motor vehicle theft. Another synonym of vehicle theft is stealing vehicle owners’ belongings left inside a car. Such items include phones, purses, bags, and so on.

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How can you Prevent Motor Vehicle Theft?

There are various methods of prevention to reduce the likelihood of a vehicle getting stolen. These include physical barriers, which make stealing the vehicle more difficult. Some of these include:

Popular Anti-Theft Devices used in preventing vehicle theft

• Devices lock a part of the vehicle necessary in its operation, such as the wheel, steering wheel, or brake pedal. A commonly used device of this kind is the steering-wheel lock (also known as a crook lock or club lock).
• Immobilizers allow the vehicle to start only if a key containing the correct chip is in the ignition. These work by locking the steering wheel and disabling the ignition. Most modern cars are equipped with this by default
• Hidden kill switches cut electric current to the ignition coil, fuel pump, or other systems to frustrate or slow down a thief.
• Deterrents tell the thief they are more likely to get caught if the vehicle is stolen. These include:
  • Car alarm systems are triggered by breaking into the vehicle.
  • Microdot identification tags allow individual parts of a vehicle to be identified.
  • Signs on windows warning of other deterrents, sometimes as a bluff.
  • VIN etching may reduce the resale value of parts or increase the resale risk.

Tips on Choosing the Best Vehicle Anti-Theft Device

The cheapest and most effective car anti-theft device is for you to be security conscious. In other words, use your discretion in preventing motor theft.

Tips to prevent vehicle theft without an anti-theft device

• Try to park in well-lit areas or parking lots with attendants.
• Don’t leave your valuables in plain sight: GPS, CD player, shopping bags, purse, wallet, iPhone, iPod, etc.
• Keep a thin blanket in your trunk, and use it to cover shopping bags in your car.
• Never ever leave your keys in the ignition when you leave your car…not even for a quick pop into the petrol station. (*Yes, people actually DO this, and it is how many cars get stolen.)
• The more security you have installed, the less appealing your car will be to a thief.
• In addition, some security measures will lower your car insurance premium by 15% to 36%. So, think of it as an investment! I’ve broken down the most popular car anti-theft devices into three categories: “Mechanical Immobilizers,” “Electrical Immobilizers” and “Vehicle Tracking.

Categories of Motor Vehicle Anti-theft Devices

We have three major categories of anti-theft devices. Viz: “Mechanical Immobilizers,” “Electrical Immobilizers,” and “Vehicle Tracking. We will appraise these categories alongside Choosing the best vehicle Anti-Theft device

1. The Mechanical Immobilizers: 

• The steering wheel and pedal lock Vehicle Anti-Theft Device.

This device is placed on the steering wheel(some are placed across the pedals or jointly with the steering to lock it in place. The car can’t be driven until the lock is removed. One popular version of this device is called The Club. The device works by fitting in between the rim of the steering wheel. You then extend it and lock the handles on either side into place around the steering wheel rim.

The length of the device keeps the steering wheel from being fully turned. The major advantage is that your car cannot be driven off easily unless the lock is severed or unlocked. It is a very good anti-theft, recommended in areas where stealing the car(not some accessories) is the target. This device is cheap, and the cost ranges from #200 to #10,000 in Nigeria. Or like $25 for low-end and $100 for high-end.

• Hood/bonnet lock.

This lock is designed to deny access to under the hood, preventing thieves from stealing your car’s battery and other parts. These are similar to the hood pins found on some muscle cars. The main difference is that hood locks lock into place, requiring a key to open them.

While this won’t stop a thief from stealing your vehicle, it can keep him from taking valuable engine components. This should be combined with a steering lock or car tracking devices. Please do not use this alone, as your car might still be stolen.

• Wheel/Tire Lock Anti-Theft Device

These deterrents are obvious and hard to get off. (Again, I know you’ve seen car “boots” used by law enforcement on illegally parked cars.) Since tire locks take time and effort to attach and remove, these would not be my first choice for your daily driver’s vehicle. This is very popular in Nigeria, especially among our task forces and law enforcement agencies specializing in impounding cars. This is a good one, but I would not recommend you use it for a stop-and-go vehicle. Price Range: Low End: $80, High End: $200

• Other mechanical immobilizer Car Anti-Theft Options

Gearshift locks, ignition/steering wheel column, crook locks, gear shifter locks, and brake pedal locks.

2. The Electronic Engine Immobilisers Anti-Theft Devices

A Car “Kill Switch” Anti-Theft Device

The main function of this anti-theft device is to shut down part of the engine’s electrical system.  Some cars have them built in and are pretty easy to install. Price Range: Low End: $10, High-End: $200

(-)A popular model is the Master Lock Starter Sentry, which kills the fuel or ignition system via a wireless transmitter.

(-)Other ignition kill switches are activated the moment a car is locked and cannot be deactivated until a series of tasks are completed (i.e., unlocking the car, pressing the gas pedal once, buckling your seat belt, or opening and locking the door before pressing the switch, etc.)

(-)Always check your car’s warranty first because some don’t allow installation, and remember to hide the Kill Switch so a thief won’t see and disable it.

(-)Tip: Kill switches don’t require car knowledge to be installed. The kill switch can be mounted under the dash, seat, or any other good hiding place.

WARNING!!!:

Please if you are forgetful or absentminded like me, do not consider this option at all. this option can cause fatal accidents if used by a novice. You might forget to perform the necessary operations required to deactivate the “kill switch” and your car will simply switch off on you on the high if this happens, only God, your experience or the density of traffic can make you escape unscathed. even at that, you might be at the mercy of the law enforcement agencies.

• Vehicle’s Default Electronic Engine Immobilisers

Sadly, many car owners don’t know how to use this helpful security system that comes with their cars by default. Many of today’s cars include this system on the car key. The key sends signals to the ignition to prevent the vehicle from starting without the key. The fuel system locks up, and the engine won’t start. RFID, or radio-frequency identification, uses an electromagnetic field to identify and track key fobs containing an RFID chip keyed to that particular vehicle.

Without the appropriate RFID chip, the car cannot start. This is so good, but you can be forced by the thief(at gunpoint) to start the car, and they will drive off with it)

• A car alarm

These are the most visually compelling anti-theft devices. Sometimes, drawing a potential thief’s attention to the fact that your car has an alarm system is enough to deter them.

So, be sure to put a sticker in the window, on both sides, proudly proclaiming you have a car security system activated. Car alarms feature electronic sensors designed to activate when a vehicle is breached: unauthorized entry, the breaking of glass, sudden movement, and perimeter violations. When the sensors detect a threat, a siren activates (at over 120 DBS), alerting the car’s driver and everyone else within earshot. Price Range: Low End: $150, High End: $1,000. This is best combined with a remote transmitter.

Things to note before installing a car alarm system

• Be wary of older, cheaper car alarms, flexible-circuit alarms, and single-stage sirens, which are too easily triggered and may come at the expense of your neighbors’ friendship.
• Always hook your car alarm to a backup battery and invest in a hood lock. Many car thieves know how to unplug a car alarm’s battery, which will silence it.
• Even if you don’t have a car alarm, you can buy & apply stickers proclaiming your vehicle is protected by an alarm. The thought of a security system should make any thief choose another victim!

• VIN Etching as an Anti-Theft Method

Every vehicle has a unique, 17-digit serial number assigned to it called the Vehicle Identification Number or VIN. The VIN will be on the car’s title, the dashboard (driver-side), and your insurance and registration cards. You can “brand” your car’s parts by etching its VIN on all windows and all important parts. Doing this serves as both a tracking device and a theft deterrent. Most car thieves steer clear of etched vehicles because of the expense of replacing and disposing of VIN-coded glass. I sincerely love this method. If you see your vehicle anywhere, you can identify it.

• Car Covers & Vehicle tints

Both of these can also serve as viable Anti-Theft tools. We all know that the primary function of a tint on a vehicle or a car cover is to control the effect of the weather. Now, you will ask me how car covers or tints can protect a car. Let’s take, for example, you parked your car in an open space with a car cover over it. As you would expect, we will have passersby. A car cover can prevent attention to your car’s interior from passersby. Similarly, having all side windows and rear windows of your vehicle tinted can offer some privacy, discouraging those who wish to break into your car and steal something.

The same doesn’t apply to a car that is not covered or tinted. It is easy to take a sneak peek at your vehicle’s interior and see that smartphone or wallet you left in your car. A note of warning here: on no condition should you use a Car cover or a Tinted vehicle as your sole anti-theft device.

3. The Overall Best: Install a vehicle tracking system

When car security is of utmost priority, consider installing a tracker and combining it with any mechanical immobilizer you choose. In all sincerity, this is the “Cadillac” of auto theft protection, so be prepared to pay top dollar.

Electronic tracking devices offer a real-time location of the stolen vehicle using Global Positioning Systems (GPS). These are sold with service contracts and have a reputation for relocating many vehicles a mere hour after they have been stolen. You can also go for a vehicle tracking system that can use GPS and GSM. This is important to recover your car without an internet connection.  If you live in auto theft-prone areas, I will advise you to combine a vehicle tracking system with a mechanical immobilizer such as a brake lock, wheel lock, or steering lock. 

• The two biggest companies are LoJack and OnStar. LoJack features a hidden transmitter in the car, activated once a theft is reported. This company works directly with law enforcement and boasts a 95 percent return rate on stolen vehicles. OnStar offers a similar system, which comes standard on all new model cars from GM, Acura, Audi, Isuzu, and Volkswagen.

Where can you buy a Good Motor Vehicle Anti-Theft Device?

I will first advise you to check your local auto shop. For mechanical Anti-theft devices and basic electronic ones, you can certainly get them locally. However, if you need something more advanced, then order it online. eBay, Amazon, and similar sites come to the fore here.

Meanwhile, here is an Amazon link to various  third-party anti-theft devices