Born Again… Vehicle theft and how to avoid it.

Australia has the 2nd highest car theft rate in the Western world. Many stolen vehicles are 'rebirthed' domestically, but increasingly, high priced and high performance vehicles are also being shipped out and sold overseas. So how do you avoid your prized import becoming a thief's prized export? You've got an alarm and immobilizer so you're safe right? Well, it's a good start, but no... around 70 percent of stolen cars are lifted by amateurs, and a good alarm/immobiliser will stop these average thieves and thrill seeking teens from stealing your pride and joy. This is less comforting though, when you realize that the remaining 30 percent are stolen by professionals who'll take anything if they want it badly enough. Usually stolen to order, few of these vehicles are ever recovered. Most are rebirthed, a process in which they get a new identity and are sold interstate or internationally, often into the middle east. We all heard of professional thieves target late model Porsches and WRXs. But did you know Evos, GTRs, Supras and modified cars are on the shopping list too? But with modern security, how do they get them? Several of the more popular methods involve swiping the car along with its keys. Here are a few stings to be avoided; Key-Jacking. With improvements in security devices, the easiest way to take a car is with the key. Hands up if you've left your spare car keys in the house while you are out… I have. Why grab the DVD player and run when there is a performance car in the garage? Whether they drive it away at the time or come back later, you've handed your car over on a platter.

Test drive-away. You're selling your car. You place an ad in your favorite classifieds, thief reads the glowing summary and arranges to "call round and take a look" The likable light-finger asks for a test-drive, or gets in and just wants to "start her up". You toss him your keys and… the poacher takes off with your car. Ouch!

The Pop-In. You are at the petrol station/ car wash/ corner shop; anywhere you leave the keys in the ignition and walk away for a few seconds. Enter our opportunistic abductor, and… in a puff of tyre smoke your car is gone. Painful.

Car-Jacking Though less common in this country, it does happen and most of us are aware of the deal. One or more car-jackers approach a stationary vehicle, threats are made, exit driver, exit car. There is little you can do to protect yourself here, except to stay aware and lock your doors. If you are confronted with a weapon, it's advisable to step aside and wave goodbye. Humiliating perhaps, but it could allot worse…

Strip and Refit. You come home to find your 1999 import stripped of the dash, console, seats, gear lever, airbags etc etc. Due to the cost of the parts and fitting, your insurer writes it off and sells it at auction. The thieves buys your gutted pride for a nominal amount, refits it and then sells it at market value. This scam is less common now with the introduction of the written-off vehicle register, but worth being aware of.

Strip and Sell. Similarly to the above, your car is stripped, but this time the motivation is 'midnight spares'. Performance factory parts and after-market goodies are tempting for many thieves and once removed from the car, the police are all but powerless to prove them stolen.

With all the new security devices on the market it can seem like cars should be as safe as bank vaults. But the demand for stolen vehicles has not reduced, simply because it is too easy to just change a vehicle’s identity. As a result, despite most of the latest advances, the risk of your car being targeted just as high. So what's the solution, is there anything that works?

What is needed are solutions that are effective even after the car is stolen and as a result, aid recovery or stop it being stolen in the first place. We've found a couple that do just that;

Solution 1. 10,000 or so, microscopic plastic spots, each etched with your cars VIN Number and sprayed across it's key components. With this system, should the vehicle be stolen, the tiny spots allow police to prove the true identity of the car or parts. This method renders the vehicle “too hot to handle”and therefore worthless to professional thieves and has an excellent record of preventing theft.

Solution 2. Vehicle Tracking. Some tracking systems use GPS and Digital Mobile Phone technology, others use spread-spectrum radio waves and transponders to keep an eye on your cars movements. These systems will monitor your vehicle and send an SMS message or email to alert you that your alarm has been activated and with Police authorization, immobilise your vehicle after a theft. The systems vary in their coverage; some offer an metro area service, some Australia wide coverage (within a mobile phone network and as long as the vehicle is not undercover) The idea though, is that the car never gets out of range, the theft is recognised, and the car is tracked and retrieved within a few hours. These systems also have an excellent record of preventing theft.