Marking Your Car

Vehicle crime is a serious business with professional thieves making large amounts of money from the stealing targeted vans or cars. Thieves who steal cars are typically either professional or opportunistic. Opportunistic thieves are those who see a car and decide to steal it because it is available and fairly easy to do so. Often these cars are then driven for a short period and before being abandoned, and recovered by the police. Professional car thieves on the other hand, target selected makes and models of cars and vans, which they then alter in order to make them harder to be recovered. Professional thieves also strip vehicles and sell off the parts to meet the demand from consumers for cheaper car components.

The likelihood of vehicles being recovered once they have been stolen by professional thieves is a lot lower. Research has shown that as little as 58% of all vehicles stolen in 2000 in the UK were recovered. This statistics provide further evidence that professional thieves work hard to ensure that a car or van cannot be traced. Fortunately there are a few things that you can do to protect yourself from being a victim of car crime. Making sure that your vehicle is easy to recover is a good way of deterring thieves.

You can do this by marking the vehicle in a number of different ways. When a car has been marked then a professional thief knows that it will take extra time and effort to disguise the vehicles identity, this is turn may dissuade them from stealing it. Marking your car needs to be done using a unique number, often the VIN number is used but another number can be utilised as long as it registered with your details. You can use a secure plate which is engraved with this number and placed on the bottom of the windscreen.

This is makes the marking highly visible and because of the materials used the secure plate is difficult to remove. Another option for marking your vehicle is to have the VIN number put on at least ten or more of the vehicles major components. The higher the number of components marked the more work required to remove the marks, making it less attractive to thieves. The VIN number or the number plate details can also be etched onto all the glass on the vehicle which again provides a highly visual deterrent.

If you are unsure on how to go about getting your vehicle marked you should seek advice from your local garage or car dealership. There are a number of companies who offer professional van and car marking services and it is recommended that you use their services as opposed to attempting to mark your vehicle yourself. Getting you car marked is a good way of deterring professional car and van thieves from stealing your vehicle. It can also help to reduce your car insurance due to this additional theft deterrent being in place.

By: Rochelle Martinez

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Rochelle Martinez, Freelance Web Content Article Writer for three years. Some of her articles are about www.quinn-direct.com.