A Quick Auto Locksmith Guide to Keeping Your Car Secure

Cars are still a hot target for thieves. We have better technology now to keep cars out of the hands of thieves, but people still find a way to take what they want. You should never feel complacent when it comes to protecting your car. Most insurance policies will not give you the full value of your car if it is stolen. You may owe more on your car than what it is considered to be worth, or the insurance company may value it lower than you think is fair.

The best thing you can do is to take proactive measures to keep your care safe so that you don’t lose one of your most important investments. Here are a few tips from an auto locksmith to help keep your car secure:

Park in a Secure Place

Parking your car on the street in an unknown neighborhood or even out in the city leaves it more at risk of being stolen. You should always park your car in a garage or a gated lot. These areas have better security, such as gates, and they are usually monitored by video cameras. Most thieves will avoid these areas all together. If a car thief does get daring and takes your car from one of these places, chances are good that they’ll be caught on video and you are more likely to be able to recover your car. Likewise, you should always park your car in your own garage instead of your driveway.

Hide Your Valuables

Sometimes, thieves just want to take what they can out of your car, such as a purse or wallet they see lying on the seat or the sound system that’s installed in your dash. They know that stealing a car is a big risk, and it’s harder to sell a stolen vehicle than it is to spend the cash taken from a stolen wallet. You can make your vehicle less attractive to thieves by hiding any valuables that are left inside. It’s better to take everything with you, but if you must leave these items inside, put them in the glove box, under a seat, or in a compartment.

Get a Car Alarm

Most cars come with an alarm these days, but there are still some models that don’t come standard with an alarm. If yours does not already have on installed, you should consider investing in one. Alarms attract attention, and no one wants people looking in their direction when they are trying to steal a car. A good alarm will either scare off the car thief or will alert enough people so that someone will intervene before the robber drives off with your car.

Use an Immobilizer

An immobilizer keeps your car from starting if the proper key isn’t used. The device is programmed to scan the chip in the key, and if that chip is not detected, the immobilizer won’t let the car start. With this device installed, your car won’t start if someone tries to use a duplicate key or to hotwire the car. Most vehicles today are sold with immobilizers, but some basic models do not. You can have one added to your car to keep it more secure.

Use a Tracking System

Your phone has a GPS system to help you find it if it is lost or stolen, so why shouldn’t your car? You can install a GPS system on your car so you always know where it is. Not only will that be helpful if you can’t remember where you parked your car in a giant lot, but also if you need to find it if it’s been stolen. The GPS system can lead the police right to your car and the thief.

Get Locks

You can get a lock for both your steering wheel and your handbrake, making it harder for a thief to operate your vehicle. In most cases, the thief will see those locks and just move on. The locks mean that the thief has to break into your car, figure out how to start it, and get past those additional locks before driving away in the car. Most thieves just want an easy target.

The more you can do to protect your car, the more secure you will make it. Car thieves want an easy target, and just making it harder on thieves can often deter them.

Of course, you can also make it harder on yourself to get into your car if you lose your keys or accidently lock them inside the car. You can avoid such a scenario by hiring U.S. Key Service to make a spare that you can have on hand when you need it. This is especially important when you have a key with a chip in it. If you don’t have a spare ready, a mobile auto locksmith can help you by making a new key quickly. Call us today to hire an emergency car locksmith or to get a spare key made for a rainy day.

 

Published by:

Thomas Thilgen – US Key Service