How to Prevent Your Car From Being Stolen

I once owned a beater Toyota Camry that I assumed had so little value no one would bother stealing it—but I was wrong. One morning I woke up to an empty parking space. The car was found abandoned a few days later with some minor damage throughout (thanks, thieves!), and I had the joyous experience of paying the police a fee to release my own property back to me. I cleaned it, and got it tuned up—and then it was stolen a second time a few days later.

I’m not alone in this experience, of course; last year more than 1 million cars were stolen in the U.S., fueled in part by the “Kia Boyz”—which means that you have to worry about your car being stolen even if it’s not exactly a high-value asset or a classic. You can’t make it truly impossible to steal your car; if a thief really, really wants to steal it, they can probably do it. But you can make your car as unstealable as possible by adding a few aftermarket items.

Steering wheel lock

Depending on your age, you might not remember a time when a steering wheel lock called The Club was a real, actual fad—it was everywhere, and everyone had one strapped to their steering wheel. It’s a basic concept: Similar to a bike lock, it’s a steel device that hooks onto your steering wheel and extends outward, making it impossible to turn the wheel (some variations also prevent using the brakes).

These days steering wheel/brake locks aren’t as prevalent, and professional car thieves can circumvent one pretty easily. But it’s a solid start for two reasons: It’s a big, obvious visual sign that your car will be more trouble to steal than others, and it will deter casual “Kia Boyz”-type thieves just looking for an opportunistic joy ride.

Wheel clamps

Have you ever parked in the wrong place and come back to your car only to find a wheel clamp (aka a boot) on it? Then you know that it’s impossible to drive the car with one of these babies attached, and they are not easy to remove without special tools. Putting a consumer version on your car when you park it will make it extremely challenging to steal. Combined with a steering wheel lock, any reasonable car thief will just keep walking.

Kill switches

A kill switch is a simple idea: A switch is installed in a hidden but accessible spot between the battery and some aspect of your engine, like the fuel pump or the ignition. If the switch is off, the car won’t start even if you have the key or the fob, and unless you know where the switch is located, there’s no way to get it going. Any professional mechanic (or competent car owner) can install one pretty easily, and pretty cheaply—a mechanic will charge between $250 and $350 for the job, but you can DIY it for less than $20 if you know what you’re doing. You can even install remote kill switches that disconnect the battery power with the press of a button.

GPS tracker

If all else fails and someone does manage to steal your car, having a GPS tracker installed will enable you to give the police a heads-up on its location. Many of these devices also gather data as the car is driven, which can be useful not only in prosecuting a car thief but also in dealing with your insurance company, as it can demonstrate that you weren’t behind the wheel when the car was damaged.