Vulnerable to the actions of intruders are parts that can be easily dismantled from the car, and also profitably sold. Experts interviewed by socialbites.ca say that at risk are headlights, side mirrors and catalytic converters.
“If we talk about the headlights, they are Volkswagen, Land Rover, Porsche, Audi. Mirrors are mainly stolen from Mercedes-Benz, BMW and other “Germans” – this is due to both the ease of disassembly and the high cost of spare parts, ”explains the head of the center of Ugona.net Alexey Kurchanov to socialbites.ca. .
“The first stolen headlight washer jets from Japanese cars.”
who is at risk
Auto centers specializing in car theft protection offer additional headlight protection, especially for Volkswagen Touareg, Porsche 911, Cayman and Cayenne, as well as Audi Q5 and Q7 – often the headlights are additionally fixed with a metal cable or specially designed rigid brackets, they are connected to the alarm sensors and the glass of the car. The VIN number is engraved – in the hope that the thief won’t be interested in the marked items as they are harder to sell.
Without additional protection, attackers can remove these parts in seconds without using special tools, –
for such manipulation, a metal ruler is enough.
Car owners in specialized forums complain about the increase in headlight theft from cheaper cars, in particular, this problem was detected in the second generation Skoda Octavia. To complicate the removal of optics, craftsmen use specially made metal plates.
Volvo car owners suffer from theft of headlights, mirrors and radiator grilles – this largely applies to previous generation Volvo XC90 crossovers manufactured before 2014, co-owner of Bilprime car service Alexander Savin told Gazeta. .Ru.
“Headlights are the most popular with intruders because maybe you don’t even have to get in the car to remove them.
Savin explains that the hood can also be opened from the outside in a certain way. “On the XC90, the optics can be removed quite easily – you have to lift and remove the two latches.”
Usually, such thefts happen in a very short time, and thieves do not pay attention to the triggered alarm and the harness is simply cut off, he adds. At the same time, in addition to the XC90, the Volvo S60, S80, XC60, XC70 models are also at risk due to the similar design of the chocks.
Two technologies are commonly used to protect vehicle elements from theft: engraving the VIN number of the vehicle on which they are attached to the headlight covers, and the use of sophisticated metal fasteners equipped with non-standard head bolts.
Individual markings are also applied to the mirror elements.
“It takes much longer to remove protection. Of course there are people who can do this but if there is an unprotected car as an alternative then they will prefer it,” says Savin.
On the third and fourth generation Land Rover Discovery SUVs, the taillights suffer from intruders – they are mounted on the body with screws, which are removed with a conventional Phillips screwdriver. It is easy to place in the gap between the lamp and the tailgate.
To avoid this, service specialists and car owners just need to replace the screws with hex bolts – to quickly and discreetly remove the lights from the cavity, using a key will not work.
As socialbites.ca found out,
on free classifieds sites, similar parts (new or in excellent condition) are offered at a price of about 20-30 thousand rubles each,
lamps with glass defects can be found for 5 thousand rubles.
In the case of catalysts, thieves’ interest is dependent on the amount of precious metals present in the piece, such as platinum, palladium, and rhodium. Alexei Kurchanov from Ugon.net also points out that the most valuable neutralizers are installed on hybrid car models and German premium cars.
To protect external elements, there are magnetic reed switches (triggered when the part is tried to be removed from the machine), microwave motion sensors (a short siren alert when someone is walking near the machine), mechanical protection and marking and alarms. , lists.
“The marking for a pair of elements costs 4-5 thousand rubles, the installation of sensors – about 5 thousand rubles. Only the tilt sensor in the alarm can protect against cut-off of the catalyst, since the car is lifted, as a rule, on a jack. At the same time, you can not connect it mechanically – because the catalyst is often cut with a reciprocating saw, ”says Kurchanov.
Source: Gazeta
