Thieves like green cars and Commodores

The chances of getting your car stolen are greater than you think, especially if you have a green car or live in Victoria. The next most popular colour is black, especially if you own a large car, sports vehicle or light commercial.

It just goes to show that thieves are not colour blind.

CARS project

These figures come from the National Motor Vehicle Theft Reduction Council (NMVTRC) CARS project. It examined theft rates in 2015-16 compared to 2011-12 and found thieves’ tastes in colour had changed.

• In 2011-12, thieves preferred a red car or light commercial vehicle, followed by white
• In 2015-16, they chose a green small or medium car, followed by a few black vehicle types.

Since 2014, there has been a theft every 10 minutes in Australia. The most common target by far is the Holden Commodore, followed by Ford Falcon and Toyota Hilux.

Some surprises

Unfortunately, there are all kinds of misconceptions about car theft. For example, “my car is too old to steal”, “I’ve got a car immobiliser”, “it mainly happens in the city” and “it won’t happen to me”.

In fact, older vehicles are stolen more often than new ones – 82% are over 5 years old and 42% are worth less than $5,000. Some 75% of stolen cars have a car immobiliser and a third of vehicle thefts happen outside metro areas. You might also be surprised to learn:

• Thieves target homes to steal keys: 52% are stolen from a house
• Insurance doesn’t cover you completely – most victims spend $5,000 because of excess, car hire etc
• You may not get it back – 1 in 5 cars and 53% motorbikes are never recovered
• It could happen to you – 6 in every 1,000 vehicle owners.

Danger spots

Australian Bureau of Statistics for 2016 show Victoria was the most theft-prone state in Australia with a huge 25% increase. About a third of all crimes in Victoria are theft, mostly of motor vehicles. Behind Victoria were Queensland, with a 19% increase and South Australia with a 10% increase.

Remember CTP insurance does not provide any cover for your vehicle at all. You need to buy comprehensive insurance or at least fire and theft insurance, to cover your vehicle in case it is stolen.