Be aware owners: These are the most stolen cars in India
Car owners can torment over a car, if their vehicle becomes a target for thieves. It is a major concern for a car buyer, specially in India, where car theft rate is generally high. With millions of cars being stolen every year and later resold in black market, people have now started considering it as an usual trend. For carjackers, its a monsoon but for owners, its a distress in the thunder. These crooks have kept the cops on their toes when it comes to breaking-in the car and selling the spare parts in black market, just to rake in big amounts.
Mahindra Scorpio
The SUV might look tough and rugged but is the most vulnerable when it comes to thieves. Scorpio commands great resale value and can be easily sold off in tier 2 cities where need for tough vehicles is ever increasing.
Chevrolet Tavera
The people mover from Chevrolet is a popular picking for the thieves. It can be easily purchased from the second hand market at a bargain.
Mahindra Bolero
Bolero recently launched a sub-4 meter model but the regular model is already a hit among the thieves as the Mumbai Police registered a surge of 34 per cent rise in Bolero thefts.
Hyundai Santro
Santro has for long been out of production now but the hatchback is still available in the second hand car market. Most of the Santro’s on the roads do not have any hi tech locking mechanism and it is easy to unlock them through the age ‘Scale Trick’.
Tata Indica
The hatchback is a workhorse and a favourite among the thieves because it can easily be passed off in tier 2 cities and semi-urban areas where people still can’t afford new makes.
Toyota Qualis
The favourite car of the cab aggregators in the first decade of 21st century is losing its spot slowly and is not even seen on the roads of metropolitan cities. However, old security mechanism and tough build makes it a nice choice for the car thieves who can sell these off in areas where new cars are difficult to purchase.
Honda City
It became an overnight star and still continues to be a popular choice for the car buyers. A strong after sales service and quality components keeps the resale value of the Honda City higher than several of its counterparts like the Renault Scala and Skoda Rapid. If you own a City you need to be extra cautious of your possession.
Maruti Suzuki 800
The car that mobilised India is still running on the Indian roads all thanks to the easy availability of spare parts and cheap maintenance cost. This is the same factor that makes it a hot favourite that thieves will have their eyes on.
Hindustan Ambassador
The heavyweight from Hindustan Motors served the bureaucracy for several decades in India but is now left only as a part of the taxi cabs. The thieves still steal the Ambassador as it can easily be passed off in the rural areas where a parallel market for second hand cars is running.
If you own one of these cars or any other car for that matter, here are the precautions that you can take to prevent car theft:
1. Employ a fuel cutoff system that prevents fuel supply to the engine.
2. Ignition column guard, steering wheel lock and trunk locker are some measures to prevent car theft
3. Invest in an auto-theft recovery GPS system which can locate car through a GPS compatible phone.
4. Park in well-lit areas and do not leave registration papers and driving licence inside the vehicle to prevent any misuse in case the car gets stolen despite applying all the tricks.
