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Car Theft Statistics

car theft

There is a common misconception in regard to personal security, such as burglaries and car theft incidents. Many people simply think, “It won’t happen to me” and prefer not to use a locksmith service.

Unfortunately – keys loss, theft and vandalism continue to be regular occurrences. At some point in time, it can also happen to you. The statistics do not work in your favor.  The question is, are you arming yourself, your house and your vehicle with the best security possible to help prevent these issues?

Nowadays, most of the vehicles are equipped with a Transponder system. The advantage of keys and ignitions that are equipped with this system is the fact that the ignition can be reprogrammed.

That means that if your car key gets stolen, you can still prevent car theft quite easily. All you have to do is to call a reliable local locksmith immediately and get your transponder system reprogrammed.

Should you take action as soon as possible? Yes, that’s why:

  • Last year, over 700,000 automobiles were stolen.
  • The cost of these stolen vehicles was over $4.1 billion dollars. (That is money the car owners lost.)
  • The average cost to the owner of having a vehicle stolen is over $5,900.
  • Cars painted black are stolen more than any other color, and black is the second most popular car color.
  • In the United States, auto theft occurs once every 45.1 seconds, meaning more than 3 cars could be stolen by the time you finish reading this post.
  • Car thieves are increasingly organized and technologically savvy.
  • Over 73% of all vehicles stolen are cars.
  • If your car is stolen, you only have a 50% chance of getting it back.
  • California and Washington State hold the greatest number of car thefts nationwide.
  • Keys are lost or stolen an average of 12 times per year, happening to 4 out of 5 people.
  • Car thieves make over $8 Billion dollars per year off of stolen cars and parts.
  • In 2012, the vehicle stolen the most was the Honda Accord. The second most popular target was the Honda Civic, and the third was any Ford Pick-up truck.

*All statistics provided by the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NCIB) and the FBI Uniform Crime Report.

If you have a reason to suspect that someone else has a copy of your car key, although he or she is not supposed to – choose a local locksmith company from our list and let them protect you from possible car theft or burglary!