We have recently put a deposit down on a new car. The PCP on our old car was up so we decided to make the jump and purchase our first-ever electric car! I am sure there are lots of things we will need to learn by going electric, but we are super excited to be getting our car in a few weeks’ time.

As with any car owner, we worry about keeping our car safe. Alarmingly, figures from the Home Office show that a car is stolen in the UK every 5 minutes, which is just crazy. I have put together this list of tips and tricks to help you keep your car safe so that you don’t become a victim of theft. You can take simple steps to make sure your car isn’t stolen while you’re not using it. Keep reading to learn more.

Install a tracking device

If you’re concerned about theft, you may want to consider installing a tracking device in your vehicle. GPS Car trackers are a small device that you can place in your car and track online.

We were recently sent a PAJ POWER Finder 4G, which will be ideal for our new car. It has a battery that lasts around 40 days with an active tracking duration of around an hour a day and a standby mode of up to 90 days. You receive notifications in conjunction with an app as soon as the GPS tracker is shaken or moved, if it has low battery and if there’s a speed limit violation. Through the app and the website, you can quickly customise all the notifications and track your vehicle’s live location

While tracking devices are not a surefire way to prevent theft, they can be helpful if your car is stolen. In some cases, tracking devices can help law enforcement retrieve your vehicle before it disappears and it can also help reduce your car insurance too.

Don’t leave valuables in sight

If you have items such as a laptop, purse, or tablets or smartphones with you, you’re more at risk for theft. Thieves are looking for easy targets, and if they see expensive items in your car, they will be tempted to break in. If you have to leave valuables in your car, try to store them out of sight. If you have a laptop that you need to transport in your car often, you might consider looking into a laptop lockbox. You can also put purses and other items in the trunk so that thieves don’t see them through the windows. Keep in mind that if you do have items in your car that aren’t visible, thieves might break in anyway, just in case you’re hiding something else. If you don’t have a trunk or if you need to put items in the back seat, it’s best to hide your valuables in a bag. Just don’t leave that bag in the back seat because thieves may try to break in from the passenger side.

Lock your doors and windows

If you’ve ever seen a car with an open door, you’ve probably wondered why the owner didn’t just lock the door. It’s a simple and quick way to prevent theft. Thieves are unlikely to break into a vehicle that has locked doors and windows. So if you get out of your car with the doors unlocked, you’re giving criminals an easy way to break in and steal your car. Keep in mind that most motor insurance policies don’t cover damage caused by car theft if the doors were left unlocked. Be sure to lock your doors whenever you get out of the car, even if you’re only leaving it for a minute. If you have young kids, you may want to put a reminder on your car’s sun visor to remind you to lock the doors. You can also put a reminder on your phone.

Use a Wheel clamp

A wheel clamp is a piece of security equipment designed to prevent someone from removing the tyre from your car. Thieves often steal tyres in order to sell them for scrap metal, and wheel clamps make it difficult for them to do so. Wheel clamps are generally easy to install and remove, but they’re not a guarantee against theft. Be sure to use a wheel clamp with a quality bolt. Poorly constructed bolts are easy to break. In fact, some thieves use an electric grinder to break wheel clamps. If you’re concerned about theft, you may want to consider locking your wheels with wheel clamps on all four wheels. You can even get locking lug nuts to make sure that your wheels don’t come off.

Looking after your vehicle can be a laborious task at times, but it is worth it and will save you money in the long run. That’s why we’ve put together this list of tips and tricks to help you keep your car safe so that you don’t become a victim of theft. Don’t leave valuables in sight; lock your doors and windows, and put a disc lock on your tyres, and you’ll be well on your way to keeping your car safe. Keeping your car safe doesn’t have to be difficult or expensive.

You might also like:

• A guide to buying and financing a new car
• How to keep your family safe when travelling by car

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