Protecting Your Classic Car From Theft
19 Sep 2012Last night we attended a Car Collection Security Seminar at the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles. The museum is amazing. There are so many different cars on display. Ranging from early model classics to late model supercars. If you are a car person, and in Los Angeles we recommend you check the museum out.
The Hagerty’s Classic Car Insurance company sponsored the event, which brought together a panel of Law enforcement professionals (TRAP) whose mission is to recover stolen vehicles. A representative from the National Insurance Crime Bureau was also on hand.
The NICB is sort of a clearing house for stolen vehicles. They retain data on vehicles that have been stolen forever. We learned in California that vehicles reported stolen, will remain active to law enforcement personnel for about four years. This means, if you’ve ever had a vehicle stolen and a law enforcement agency checked its license plates 6 years later the vehicle won’t immediately be identified as stolen. This is where the NICB comes into play, as records of all stolen vehicles are kept on permanent file indefinitely.
The event was geared primarily to classic car collector’s in the Los Angeles area. Some of the key takeaways included:
Keep detailed and verifiable records on your classic car. Be sure the Vehicle Identification Numbers (VIN), and title information match that of your car. Something like this that is overlooked, could create huge problems later if your vehicle is ever stolen, and law enforcement is attempting to recover it.
When visiting car shows, or even taking your classic car out for a spin around the neighborhood, make it a habit to check your rear view mirror! Professional car thieves actually go to these events in search of their next target. If you are driving your classic car and see someone following you, drive to a very public area and call the police. Try to get as much information as possible on the suspicious person, including a description of the driver, occupants and if possible a license plate to give to the police.
Be very careful when selling your classic car and be wary of the payment method. An example was given about an unsuspecting citizen who accepted payment with 150 cashier’s checks, which later turned out to be bogus! We would recommend the use of a wire transfer, a legitimate escrow service or even a cash transaction inside of a bank, where the money is deposited into your account before the title and vehicle are given to any potential buyer.
For the person looking to buy a classic car from outside the country, beware. Here in California, it is very easy for a crook to steal a car in Mexico, drive it across the border and resell it to an unsuspecting victim. If you purchase a vehicle stolen in Mexico that are agreements between both countries that will return the stolen vehicle to its rightful owner. You would of course be out of the money you paid for the car. There is a very good website called REPUVE that you can use to check to see if a vehicle has been reported stolen in Mexico.
If you own a classic vehicle, use a post office box, or a business address for your State’s department of motor vehicle registration. Crooks can write down your license plate and use a lookup service to get your home address and easily find your car.
If you take your classic vehicle for restoration to a body shop, or mechanic be very wary of who you are taking your vehicle to. Does the shop have a great security system? Who visits the shop? Whose going to know your very expensive collector car is at the shop getting restored? Recently, Dr. Phil’s classic 1957 Chevy convertible was stolen from a shop in Los Angeles while getting its transmission repaired.
Embrace technology and be proactive when protecting your Classic car. Integrate your home alarm system with your garage door, where your car is stored. And be sure to turn it on when you leave! The best alarm system is worthless if it is not turned on.
Use multiple layers of technology to increase the odds of a successful stolen vehicle recovery. A system like Lojack which uses fm transmitters and tied directly in with Law Enforcement is a good idea. The system is activated once you report your vehicle stolen and the VIN is entered into the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) database.
Newer technology, like the LiveView GPS tracker, allows you the car owner to take monitoring your vehicle to the next level. Instant alerts will allow you to be notified immediately, if your car is driven from a boundary that you set. With 10 second position updates, you can contact and direct law enforcement straight to where you vehicle is as it is being driven down the street. Even get notified everytime the vehicle’s ignition is turned on or off.
Finally, for Southern California classic car enthusiast, the Western States Auto Theft Investigators Association has a website that you can visit to see a list of stolen outstanding classic vehicle, check their website out at www.wsati.org
While these aren’t classic cars, they sure were cool to look at:
Below – a 1992 Jaguar XJ220 :
A beautiful car to look at the Jaguar XJ220
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