Securing Your Car

Nowadays most people will own a car and unfortunately due to the high crime levels, this means that more individuals can be targeted by car thieves. It does not matter what type of car a person has, it could be a Porsche or simply just an old run around such as an old Metro. There are many types of thieves around nowadays. You will have the top professional thieves that are looking at stealing a top of the range car like an Audi TT, there are thieves that simply steal cars for spare parts or for the stereo systems inside and of course there are those thieves called “Joy riders” that just like to steal a car for a few hours to joy ride in!

At the end of the day, it does not matter what car someone has, all cars will need a security system of some kind fitted to them.

There are a great number of different levels of security for a car. These will range from a basic steering wheel lock up to a high-tech alarm and immobiliser. All individuals will have a huge choice of the type of security and which level of security that they want for their vehicle. As well as the pre-installed security systems (alarms/immobilisers that are factory fitted), there are also aftermarket systems available.

There are three main forms of car security systems. These are:

Audible security systems – These types of systems work by letting the general public know that someone that does not have the authority to do so, is trying to get inside someone else’s vehicle. These can be very annoying systems that make a lot of noise by beeping and screaming at the times when you are trying to relax and enjoy a peaceful meal in a restaurant or more commonly trying to get some sleep! Although nowadays, the owner of the vehicle is able to actually adjust the sensitivity of the more up to date audible security systems, which will reduce the chance of the alarm being set off for no real reason. A lot of the time, with these security systems, the driver is able to tell that the alarm been triggered by the fact that it will double beep or the headlights will flash when they deactivate it to enter their car.

A lot of the pre-installed car security systems will also include a panic button. This button (which is generally positioned on the key fob) will set off the car alarm when the owner pushes it. The main disadvantage with these types of systems is, obviously, all of the noise and the higher possibility for noise that they cause.

Inaudible systems (private alert systems) - An inaudible security system abolishes the normal noisy alarms due to the fact that they actually page the owner electronically at the time of a break-in. There are of course, a number of problems which could occur with these types of systems. One example would be that the owner could actually be a long way away from their car and therefore, could not get to their car in time. Another example could be that if the car owner is able to get there in time and the break-in is still in progress, then they may be in danger. The point is that these inaudible systems only inform the owner that their car may be being broken into. It does not present any solutions!

Ignition system immobilisers – These immobilisers are one of the newest types of car security system technology on the market. They could actually become compulsory in the future production of vehicles. Basically, these ignition system immobilisers work by stopping the vehicle from being started by any person that is unauthorised access to it.

A lot of cars nowadays will not just come with one type of these security measures but with a mixture of them. For example they may come with an immobiliser as well as an audible security system (alarm). Actually the majority of cars will now have these supplied as standard.

Another great advantage to obtaining a form of car security despite the obvious advantage of not having your car stolen is that most car insurance companies will actually offer better deals on your car insurance if you have these security measures in place. It is a very good idea for an individual to ask their car insurance company which car security measures that they suggest.