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“There is a strong legal argument to say these cars are insecure and not fit for purpose. The motoring industry has been negligent. It has failed to prioritise security and motorists are paying the price.”
That’s Nick Freeman, a specialist motoring solicitor you might know better as Mr. Loophole. He thinks that car manufacturers, despite fitting the sort of electronic security trickery few of us understand, have been negligent.
He might be right. For example, in 2022 Land Rover stopped providing insurance for its cars, the same year its top-of-the-range model became the second most stolen car in the United Kingdom.
It subsequently made changes, and the Range Rover is now 52nd on the list of cars most likely to be stolen.
This is good news if you own one – but you might like to sit down if you’ve got a Lexus in your garage, as it is now the brand of car most likely to be stolen, occupying five of the top eight spots according to an analysis of DVLA data reported in Autocar.
Nor is it just premium brands that are at risk. The Ford Fiesta, Britain’s most popular secondhand buy, tops the list with 4,719 individual cars being stolen every year.
Stealing cars is big business. According to Assistant Chief Constable Jenny Sims, the National Police Chiefs’ Council lead for vehicle crime: “We know that organised crime groups are responsible for a significant proportion of vehicle thefts, whether to export high-end vehicles overseas or to break them up for parts.”
It would be easy to be fatalistic in the face of organised criminality and manufacturer complacency; after all, you’re insured, right?
However, as Ali Ingram Seal, Saga Car Insurance Product Manager, explains: “A car theft can sometimes lead to an increase in your insurance premium, as some insurers may consider you a higher risk. The extent of the increase can vary depending on the circumstances of the theft and your claims history.”
While it might be impossible to stop a determined thief, there is plenty you can do to deter an opportunist.
Sounds obvious, doesn’t it? And yet, the ONS reports that around half of all theft-related incidents arose because the owner hadn’t locked their car, making this an easy win if you are meticulous about locking yours.
It’s also worth double-checking that your windows are closed, including the sunroof. Most modern cars should close them automatically but it’s not unheard of for something to go awry, leaving your car and its valuables more vulnerable than you thought.
Speaking of vulnerability, while keyless entry and starting does make it harder for a thief to steal your car, it doesn’t make it impossible.
They might, for instance, be able to fish for your keys if you leave them on the hall table, and if you have ‘keyless entry’, where the doors unlock automatically as you approach your car, thieves could clone your key fob.
The cheap solution is to keep your keys somewhere other than the hallway.
The more effective, but slightly more expensive, answer is to buy a ‘Faraday bag’, which will shield your keys from a scanning tool. Used by spies to safeguard electronic devices from bad actors, they are now widely available for only a few pounds.
Which brings us neatly to the question of whether physical devices are still worth buying. The answer is definitely!
While the spelling of Disklok makes my teeth itch, more than a thousand Halfords customers have given it an average 4.7/5 rating, which bodes well for its ease of use.
It is Sold Secure approved too, which is something you should always check before purchasing. The standard Disklok is Gold-rated, which is pretty good, but the new Diamond-rated edition will resist a battery-powered angle grinder, the scourge of motorists and cyclists.
Environmental security is crucial, and while none of us would park down a dark alley in a bad part of town, it’s easy to be lulled into thinking that all car parks are the same. Spoiler alert: they aren’t.
If you can find a car park with a parking attendant, it is likely to be better than one without but an even better option is to use Park Mark's interactive website to find one that has been assessed by the police as being safer than average.
And, while illegal tow trucks wouldn’t be one of my main concerns, using a car park with a height-restricted entrance means they won’t be able to get in anyway.
While a professionally fitted tracking device isn’t cheap, DIY versions are available and What Car? has a very good guide to the best trackers of 2025.
Ali Ingram Seal again: “Modern anti-theft tech like immobilisers, GPS tracking and smart keys can significantly reduce the risk of theft. Insurers often reward these added security measures with lower premiums, recognising the reduced risk of loss or damage.”
Yes, getting an older car serviced at the main dealer will be more expensive than getting it done at your local garage, but the manufacturer’s agents will have access to the latest security updates and patches, which might help reduce the risk, especially on electronic-laden models like the Range Rover.
It won’t harm your car’s residual value either, so it could make solid financial sense for that reason too.
Please remember, you have only a 4% chance of being a victim of a car-related theft, with the number of cars stolen accounting for even less than that.
As they used to say at the end of every episode of Crimewatch: “Don’t have nightmares.”
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