Vandal-Proof Your Vehicle: How To Protect Your Car From Vandalism

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While car theft rates seem to be showing promising signs of decreasing, car vandalism is one the rise. Modern cars are harder to steal, but that doesn’t stop people keying them or smashing windows. Such damage can often be expensive to fix and can be hugely frustrating to encounter (in many cases, the person behind the crime is never caught).

You can’t always prevent vandalism, but there are measures that you can take to reduce your risk of being a victim. Below we’ll take a brief look at some of the most common types of car vandalism and what you can do to potentially prevent them occurring.
  

Common types of car vandalism

Keying and scratching paint: This is the common type of vandalism and involves scratching doors and panels with keys or other objects.


Broken windows and mirrors: Smashed windows and mirrors are also common, leaving glass everywhere while often negatively affecting use of your vehicle. Window damage may be the result of a break-in and potentially attempted vehicle theft.


Slashed or punctured tires: Slashed tires can leave you stuck and can be expensive to replace. This form of vandalism may be targeted and personal.


Spray paint and graffiti: Spray paint is sometimes washable, but often requires professional detailing or respraying to remove. Graffiti ‘tagging’ may be more common in some areas than others.


Broken antennas, badges and wipers: Some vandals may steal parts off other cars to use on their own car, to sell or simply for fun.

How to reduce the risk of vehicle vandalism

There are a few measures that you can take to reduce the risk of being targeted:


Park smart


Start by considering where you park. Cars that are parked in dark, secluded, public areas are most at risk of being vandalized. Make a deliberate decision to park in well-lit areas that are not hidden by walls or hedges. When parking at home, use off-road parking if you have it - a vandal is more likely to target a car parked on the street than one parked on a driveway. Garages are the most secure place and are recommended for valuable vehicles. Just make sure that the garage door is locked - invest in garage door repair if it won’t close to keep away criminals.


Use visible security measures


Visible security measures like a CCTV camera or video doorbell overlooking your car will put off most criminals. A steering wheel lock may also often prevent break-ins from attempted thefts. Alarm stickers may also put off vandals (and of course activating the alarm itself will ward off most criminals).


Don’t leave valuables within sight


If bags and electronics are invisible inside your car, it might tempt an opportunistic thief to break in. Even devices like phone mounts, dash cams and sat navs can be worth removing when parking in certain areas.


Foster community support


If there’s a high rate of vehicle vandalism in your area, consider talking to neighbors who you trust in order to build community awareness. You could make a point of looking out for each other and reporting incidents early. You may even be able to campaign to improve local security with better street lighting or security cameras in certain public areas. 

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