How to Protect Your Tires and Wheels from Theft
Wheel and tire thefts are widely reported and a common problem for many car owners but do you know if your car is at risk? A car thief can remove one tire within 16 seconds as seen here, leaving your car on blocks, unable of being driven.
How can you protect your vehicle from an expensive loss? We have the top tips to help you before you become a victim.
Methods of Theft
Wheel and tire thieves will often work in groups much like a pit crew to lift your car and quickly take a tire each to remove. An experienced group can remove all four wheels within 10 minutes but your goal as the car owner is to put up barriers that slow this process. If it will take too long for thieves to steal a set of tires or wheels they will quickly move on to another, easier vehicle.
How to Protect Your Vehicle
- Always park your car in a closed garage if you can.
- Install an alarm system that includes sensors that are attached to your wheels.
- Park in a populated area where there is a high amount of car and foot traffic or in the view of security cameras.
- Turn your wheels when parking! It makes the wheels more difficult to remove due to getting stuck in the wheel well. The steering column lock makes it difficult for someone to turn the wheel without putting the keys in the ignition.
- Use wheel locks on each wheel including your spare but be sure not to lose the key! The locks fit on each wheel making the lug nuts very difficult to remove.
Rims, wheels, and tires can amount to a lot of money invested for either performance or even atheistic reasons. The first step to preventing prevention is realizing to realize your vehicle can be a victim followed by getting your wheels and rims included in your insurance policy. By taking the necessary steps you are already protecting yourself and your car.
