| February 27, 2004 Why would you steal a car? --Whist screwing around with my expensive alarm system on my M3 (the previous owner had it installed, not me...no complaints here) I was faced with the conundrum of why people steal cars in the first place? Seriously though, you may be asking yourself why I’d be asking such a seemingly silly question, but I believe it’s a plausible one in light of the points I’m about to make (I later demean my own intelligence by asking this question in light of my research...you’ll have to keep reading to find out why). And to add further insult to injury, just think of the billions of dollars spent every year by car owners on anti-theft security systems, its mind boggling. Again, I ask myself, what does the offender have to gain by stealing a car? Before I go into opinion, let me provide you with some facts and figures first off. This will serve to give a background also. “The FBI reported that an estimated 1.2 million vehicle thefts were reported in 2002. The nation’s vehicle theft rate per 100,000 people was up slightly percent in 2002, marking the third consecutive year of increases in the auto theft rate following a ten year decline. The estimated total value of stolen motor vehicles was $8.2 billion.” -NICB (National Insurance Crime Buruea That’s a lot of cabbage. Well here’s my outlook of the situation. What do car thieves gain by stealing cars? Ok sure, they get to joyride in a car that they didn’t purchase. But how long does that joyride last before they get picked up by the cops; a couple hours, maybe a day or two?! Obviously when the owner realizes their car has been stolen they will alert the police who will then be on the lookout for the stolen car. You might say that the car thief could just remove the license plates. Well a cop would be on them sooner than a certain antique car owner that happens to have a cool looking antique yellow car and a hot looking red M3 with tinted windows and a loud exhaust. You could say that the car thief could just spray the car and no one would recognize it. But you still have the problem with the plates. And it’s not like they can just go to the DMV and get new registration. Well after my research I discovered the answer to my question, the one I should’ve figured out in the first place, and it comes down to one word......parts. Oh Keith, how could you be so naive?! You of all people, a connoisseur of parts acquisitions and dealings should know that rare parts command high prices in the legal and illegal market. Heck I bet you could garner upwards to $30,000 from parts off my M3 alone! And a seasoned crime syndicate could prolly part a full car out in one day. Add a couple stolen cars to mix every week and you’re looking at revenue of $150,000 a week! That’s a lucrative business to say the least I guess. And by parting out a car, you circumvent any “registration” problems you’d otherwise encounter if you tried to re-sell the car. In conclusion, I’d imagine that most stolen cars (not all) are just parted out in some garage and the parts are then sold to the black market, on Ebay, classifieds, etc. When I buy parts off Ebay, I don’t ask the seller where they got it from ya know? Anyways, this article is neither interesting nor entertaining so I’m sorry. If you want to read about some more interesting info concerning this issue like Top 10 stolen cars in America last year, check out this website. **This article focuses on completely stolen cars. Yes people break into cars all the time, and I can obviously understand why thieves would do that. Car audio systems, tires, wheels, etc. can not only be sold but can also be used on other cars without the hassle of having a stolen car. |
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