Lower Your California Car Insurance Rate With Anti Theft Devices

 

October 21, 2007 by · Leave a Comment
Filed under: Compare Insurance Rates 

Criminals are typically a few nails short of a full toolbox, but people too often underestimate their prowess when it comes to stealing cars. As Houdini was to getting out of water while chained up, so are many experienced car thieves to getting into your car when layered with all the technology in a presidential cavalcade. However, although your car may still be stolen or vandalized while it is heavily protected by anti theft devices, you will at least discourage most hardy car thieves and possibly all of them, and in the meantime you will be able to get a discounted car insurance rate, which is one of the best parts.

Here I am going to give a description of the many common anti theft devices. When you look at the descriptions and the prices, think of how much that device will cost you know versus how much it will save you on your California car insurance rate.

  • Lock for steering wheel.

This is one of the cheapest kinds of devices. It might get you slight decrease in your comprehensive  car insurance rate, depending on the company you are with. It makes it to where the thief can’t turn the wheel, and while it is more easily disabled than many devices, it works well with other devices and if a thief has to choose a car with a lock over a car without, in most cases he will choose the car without.

$25+

  • Alarm.

This is the most common kind of anti theft device, and usually comes equipped on the vehicle. The better kind, though, will add horn honking and light flashing into the mix to attract more attention to the car.

$150+

  • Kill switch.

This will impede the flow of electricity to the engine, making it impossible to start the car. This type of anti theft device is extremely cheap and will get you a big decrease in your California car insurance rate if you have comprehensive coverage.

$10+

  • Tracker.

This is different from all of the others in that, while it doesn’t prevent car theft, it does what no other anti theft device does–it sends out a signal allowing police officers to find it. This is unusual because almost all cars that are stolen are never recovered. It is somewhat expensive, though, even for the cheapest one.

$400+

  • Code entry.

There are a few cars that have a set of numbers on the front driver door to them which, if the code is entered correctly, allow the vehicle to be started with the help of the key. This is somewhat effective, but remember that thieves are known for breaking codes. It would be best if used with another feature.

Can’t be bought. Has to be installed while the car is being made.

  • Steering column collar.

One of the more common ways of hot wiring a vehicle is by going through the steering column. While this anti theft device does not prevent the thief from entering the car, it does prevent the thief from starting it without an actual key. If you want to get a good California car insurance rate, then you need to get one that is always active, not one that has to be installed every time you leave the car.

$100+

  • Locks for tires.

These are frustrating, making the vehicle immobile until the tire locks are removed. However, removing them is difficult, for you and the thief.

$80+

  • Decals.

There are a lot of decals that can be found in most stores stating, like the kind of decal you’ll find on a house, that the car has some kind of alarm system or theft prevention device. It may be true, it may not. I had one of these years ago, although I didn’t have so much as an alarm on my car, and my car never got stolen. Of course, this may be because no one wanted my car, but I choose to blame the decal. This is a good way to go when you have no cash to spend on anti theft devices, because it does act as a deterrent even if it provides no real protection. It also won’t get you a better California car insurance rate.