You can’t be too careful about vehicle security, especially with older 2nd hand cars. These days, even a cheap and cheerful car like a Dacia Sandero comes with deadlocks and an immobiliser as standard, which makes it very difficult for a criminal to enter and drive it without its key.
But vehicles from the 1990s and early 2000s weren’t fitted with such an extensive suite of standard security features. Alarms and immobilisers are often expensive aftermarket accessories for cars built at the turn of the century, which makes them far more attractive to criminals.
Vehicle theft is a big problem in the UK. The Office for National Statistics states that, in 2022 alone, there were 86,000 reported vehicle thefts and 473,000 reported incidents of thefts from vehicles. To illustrate just how prolific vehicle-related crime is in Britain, there were only 449,000 reported incidents of domestic burglary during the same period.
Thankfully, vehicle security doesn’t need to be expensive to be effective. Sometimes, all that’s required is a bit of careful planning and some visible deterrents to steer crooks away from your car.
Below, we’ve outlined some of the most affordable and effective means of protecting your car from thieves. The cheapest options can be bought for less than £50 – and they’ll either prevent your car from being taken or severely slow down the rate at which the criminal can work, allowing more time for the police to arrive and apprehend them. Scroll down for some inspiration.
The best affordable vehicle security features available
Steering wheel locks
Steering wheel locks are somewhat of an old-school solution, but they work as a great visual deterrent for crooks. They’re devices that clamp to your car’s steering wheel and stop the potential thief from utilising its full range of movement, therefore preventing them from driving the car.
They can be beaten, though. The most basic rod-style locks can be defeated by hacking through the device or sawing a chunk out of the car’s steering wheel. However, there are sturdier options available that cover your car’s complete steering wheel, preventing the latter bout of vandalism.
Wheel clamps
This is another archaic car security device, but it’s still very effective. Wheel clamps attach to your car’s alloy wheels and prevent them from turning, effectively immobilising the car. That is unless your local crooks happen to have a low-loader and a car crane.
They come in a variety of sizes and styles, offering varying levels of security. The most basic options simply clip around the barrel of your car’s wheel. However, there are more secure options featuring metal panels that cover your car’s wheel nuts, which prevents the most resourceful criminals from simply swapping out your car’s clamped wheel and continuing with their theft.
Faraday pouches
Lots of modern cars have keyless entry systems. This convenient piece of technology allows you to simply walk up to the vehicle, yank on the door handle, enter the cabin and drive away without needing to touch the key. All that’s required is that you have the key fob in your pocket.
However, thieves have developed devices that can clone the signal from your car’s key fob and grant them access to your car. They often work in pairs – and the theft most commonly happens at home. One thief will stand by the front door of your house with an amplifying device, hoping to pick up the signal from your car key. Another will stand by your car with a receiving device.
The signal is bounced from your car key, through the first thief and towards the second. Once the second thief has your car key’s code cloned on their device, your car’s doors will simply unlock and they’ll be able to drive it away without needing to damage it. Faraday pouches prevent this theft from happening by blocking the electrical signals emitted from your car key.
Car trackers
If the worst should happen and someone makes off with your car, a tracker might help you to retrieve it. It consists of two pieces of technology – a GPS transmitter hidden somewhere inside your vehicle and a smartphone application that allows you (and the police) to follow your car’s movements in real-time.
The most affordable car trackers are priced from around £30, although they only offer a very basic level of service. More expensive options can set you back several hundred pounds, but they usually offer far greater functionality, such as 24-hour tracking support and extended tracking across mainland Europe. Some can even track your car if it’s been moved underground!
Home CCTV systems
CCTV is another great deterrent for criminals, especially if it’s clearly signposted. Plus, if your car is stolen, you’ll have irrefutable evidence of the crime being committed, which will hopefully allow your local police force to bring those involved to justice sooner.
Like car trackers, the calibre of home CCTV systems varies wildly. At the lowest end of the market, there are simple stick-on, battery-powered camera doorbells. They do a reasonable job of monitoring your driveway but, for the best results, we recommend opting for a set of hardwired, high-resolution cameras. The very best systems can even send you a smartphone notification if they detect any unusual movement around your house.