A thief walked past 6 cars to steal mine. Here's what I learned about which cars get skipped.
Published By: William Garrett · [[monthName]] [[day-2]], [[year]]
A thief walked past 6 cars on my street to steal mine. I watched the CCTV footage later. He checked door handles, looked through windows, and kept moving until he got to my Mazda. My neighbour's Corolla? He walked straight past it.
You walk out the next morning and the spot is empty. That sick drop in your stomach. The insurance calls. The police report that goes nowhere. Three weeks without a vehicle while you wait for a payout that doesn't cover half what you actually paid.
And it's not just the money. It's knowing a stranger sat in your seat. That they've got your rego papers with your address. That every noise at night sounds different now.
I asked my neighbour why he thought he was spared. He pointed at a bright yellow lock on his steering wheel. "Mate, they don't want a fight," he said.
"They want an easy win."
That's when I started researching what actually makes thieves skip a car.
Car theft isn't about breaking in anymore
In 2024, a car was stolen every 10 minutes in Australia. Most were never recovered.
Most people picture smashed windows and hotwired ignitions. That's not how it works now.
Keyless entry systems get bypassed in under 30 seconds. No noise. No damage. The car just starts and drives away.
Alarms? They trigger after someone's already inside.
Immobilisers? Bypassed with the right equipment.
GPS trackers? Useful for finding your car after it's gone. Useless for stopping it leaving.
The problem isn't that these systems don't work. It's that they activate too late. By the time they respond, the decision has already been made.
Watch: A thief steals a car in under 10 seconds
Thieves don't break into cars. They choose them.
While researching how modern car theft actually happens, I spoke with a former Victoria Police vehicle crime investigator who now advises dealerships on preventing relay attacks.
His answer was blunt:
"They're not looking for your car. They're looking for the easiest car."
He explained that thieves don't ask "Can I steal this?"
They ask "Which one gets me gone the fastest and quietest?"
Anything that adds friction before the door is even touched — delay, visibility, uncertainty — pushes them to the next vehicle.
The 3-second decision that determines whether your car gets targeted.
When former offenders are interviewed, they describe the decision as "almost automatic." Visible deterrents aren't challenged. They're skipped.
One ex-offender put it bluntly:
"If it looks like it'll take more than 20 seconds or draw attention, I'm already moving on."
In internal deterrent studies and offender interviews, visible steering locks are consistently among the most avoided targets — not because they're unbreakable, but because they change the risk calculation.
This is what visible deterrence looks like
After my car was taken, I tried three different locks.
One was too bulky — sat in the boot after a week.
One jammed constantly.
One looked like it belonged in 1997.
LOCK'D™ - Car Defender was the first one I actually used every day. Two seconds on. Two seconds off. Bright enough to see through tinted windows.
It doesn't try to stop a thief who's already committed. It makes them decide you're not worth the effort in the first place.
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One of Our Customers Caught This on CCTV Last Month.
A Lock'd customer in Werribee had been having attempts on their car for months. After fitting the LOCK'D™ - Car Defender, they checked their security camera.
This is what they found.
He walked up. Looked through the windscreen. Kept walking. Straight to the next car.
Three seconds. That's all it took for him to decide which car was worth the risk and which one wasn't.
But here's the part most people don't think about.
He didn't go home. He kept walking.
The car he skipped was safe. The next one wasn't.
The Angle Grinder Myth That Keeps Cars Unprotected
Thieves aren't safecrackers. They're opportunists scanning for the easiest target on the street — no visible deterrent, unlocked doors, a car that starts and disappears in seconds.
An angle grinder means 30+ seconds of sparks, screeching noise, and standing in full view. That's not a quick grab. That's a risk most won't take.
LOCK'D™ - Car Defender makes your car the one they skip.
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Lock'd Is More Than Just Visible Deterrence... It's Peace of Mind
I watched him look at my car and keep walking
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