How much harder is it to steal a luxury car compared to a regular car?

[jtvang125]

I know many of the newer cars today come with a basic factory alarm and maybe even a factory kill switch built in with the alarm. Not much but just a little more peace of mind. However many of the luxury cars come with a electronic chip within the key to prevent starting of the car if the ignition system isn't presented with the proper code or signal. Obviously this does make it harder to steal but how much harder? I know I get a tiny discount on my insurance because my car is a bit harder to steal than the average car.

 

[Bryophyte]

I think luxury cars are more likely to have tracking devices in them, making it easier and faster to recover them.

 

[d0ofy]

My Mazdaspeed3 has this key with the chip in it, but I don't consider my car luxury by any means. My insurance doesn't seem very cheap either.

 

[lobbyone]

Around my area, there are more older cars being stolen than newer ones...those around 92-98 mostly. Yea, I do think it is much harder to steal newer cars, or at least I think it is.

edit: My key also has that little chip in there and I drive a Corolla, lol.

 

[BD2003]

Hell, I had a 2002 dodge neon with a chipped key.

 

[Atheus]

Better locks, alarm systems, even tracking systems. Yea I'd say it's harder.

On the other hand if you manage to break the keyless entry and keyless start codes it could be a piece of cake to steal a brand new Merc, but the work involved in actually breaking those codes might be more than it's worth.

 

[Jahee]

An immobiliser?? Most cars have one nowdays! Even a 1995 Audi that i drove a while back had one.. Its standard on most cars here anyway..

 

[R Nilla]

Actually, I read an interesting article in Wired a few months back about how ridiculously easy it is to bypass some of these security systems, which otherwise were generally thought to be impervious to theft. It's possible to disable the transponder system altogether in many vehicles.

Here's the article. It's an interesting read, especially the denial of claims by Insurance companies as well as the diagrams of how to bypass some of the systems.

 

[Superself]

I know a lot of old hondas will accept keys from another honda of the same make/model due to the lock mechanism wearing down.
You could try your honda key in 10 others of the same make/model and at least 2 out of the 10 will be worn enough to allow you to drive it.