Australian couple’s car stolen in just 13 hours, as report identifies new hot spots for car thieves

EXCLUSIVE: This Aussie couple’s car was stolen the day they bought it. But they are not alone. These are the top ten hot spots for car theft across the nation.

Jaedyn Hall and Nadia Hight with their new car that was stolen on New Year's Eve. The car was found in Logan and returned. Picture: Annette Dew

CAR owners are being urged not to be complacent, with a new report showing an average of 148 vehicles were stolen every day in Australia in the 12 months to September, 2016, with a total cost of $500 million.

The Carsafe.com.au research, analysed by comparethemarket.com.au, showed the biggest increase in car theft compared to previous years since 2011.

Jaedyn Hall and Nadia Hight thought they were taking more than enough care when they parked their locked car at their home in Brisbane’s inner north and took the keys inside.

They had purchased the car that day, on New Year’s Eve and had already taken out insurance.

They were entertaining guests, when people broke in and found their car keys.

The mid-twenties couple were unaware until the next day when they went outside to find the car had disappeared.

“We basically had the car for about 13 hours before it was stolen,” Mr Hall said.

“It’s not something you think will happen with the car in the carport and the keys inside,” Ms Hight added. “Since then we’ve been vigilant about securing the house, even when we’ve been at home.”

Jaedyn Hall and Nadia Hight thought they had taken the necessary precautions with their new car. Picture: Annette Dew

The couple had focused their insurance cover on incidents like hail damage and accidents but admit they had not paid much attention to theft, due to the car being a 2015 Mitsubishi that would be hard to break into.

To make matters worse, the paperwork was still in the car.

“We didn’t have copies so we were grappling to get everything underway,” Ms Hight said. “In the end the insurers were really good. The towing costs were covered, they did a full mechanical check and we were given a replacement car for two weeks, which was nice. We didn’t select the replacement car option on the cover, but because it was stolen rather than an accident, we got a car.”

The couple’s vehicle was recovered unharmed by police, who said there had been a school holiday spike in cars been stolen, driven until they ran out of petrol and abandoned.

Victoria was the state most affected, with 35 per cent of the nation’s stolen passenger and light commercial vehicles; significantly higher than New South Wales (21.4 per cent), Queensland (17.3 per cent) and Western Australia (15.7 per cent).

All up 43,249 passenger and light commercial vehicles were stolen in the period, along with 8,299 motorcycles and 2,546 in the “heavy/other” category.

The top 10 hot spots for vehicle theft were spread across Queensland, Victoria and the ACT.

Brisbane City, Gold Coast, Logan and Townsville were the worst in the north, while Hume, Greater Geelong, Casey, Whittlesea and Greater Dandenong were Victoria’s danger zones.

Compare The Market spokeswoman Abigail Koch said complacency could be costly for car owners.

Thieves are breaking into houses to find car keys. Picture: Brendan Francis

“It’s important Australians know where theft hot spots are so they can be extra vigilant,” Ms Koch said, adding that, in addition to obvious precautions like locking the car, closing windows and not leaving keys in the ignition, other measures were necessary.

“It’s important to take preventive measures to reduce the chances of a vehicle loss. This can include ensuring your vehicle is locked and parked in a safe area, or making sure you have placed your keys in a safe place. Not taking these extra precautions can void your insurance policy and end up costing you the value of your car,” she said.

The car makes most susceptible for theft were the Nissan Pulsar 1995-2000 models, with 932 cars stolen in the year. Holden’s VE Commodore 2006-2013 had 860 thefts and the Toyota Hilux 2005-2011 had 759. Holden’s VT (1997-2000) and VX (2000-2002) Commodores rounded out the top five with 687 and 596 thefts respectively.

Originally published as Australian couple’s car stolen in just 13 hours, as report identifies new hot spots for car thieves