Older is better - car thieves love the classics

A car thief is more likely to target your jalopy than a new, expensive machine and within a few hours it could be reduced to a heap of unidentifiable "black market" parts.

Older cars are more at risk from car thieves, according to data just published in the UK - but the reasons are just as valid here...

Older vehicles are easier to steal - they don't have an immobiliser and their doors are easier to open without a key.

There's a strong black market in parts for long-running models such as Toyota's Tazz and VW's Citigolf and many parts from older Toyota Hilux bakkies will fit the company's new Siyaya taxis.

British home office figures showed the car most likely to be stolen there in 2005 was the Vauxhall Belmont, a mid-1980s, UK-market variant of the second-generation Opel Astra.

More than 1 in 13 of the 5700 Belmonts still on the road in 2005 - that's around 450 - were stolen, while the second-generation Astra was the next most likely vehicle to be nicked, followed by Ford's Mark III Escort.

British Home Secretary John Reid said the rate of car theft in the UK had fallen by almost a third during 2004 and 2005 - "a testament to those working with police and manufacturers to make cars more difficult to steal" - and compulsory fitting of immobilisers since 1998 had also cut car theft.

GM UK spokesman Tom Barnard said most of the old Astras and Belmonts stolen were probably taken by joyriders.

"They're not stolen for profit," he said. "Technology has changed a lot over the last 20 years. You can't steal a new car now without the key unless you're very dedicated."

Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders chief executive Christopher Macgowan said a steering lock would reduce the risk of theft.