Going outside and finding broken glass where your car used to be parked is a stomach-sickening experience. Luxury and premium vehicles often have one-of-a-kind components that can’t be easily replaced and, in some instances, the car itself might be one of a kind. Protecting your prized possession is vital. So which luxury cars and trucks out there are most at risk, and what can you do to make your vehicle less desirable to thieves?
Although a significant number of luxury vehicles are stolen each year, it’s important to note that these pricey cars and trucks do not have a higher theft rate than those selling at lower price points. Vehicles that are 10 or more years old are more likely to be theft targets. This is due to a thriving used-car parts market as well as availability — there are simply more pre-owned than new vehicles on streets and in garages at any given time. In addition, newer high-end cars have more sophisticated technology that makes them more difficult – although not impossible — to steal. (See related story: High-Tech Thieves Use Laptops to Steal Cars)

“Luxury cars do not have more frequent theft claims than their cheaper counterparts. However, because of their higher value, luxury cars tend to have higher average loss payments per claim,” said Kim Hazelbaker of the Highway Loss Data Institute (HLDI). “Overall, theft losses are below average for midsize and large luxury cars as a group and significantly above average for the very large luxury cars (Rolls, Bentley, S-class, 7 series, etc.).”
This ForbesAutos.com Top 10 list of the most commonly stolen luxury vehicles in the U.S. was compiled based on figures released by the HLDI in fall 2005. These figures cover 2002-2004 model year vehicles with an original MSRP of $30,000 or more. All losses are stated in relative terms, with a rating of 100 representing the average theft loss for all vehicles. For example, a rating of 122 is 22 percent worse than average, and 90 is 10 percent better than the average insured vehicle year filed under comprehensive coverages. Of the 371 total vehicles listed by HLDI, our Top 10 list of models with the highest ratings for theft is limited to only luxury automobiles.

Top 10 Most Stolen Vehicles

1. Cadillac Escalade
2. Hummer H2
3. BMW 7L Series
4. Honda S2000 Convertible
5. Lincoln Navigator
6. Chevrolet Avalanche
7. Mercedes-Benz S-Class
8. Chevrolet Corvette
9. Mercedes-Benz SL-Class Convertible
10. BMW X5

According to the National Insurance Crime Bureau, close to 1.2 million total vehicles were stolen in the United States in 2004 alone. As for the types of high-end cars and trucks targeted, vehicle theft trends change over time and appear to be directly related to the types of rides consumers desire. “We clearly see the increased popularity of SUVs reflected in their higher theft rates in recent years,” Hazelbaker said.
Detective Lou Koven, a 14-year veteran of the Los Angeles Police Department’s Auto Theft Unit, said that luxury SUVs are targeted frequently by thieves. “[Automakers] have made such strides in electronic protection that it’s much more difficult now for the thieves to steal luxury vehicles, like the Lexus, BMW and Mercedes,” he said. “Your average car thief is not going after those luxury vehicles because they are not capable of stealing them the same way they did five or 10 years ago."

But SUVs are another story, Koven said. “The Escalade, the Hummer, the Yukon, they do not have at this point right now what is known as a transponder-ignition system," he said. "So [thieves] are able to defeat those ignition systems rather easily. And that’s why they have targeted those. When a trend starts it’s very hard to stop it, because thieves spread the word like wildfire.”
So what about a car alarm as a theft deterrent? Chris E. McGoey, a Los Angeles-based security consultant, explained, “Car alarms do work to prevent many amateur thefts but are not a great deterrent to professional thieves. The amateur car thief is still young, poorly educated and not very sophisticated. The professionals, however, can have great automotive skill and learn how to defeat the new technology in car alarms and shut-off devices.”
Bob Folkestad, director of electronics and innovations at SPAL USA, a company that makes car alarms, said, “With the high-value vehicle, look for a security system that is not audible but can notify you via your cell phone, email, etc. It’s very easy with this type of system to find the vehicle and see what’s happened to it.”
The bottom line, however, is that no security system is perfect. Paul Kocher, president and chief scientist of Cryptography Research, Inc., said, “In general, the effectiveness of the alarm really all depends on how knowledgeable the person is who steals a car. The ordinary car alarm, at best, is probably going to deter somebody from coming in and stealing your cassette tapes, but it’s probably not going to do anything against somebody who’s a professional thief.”