Nissan Silvia tops most stolen car' list

The Nissan Silvia is the most favoured car by thieves. ionally. Photo / Supplied

Nissans, Hondas and Subarus are New Zealand's most commonly stolen cars, AA Insurance statistics show.

The company yesterday named the 10 brands of cars stolen most frequently in New Zealand, based on theft claims over the past four years.

The majority of stolen vehicles are imported and secondhand models and more than 80 per cent of the most stolen cars are more than 10 years old.

Car dealers and AA Insurance say older cars are more at risk of being stolen because they often don't come with the security technology and alarms that new cars have.

The Nissan Silvia remains the most frequently stolen car for the third consecutive year.

Nissan NZ managing director John Manley said yesterday: "We are thrilled that drivers recognise our product for its styling, its performance, but we'd prefer it if they'd acquire them legitimately."

To calculate theft incidence, AA Insurance measured the number of claims made for each model of car as a percentage of the total number of policies it holds for that model.

AA Insurance spokeswoman Suzanne Wolton said car theft was a significant problem in New Zealand.

Police statistics showed the crime was reported, on average, every 30 minutes.

Only 30 per cent of stolen cars were recovered.

Subaru NZ managing director Wallis Dumper said the AA Insurance figures reflected the fact that "lots of Japanese-used Subarus come into New Zealand because New Zealand is one of the highest market shares for Subaru in the world".

"With all those Subarus stolen, probably 99 per cent of them or more are second-hand used imports brought into New Zealand without the anti-theft devices and new technologies that we have fitted, standard on all the brand new Subarus imported through the legitimate channels."

Mr Dumper's advice to people if they were buying a used Subaru was to get it fitted with an immobilising alarm.

*Install security: Alarms and immobilisers are good deterrents. Use a steering lock if you have one.

*Always lock your car - even when your car is at home in the garage or at the service station.

*If you have to park on the street, make sure your car is under a street light or in a well-lit area.

*Use an attended, secure-parking building if possible and park close to the entrance or exit.

PREVENTING THEFT

1 Nissan Silvia
2 Honda Torneo
3 Nissan Skyline
4 Subaru Impreza
5 Subaru Forester
6 Subaru Legacy
7 Nissan Presea
8 Honda Prelude
9 Honda Integra
10 Nissan Cefiro

Source: AA Insurance claims data 2007-2010