On average, 2,400 complete sets of wheels are stolen from European citizens, every day. Car dealers and workshops are estimated to be affected by equally as many thefts, probably even more. Here are four reasons as to why you need effective wheel locks on your car.
1. The powerlessness!Anyone who has ever had their wheels stolen will tell you that finding your car on bricks (or even worse, straight on the ground) brings on a cascade of unpleasant emotions. You are on your way somewhere, you’re already running late. A beautiful weekend out with the boat gets a daunting ending. You are going to an important appointment, but suddenly your plans are overruled. It’s a pain, a real pain.
2. The administration, the waiting, the frustration
Following a wheel theft comes a string of admin duties. The police, the insurance company, towing, workshop… Add onto that a period of time without your own car - where the child safety seat and the parking permit is. And perhaps an unpaid parking fine, with a nice reminder fee on its way to rub some salt…
3. The expenses
In nine cases out of ten, serious and expensive damage will be made to your car if it ends up without wheels. Then you have to deal with deductibles for vehicle damage, not for theft. For a BMW, that usually ends up at around €800, depending on your insurance. You’re reimbursed for the cost of your rims. That is, the value of your rims, not the price to buy a new set. No matter how careful you’ve been with the curbs and refuges, if you want new rims you’re gonna have to pay the difference. Car rental is an add-on for most insurance companies, so if you haven’t paid for that you’re gonna have to cover that cost, too.
4. Sabotage
Thankfully, it’s not as common as wheel theft. But there have been several cases where malicious people simply loosen the bolts that they can get to. Maybe with the juvenile and idiotic idea of a catastrophic "prank" or maybe they just didn’t have time to get the wheels off fully, before they had to run off. It’s common that thieves first loosen the bolts on all wheels, and then remove all four wheels in one go. Let’s just say, it’s not too likely that they’ll come back and tighten them if they get caught in the act.