For some, a car means a form of transport from a to b. To others, a car is an icon of their achievement or a production from their hobby or past time. Either way, one of the most distressing or horrific experiences of owning a vehicle is to have discovered that it has been vandalised, stolen or broken into. We here at stolen car listings would like to offer you some helpful and simple advice to help protect your car.

Alarms come in different variants and can cost from as little as €100 up to €750. An alarm being present within a vehicle can significantly reduce the risk of your car being stolen. A lot of car thief's tend to break into vehicles that do not come fitted with an alarm as they can break in without causing any noise or interference or bringing attention to themselves. Most alarm companies have a mobile service that can install an alarm for you at your home or place of work. Remember, a decent alarm will cost around €200, having your car stolen and losing your no claims bonus or paying for the repair work can cost a lot more than this.

A lot of modern cars will have an immobiliser and/or alarm fitted as standard. A lot of the after market alarms also come with an immobiliser. An immobiliser cuts power to the engine if it detects that the car is being hot wired or if a code has not been entered in when starting the engine. This is a useful deterrent as it means that car thieves cannot start your engine without having the key and/or code.

For some of the more high powered or luxury cars, a built in tracking device is essential for the vehicle. This allows the car to be tracked wherever it is; studies have proven that this is one of the best ways to recover a stolen vehicle. It works by having a small tracking device fitted to your car, if the vehicle has been tampered with, a text message is sent to your mobile phone that will give details of what has happened to your vehicle. Some companies offer great packages for this service, and for a small monthly fee, your car can be protected and it can give you piece of mind.

Although these are not as technologically advanced as the other methods mentioned, it is a very cheap and easy way to protect your car from being stolen. Steering locks are readily available from your local motor factors for as little as €25. These mechanisms work by locking both the gear stick and handbrake in place, or locking the steering wheel so that it can not perform a full rotation while it has been attached. Most car thieves will not have the facilities or the tools to remove these locks as some of these robust devices may need some heavy duty tools to penetrate them. A heavy duty chain wrapped around the steering wheel and the driver's seat can also prevent a car from being robbed. Again, like the steering locks, it is almost impossible to break these chains without heavy duty tools Both steering locks and chains are a great visual sign to potential thieves that the car is secure.

If you are parking your car in an unknown area, try to park it in a well lit area, close to shops or houses or to premises that have CCTV or security patrols. Ensure all your doors are locked and valuables are hidden from view. If parking in a car park, try to park close to other cars, car thieves tend to try to break into cars that are parked in isolated areas or that are parked away from any passers by as this reduces the risk of them getting caught.

If you have a driveway, a motorised gate or a removable bollard can be a good investment. A lot of car theft happens while the owners are present and asleep in their houses. A motorised gate or a bollard will make it harder for car thieves to remove your car, even if they are able to break into it. Motorised gates can be expensive; however a metal security bollard can be bought quite cheap and installed for less than €300.

Never leave any types of valuables in full view to the outside world when leaving your car unattended. Laptop bags, wallets, purses or expense goods left inside a car in full view is just another robbery waiting to happen. If you can, store items under your seat, or in secret compartments, avoid just putting them into the glove box as this is the first place a thief will look if he gains access to your vehicle. If your car has a removable face on the radio, take it out and bring it with you, a radio with no face is useless. Tinted windows can also deter the view from the outside into your vehicle; the average price of having the windows of your car tinted is around €230. Just note that in some areas, the police force has certain regulations regarding the grade of the tint. Please check with your local window tinting company or the local police station. Try to wipe off suction cup marks from GPS windows or phone holders that would be stuck on the window. GPS units are expensive and sought after, thieves can identify cars with these units, simply by looking at the windscreen for suction cup marks.

Always remember to lock your car, although this is a simple tip, it is quite astonishing how many people actually forget to lock their cars when they get out, even if you are 'just popping into the local shop for five minutes' it is important to lock your car at all times. Be aware, if there is a suspicious looking group of youths loitering close to your vehicle, keep an eye on them, contact the local authorities if needed and report what you see. Try to write down a description of the members as this can help the police track down culprits. Remember, better safe than sorry. Never leave your car keys in the hallway table or the downstairs of the house, a lot of car thieves will break into houses to steal the keys to a car if they are unable to break into it without them. Some thieves have been caught using fishing lines to grab keys through the letter box of houses. Remember, having an expensive alarm is useless if you can not protect the keys.