The essential security devices every car needs

After your home, your car is likely to be the most important - and most cherished - possession you have. It is your pride and joy, yours and yours alone. So how would you feel if someone stole your car or managed to get inside it and make off with valuables such as your car stereo or Sat-Nav? You would be livid, of course. Unfortunately, car theft and the opportunistic stealing of vehicle-based valuables is a feature of modern life; so, even if you have not had to deal with this kind of thing before, you can be pretty sure an unscrupulous so-and-so will look at your car at some point in the future and consider trying their luck. Happily, there are a number of security devices now available for purchase which can stop (and help to deter) car thieves from getting their hands on your pride and joy. Below are three of the most essential. Kill switches An ignition kill switch is basically a relay which is inserted somewhere into your ignition circuit and stops the circuit from being completed without the switch being turned on. This means that car thieves have to find and activate the switch before they can start the car. It is fair to say that most car thieves find kill switches to be supremely frustrating as, even after doing everything they can to override a vehicle's security, their 'prize' still won't start. Of course, kill switches need to be installed in well hidden places in order to be effective: you can choose you own location and install it yourself or get a qualified vehicle electrician to do it for you. Steering column locks These locks are simple but effective security devices which encase your steering column in a protective metal casing, thus preventing thieves from accessing your ignition switch or tampering with the surrounding casing and wiring. Steering column locks are great deterrents as car thieves know how hard these security features make it for them to pull out wiring or get to the ignition switch beneath the key barrel to hotwire the car. Some steering column locks also come complete with a bar that acts as a steering wheel lock, thereby limiting steering wheel movement as well as protecting the steering column. Car radio removal keys It is often the case these days that when you buy a new car with a decent stereo, you get a user manual with it which has a key-like tool contained within which is used to remove the unit. These removal keys – there are normally two of them – slide between the sides of the stereo where they unlock the unit, enabling you to pull your stereo out of its cavity with ease. Regardless of how hard they might try, ill-equipped thieves find it practically impossible to prise a locked stereo from a vehicle that uses this kind of security feature. Do not worry if your car didn't include removal keys when you bought it; these handy tools can be purchased for most makes and models.