The rise of aftermarket parts being stolen right off the cars they were attached to should be a cause for concern to everyone in the car community.
News has just reached us regarding the theft of carbon fibre mirror caps and a carbon fibre rear spoiler, that has been stolen right off a Toyota Altezza. The theft reportedly occurred in Tesco Kepong recently.
It is sad to say that unfortunately the theft of car parts is not a new phenomenon. What is more of a concern however is that there has been a worrying rise of thefts involving aftermarket parts, such as these items that were stolen here. This is because not only are these parts easy to swipe and easy to offload, but they also fetch a nice price online, in addition to having a steady stream of interest from buyers looking for these valuable parts.
What is even more disparaging though is that there is nothing we, as car owners, can do to stop them. While tracking devices and immobilisers has made car thefts a more difficult endeavour for thieves, the same protection is not afforded to parts attached to said car. Aside from the locking key for alloy wheels, the other parts attached to the car are vulnerable. Look, even the parts that you think won’t be stolen like the aforementioned spoiler can go missing just like that.
Just to go back to the parts stolen off the Altezza for a moment. While the mirrors may have been an easy part to swipe, to steal the rear spoiler however would have required considerable effort. Not to mention attracting significant attention at what is presumably a well-trafficked supermarket carpark. It is not everyday that you would see someone ripping off a rear boot spoiler in a public area. Which then begs the question as to how brazen are these thieves now, and did no one see this crime being committed?
Anyway back to the issue of trying to stop these things from happening to us, the only line of defence open to us is also a hopelessly weak one, and that is by frantically posting on social media notifying of these stolen parts. Even then however with no unique part number, in the rare instance whereby the parts do surface online, no one can’t prove definitively that the part listed online was stolen off your pride and joy.
Moreover being online, there is also not much you can do about it even if you are dead sure those are your stolen parts. The identity of the seller online will most definitely be fake, so there is no recourse to take apart from reporting them online. Speaking of reports, making a police report too might bring some comfort, but then again there is not much the police can do either to retrieve those parts for you. Just to add salt to the already open wound, most car insurance policies also does not cover the theft of stolen car parts even if it is a comprehensive plan, not least if the parts stolen were aftermarket additions like the ones here.
With its mirrors knocked off and rear spoiler ripped off, this once pretty cool modified Altezza now looks decidedly worse for wear after the heinous crime that was committed unto it. This should however not discourage owners from modifying their cars, personalisation after all is what brings the spice to the automotive community.
What owners of modified cars should instead do is perhaps try to secure aftermarket additions with or park your modified cars in a more secure location. These are not 100% deterrence for parts theft of course, but it should minimise the chances of your aftermarkets parts disappearing into the night.
One more thing to add too, if anyone does happen across a pair of carbon fibre mirrors and a carbon fibre spoiler for an Altezza online recently, there is a high likelihood that those parts were stolen of this car. So do drop us a line to help this unfortunate Altezza owner out.
