20-year-old car top pick for thieves

ATLANTA - Car thefts are at near historic lows, but it's still an issue. We should all take precautions, but what cars thieves are targeting might surprise you. It's not the latest, high-end models. In fact, the National Insurance Crime Bureau says it's an older model car because, one, there are still so many on the road.  And, two, it doesn't have the latest anti-theft technology on it.

It's a Honda. Not a surprise. And a Civic. Still no surprise. But more specifically it's the 1998 Honda Civic. They're still on the used car market. They're still running, and according to NICB, they're stolen mainly for parts. I found one online with 144,000 miles on it. It's more than 20 years old and still fetching more than $2,300.

Here's a look at some of the hot wheels that thieves like to take. Again, number one is the 1998 Honda Civic. Right behind it is 1997 Honda Accord. the next two spots are taken by pick-up trucks. Number 3 is a full-sized 2006 Ford. And fourth is a Chevy, again, full-sized, 2004. And rounding out the top five is a new car - the 2017 Toyota Camry.

TOP 5 STOLEN VEHICLES
1. 1998 Honda Civic
2. 1997 Honda Accord
3. 2006 Ford Pick Up
4. 2004 Chevy Pick Up
5. 2017 Toyota Camry

Interestingly, metro Atlanta is not a hot spot for car thefts. This report shows us number 67 on the list. But still, we always need to be careful so that we don't make our automobiles appealing to thieves.  Here's some advice from Atlanta Police.

"Some of the things you can do to keep your car from being stolen is parking in well-lit areas, making sure you park in high visibility areas. Keeping your windows up and your doors locked," Officer J. Daughtery.

Sounds like commonsense but listen to this, NICB data shows one of the big reasons your car is chosen over another is that people leave their keys or fobs in the vehicle. In fact, in 2016 they saw the numbers of people leaving the keys to the car in the car up 22 percent. So, hey, don't leave your keys in the car, folks.