Many people tend to overlook vandalism as potential car damage. Most people worry more about car theft or possible accident-related damage. However, having your car vandalized is outstandingly frustrating. Not only that, but the cost it takes to repair your car is also expensive.
When your car has been vandalized, you start wondering why someone would do this to you. It may be an upset neighbor, revenge, or just a misbehaving kid, or just simply random acts of violence that occur. Regardless, you’re now left with a problem that might cause you a few thousand bucks.
The vandalism comes in many forms like graffiti, car keying, smashing windows, slashing tires, carjacking, and theft. This is why the cost for repair varies depending on the gravity of the act. Others are repairable by the owner, but some need a professional check-up.
What to Do When Your Car Has Been Vandalized?
If you’re one of the unfortunate ones who became a victim of vandalism, there are some things you can do:
- Make sure you capture all the damage by taking a picture or a video.
- Report it to the police immediately. Whoever did this to you might get away as there’s no likely to be any evidence. But the police will do everything they can.
- Don’t forget to get a crime reference number. You’ll need this in filing insurance claims.
- If you’re thinking about filing an insurance claim, make sure you get a quote on how much it would cost. It might cost less if you get it fixed yourself than with insurance.
Protecting Your Car from Vandalism
Here we want to go over ways in which you can better protect yourself and your vehicle from vandalism. Though nothing is guaranteed doing these steps can better protect your car from vandalism:
1. Set A Boundary
You can create a boundary between where you park your car and the road. Try this by adding a fence or a bed of flowers or small bushes. Do avoid using bigger stones because vandals might try to use them.
You can even have your driveway painted a different color than that of the road if you want. That way, you can prevent cars from smashing or causing dents on your car. Car dent repair can cost much, but you can do it on your own by following a car dent repair guide.
Creating a boundary like such signifies that you’re marking your territory. Whoever dares to cross that will be considered trespassing.
2. Try Parking Your Car Inside
It takes no scientist to know that parking your cars in the garage is safer than having them in the driveway. You might be thinking that you have an auto alarm system to notify you when something’s happening. But still, your car might already be damaged before you can get to it right away. Plus, having your car in the driveway, especially at night, allows would-be vandals.
Worse is when they steal your car. Car theft serves as fuel for the black market. Parts of popular cars are being sold on the black market for a lower price. Even if your car hasn’t been stolen, you’re still risking your car to a lot of damage. If you have anything valuable inside your car, you’re also making that vulnerable to theft.
The aftermath of any car accident, may it be vandalism or unsolicited damage, is a whole lot of stress and frustration. You’ll need to call your insurance company and file a claim which is tiring and tedious as it is. You’ll also have to deal with not having a vehicle for the time being. Sometimes, repairs can take time.
Not to mention, some insurance companies have even added garage parking in setting insurance premiums to save some costs. This means you may not win a claim if your car has been parked outside your garage when such things happened.
3. Set Up A CCTV Camera
Regardless of whoever the culprit is, fixing a vandalized car is expensive and time-consuming. This is why you should try using CCTV to protect your cars (see Armormax added options. Though this may not always be possible, especially when you have to park your car in a public space and there’s no CCTV nearby. However, there’s a way for you to solve this.
All you have to do is install an interior camera inside your car. Most people favor this way of protecting their car. This is more time-friendly and cost-saving than having a stationary CCTV set up at your home. Plus, you can get a small one to make it discreet so you can catch the vandal without the culprit knowing it.
There are small cameras now that are battery-operated and can record videos in 720p. Cameras like these are compact and can even accommodate a micro-SD card. This means that you wouldn’t have to have it connected to an external device. All you have to do is place it on your dashboard or where you see fits, and you could quickly start recording right away.
The only downside to using an interior camera like this is that it prevents you from using any night vision. The reason for this is infra-red can’t possibly reflect through the window. The result is an unseeable image. This means you can only use this type of camera during the daytime when there’s a lot of natural light outside.
If you need added protection, then you can also consider putting up exterior cameras. These cameras go outside of your car, so it can see the perimeter where your car is parked. You can set up a CCTV system outside your garage and have it running at all times.
One benefit of using this is that it can record during nighttime because it wouldn’t have to record from a glass. This will allow you to use a night-vision mode for your camera so that you can protect your car at all times.
If you already have a set of CCTVs at home, then it’ll do well in giving your car another layer of protection.
Conclusion
Unfortunately, petty crimes like vandalism are becoming more prevalent recently around the world. While the reason why people choose to target someone’s car and property may remain unknown to some, it’s better to keep your car protected at all times. This is probably the only thing you can control as other people’s action is definitely beyond your influence. And, you don’t want the hassle of being a victim of vandalism. If ever you’ve already been one, then at least you can easily catch the culprit if you have your perimeter and your car protected by cameras recording 24/7.
