Sat Nav theft is on the increase and fairly prevalent. As the Summer now approaches Sat Nav users need to be more vigilant as I know a few unfortunate victims of this type of crime.

A friend of mine recently went to a football match in the North of England. Leaving early on a Saturday with a couple of hundred miles to drive, he made it with plenty of time and no hassles thanks to his Sat Nav. He decided to stop off at a service station for something to eat and on his return noticed the car window was smashed and his Sat Nav stolen. The scary thing is he was only away from the car for five minutes, the car park was quite busy and it was broad daylight.

He called the police to report the crime then waited for the car windsreen company to fix the window an to add insult to injury he missed the whole match he wanted to see so much.

I’ve had a Sat Nav for a number of years and never had any problems like this and the reasons are simple, I never leave anything on view which shows an opportunistic or desperate thief there is anything valuable in my car.

Here are the methods I use to prevent my Sat Nav from being stolen:

Remove it from the windscreen or dash even if you are leaving the car for a very short time, thieves can smash and grab in seconds and as my friend found out they are only getting bolder.

Consider removing the mount as well, it’s a giveaway you own a Sat Nav and thieves will assume it’s in the glovebox, under the seat or even in the boot.

On colder days condensation can get between the mount and the windscreen which is another telltale sign. Ensure you wipe the mark away when you remove the mount.

Why not take the Sat Nav with you? Most units these days are very portable and not much bigger than a mobile phone. Even if your car is broken into then at least you can take some satisfaction that you’ve not got to replace it as well as your window.