Chevy Trucks Remain Hot Commodity Among Thieves
Memphis man loses not one, but two Chevy trucks to theft. Here’s how you can avoid becoming the next victim.
Owning a Chevy truck obviously comes with a lot of benefits. They’re capable, reliable, and infinitely customizable. But unfortunately, there is one massive downside to owning something so popular. Turns out, Chevy trucks aren’t just popular with us law-abiding citizens – thieves love ’em too. So much so that Memphis resident Eric Harris has lost not one, but two Silverados to lowlife car thieves.
You might immediately think that perhaps Harris lives on a bad side of town. But apparently, that isn’t the case – he actually resides in one of the “safest” zip codes in the city. Despite that and some other typical safeguards, Harris became a victim of an increasingly common crime after parking his truck in the street overnight.
“Then it was gone. That’s pretty much how it worked. Car had an alarm system, and I thought it was pretty safe and secure. Evidently it was not,” he told WREG News. The truck was eventually found, but not before it had been stripped to the bone and sold for parts.
Months later, Harris eventually decided to purchase another Chevy Silverado. “Same alarm system parked in a place I thought was safe and secure,” he recalled. Merely a few weeks later, he was shocked when that truck was also stolen. “I questioned myself. Did I park it around the corner? Is it in the gate? There’s no way this is happening again. It did.”
This time around, the truck was found after someone used it in an assault and smashed it into a tree. An incredibly frustrating story, indeed. Making matters worse, Harris reported both trucks stolen to the police only to be told that Chevy trucks are popular targets for thieves in the area.
You can’t blame Harris for being extremely frustrated and asking for cameras and/or more frequent police patrols in his area to combat the problem. But outside of sitting outside and watching your truck 24/7, there are some things you can do to prevent your Chevy from becoming the next victim of theft.
Obvious steps include locking your truck and never leaving the keys or any valuables inside. If possible, park it in a garage or well-lit area. OnStar is a great tool as well, as operators are able to remotely track your vehicle and even disable the engine.
When Chevrolet Forum member durdle‘s Tahoe was stolen a few years back, police recommended that he purchase and use the Club, an old school anti-theft measure. This could be a good choice for older vehicles. Owners of such trucks can also purchase a host of GPS tracking devices these days that simply plug into your OBD port.
The truth of the matter is, as we’ve reported in the past, Chevy trucks routinely top most stolen lists around the country. But by taking a few simple steps, hopefully we can band together and make things just a little bit harder on thieves!
