The Association of Kenya Insures says the more expensive a car is, the less likely it is to be stolen. Finding a buyer for high-performance vehicles might take long, increasing the likelihood of recovery. More so, there is a ready market for the spare parts of the cheaper models. It also found out that the most stolen cars in Kenya are Toyotas.
“Seventy one percent of vehicles reported stolen in the country are Toyotas followed by Isuzu (seven per cent) and Nissan (five per cent). The rest constitute 17 per cent cumulatively,” says AKI. Mitsubishi and Mercedes Benz complete the top five of the most stolen cars.
Volvo, Honda, BMW, Ford, and Hyundai are less likely to be stolen.
Colour
The most stolen cars in Kenya are white in colour. This is because they are so many white cars in the country. Thus, it is easy for the stolen car to blend in. 50 per cent the stolen cars were white, followed by silver which stood at 21 per cent. The other car colours which are auto thieves’ favourites are black, blue and grey vehicles, in that order.
The vehicles that are least likely to be stolen are that are colour green, red, gold, pearl, purple, orange and maroon.
“White Toyotas are attractive to thieves because even if you tell the police you have lost your white Toyota, how many of them are on the road?” posed AKI’s Mr. Tom
Cost
Cars that cost less than Ksh 1 million are more likely to be stolen as opposed to cars that are over Ksh 1 million. Cars whose engine capacities sat above 2000cc and those that originated from Europe or the US were also found to be less likely to be stolen. Kenya is flooded with the relatively cheap Japanese cars, and those are the most targeted.
Body types
Station wagons, saloon cars, lorries, pickups and vans are the most targeted body types in that order. Station wagons make up 46% of the stolen cars.
Kuna wakati fielder ikilia alarm nilikuwa natrip over tables and chairs nikikimbia inje kuiokoa. I would usually break something or drag things like extension cords with my feet churning at 6000 cycles a minute.
Thieves often broke off mirrors, a thing they will not do to other toyota cars sharing the exact same mirrors so often. Thieves think fielder is made of gold.
A friend had a blue fielder station wagon. Kifungu ilikuwa inaishi kwa mkono. Kila saa alikuwa anafinya asikie alarm. Ikikosa Julia, alikuwa anatoka mbio kwenda kuangalia.
If most cars are either white or silver, isn’t it obvious that they are most likely to be stolen due to simple availability? Color doesn’t really matter as this article implies. The article only proves that most cars in Kenya are either white or silver, not that thieves prefer white and silver cars. A blue fielder will still be stolen in a bad neighborhood.
I think car theft problem(s) are common in most places, South Africa Volkswagen golf na Polo ndio hot cake, nliskia Nigeria ni Hondas and USA camry ni hot cake. Solution ni kuwa creative and adventurous and a good number of people are adapting, siku izi naona Volvos, Volkswagens and Ford Focus. My rule of the thumb is to avoid the average Toyota cars that are widely in demand here
I think the point is if you are a thief and you see two fielders parked next to each other and one is blue and the other white, you would rather steal the white since the color is very common and harder for cops to detect.
This doesnt mean the blue cant be stolen if found parked somewhere badly.
I once left my car door slightly opened on purple ni kasimama mbali nione drama, mama ako na mtoto kwa mgongo akapita akaona haijafungwa na hakuna mtu ndani, akarudi na kufungua, I sounded the alarm akachomoka mbio, people think car owners store cash and other valuables in the car, that’s where the problem arises.