Hijackings are on the rise

Basically a do's and don't's car buying hijacking probability guide for South Africa. Foreigners, I guess you get these reports too? No..?

If you drive a Porsche or a Lamborghini you’re not likely to get hijacked any time soon, but beware all those who drive sedans.

A report on vehicle hijacking by Business Against Crime South Africa said drivers should be careful when buying a vehicle because car thefts and hijackings are on the rise again.

Bacsa’s Fouche Burgers said vehicles made between seven and 21 years ago were at high risk, “while one- to four-year-old vehicles are at the highest risk ”.

This was because older cars do not have modern anti-theft devices and are in demand for the secondhand parts market.

Burgers said analysis showed that “sedans are the most frequent targets for criminals”, but minibuses and bakkies “are at a much higher risk of being stolen than any other type of vehicle”.

He said “cheaper vehicles of the popular makes and models” were also at high risk and across the age spectrum .

However, “some vehicles are more desirable than others” and some models appeal to professional thieves “because of their brand and performance characteristics”.

This was the case, Burgers said, for cars valued at more than R200 000 because “criminals might use these to perform hijackings, house robberies, business robberies and cash-in- transit robberies”.

Burgers, who compiled the report, said: “Organised crime is primarily responsible for vehicle theft and hijackings in South Africa.

“Criminals are in this business to make money, and not to take the vehicle for a joy ride.”

He said that statistics showed that half of the country’s stolen and hijacked cars are resold in South Africa, about 30 percent are smuggled out of the country, and around 20 percent are chopped up for parts.