Cars and Drivers

The Car That Gets Stolen Most Often Will Surprise You

Colman Andrews

Published: May 1, 2019 5:42 pm

Last Updated: January 6, 2020 5:02 am

On the off chance that you happen to own a vehicle of that description, you might want to make sure that it’s still where you left it. According to a new study released by Driving-Test.org and based on data from the FBI and the National Insurance Crime Bureau, the most often-stolen car in America for 2017, the most recent year for which figures are available, was the Honda Civic and the model year most often stolen was the 1998.

This, the report suggests, is because so many Civics are still on the road (the car is famous for its longevity), and older models like the ‘98 don’t have today’s anti-theft technology.

Some 773,139 motor vehicles were reported stolen in 2017 across the country, 45,062 of them Honda Civics. Honda held second-place honors, too, with the Accord, of which 43,764 were taken. Other favorite targets of theft, in descending order, were full-size Ford pickups, full-size Chevrolet pickups, Toyota Camry, Nissan Altima, Toyota Corolla, full-size Dodge pickup, full-size GMC pickup, and, ironically, one of the cars Americans least want to buy (judging from how long they typically sit on car lots) — the Chevrolet Impala.

Alaska recorded the most stolen vehicles in 2017 (cars in Anchorage were particularly attractive to criminals), with some $56.4 million worth of autos lifted. Though it was only the seventh worst state in number of car thefts, though, California was by far the worst when it comes to the value of stolen vehicles: Golden Staters lost their rides to the tune of an astounding $2.7 billion. It’s safe to say that figure didn’t include a lot of 1998 Civics.

When statistics for new cars — that is, from the 2017 model year — are examined, the results are somewhat different. The Camry is still number two, but the most vulnerable new car is the Altima.

Car thieves are more active in some states than others, and some cities have particularly high rates of theft.