VIN Etching Kits...Smart, Folly or it's up to you? (F150, insurance)

[NYPeach]

I did a search here and did not see this topic, so I'd like to ask about VIN etching Kits. I just bought a new car and in these times we know auto theft rates are very high.

I only heard about VIN etching from researching costs for purchasing a new car and how some dealers try to convince you to purchase this product from them for hundreds of dollars when in fact you can buy a kit online for about 25.00 and DIY.

There theory goes by etching your VIN on your car doors and windows you make your car less attractive to thieves. I don't dispute that may be the case. My questions:

Has anyone ever bought this kit and done this to their car? I checked online at a couple of auto stores and nothing came up in their search boxes on their websites. I have only been able to find it at vinetching(kit) dot com

Does this make your car less attractive at trade-in or private sales time or is it a bonus?

Will this help with your insurance rates?

Thanks for any feed back.

[ploopy]

i remember the first time i bought a car and they used this as a selling point. i thought it was weird and if i were a thief and wanted a car, wouldn't care if it had a big red target painted on the side. i'd take it if i wanted it. or find a way

so i would say meh. but what do i know? i don't even know if my new car has it or not

[Narfcake]

Additional resale value for this security feature - none.

Parts value ... it does make the glass harder to resell, but that's about it. The body panels ... some already have holographic decals and/or stampings with the VIN on them, and it doesn't stop a thief if they wanted it, nor is it usually a concern to the recipient after their car gets banged up and the shady body shop put on the said "new" part that's been repainted over already.

[AlfredB1979]

Um, that's interesting.

You don't mention a vehicle in your case, short of a crook having the eexact key pattern and the right chipped encoder, my F150 *probably* ain't going anywhere. Then again, it is an XL with manual windows and locks. Nobody wants that, anyway.

If someone wanted my truck that badly, anyway, a few numbers scribbled all over won't matter.

[Grandpa Pipes]

Etching is a solution looking for a problems to solve and suckers to take money from.

If a thief wants your car it's gone!

save yer money.

[G.Costanza]

Originally Posted by NYPeach

There theory goes by etching your VIN on your car doors and windows you make your car less attractive to thieves. I don't dispute that may be the case.

I think you should question that premise.

[hellmaster]

How about this: Every Police Precinct in NYC does it for free and insurance companies will give you a discount anywhere from 3%-15% depending on company. Sometimes community centers, car clubs, schools, churchs and so on have a day where the cops send someone and they do anyone's car that shows up. Once again for free or a donation to the school, church or whatever.

Whether or not it will actually deter someone fro stealing your car is left to individual cases and is unknown. It might have worked you will never know since if it did deter a potential thief then your car was not stolen and you would have not known if it worked.

The main point is that it will save you money on your insurance every year that you own the car and have it insured.

[trlhiker]

In most cases, those stealing cars do it for joy rides or getting from one point to another. Unless you have a vehicle that is in high demand by for parts, which usually go outside the country anyways, why waste your money

[Sayantsi]

The most stolen cars are older cars, and they are stolen for parts, so things like etched VINs are easily covered up. Not worth the effort imo.

[hellmaster]

How is getting it done for FREE and getting a discount on your insurance not worth the effort?

That discount on your insurance is there every year until you no longer have that car insured. Lets say it a 5% discount, like in my case, that's $16 for each car ($32 total) in my pocket. Lets say I own the car for a couple years after I pay it off for a total of 7 years. That's a total of $224 in my pocket for 30 minutes of my time. Seems worth it to me.

I have a total of $187 of discounts on my insurance policy and when my wife gets her defensive driving course it will be another $87 for a grand total of $274/year. For the 7 years I have the cars that's $1918. I guess that's not worth it either.