Older vehicles targeted by auto thieves in B.C. more than in other provinces, data shows

Kevin MacKenzie parked his truck down the road from his girlfriend's house in Langley on a Saturday night. When he woke up the next morning to go for breakfast, it was gone.

"It was kind of a sunken feeling that wasn't too pleasant," he told CBC News.

The 26-year-old prized his 2005 F350, which he spent years saving up for. He knew the vehicle was a common target for thieves, so he always had a steering wheel lock in place.

"They obviously broke that off," he told CBC News. "It's not a nice feeling to know that something you've worked hard for, and managed to buy, and it's gone."

A CBC News analysis has found that older vehicles, particularly models between 1997 and 2007, are stolen the most often in the province. This is different from other parts of the country, including Manitoba, where new vehicle thefts have become the norm, and Quebec and Ontario, where push-to-start vehicles are among the most actively targeted.

Experts say it largely has to do with a lack of anti-theft protections within older vehicles, in particular immobilizers — anti-theft devices that became mandatory in all new cars sold in Canada in 2007. Vehicles in B.C. tend to have a longer lifespan when compared to other parts of Canada.

Why older vehicles are targeted

According to a 2016 Canadian Vehicle Market Review by DesRosiers Automotive Consultants, B.C. has a high concentration of vehicles over 10 years of age, capturing 45.6 percent of its total fleet.

That's higher than the national average fleet age of 9.62 years. Cold and frigid weather, seen more commonly in other parts of the country, are known to take a toll on vehicles.

In B.C., where older vehicles tend to have a longer lifespan, data shows thieves overwhelmingly target pre-2008 vehicles. According to ICBC, 7,500 vehicles were stolen in B.C. in 2020.

The data is echoed by B.C.'s Integrated Municipal Provincial Auto Crime Team, which says the most commonly stolen vehicles in B.C. are typically older models that do not have an immobilizer built in, and they're stolen the 'old fashioned' way by tampering with the ignition.

"They're an easier target," said Cpl. Vanessa Munn with the Surrey RCMP, adding that police advise owners to install items like immobilizers and even cameras.

"There are a lot of cheap options on the market," she said.

Munn said stolen vehicles are often used by thieves to commit other crimes, with some incidents proving fatal.

Curbing the trend

Brian Smiley, a media relations co-ordinator with Manitoba Public Insurance — a Crown corporation responsible for public auto insurance, similar to ICBC — said B.C. could look to Manitoba's example when it comes to tamping down on high-risk vehicle thefts.

In June 2007, the Manitoba government invoked a mandatory immobilizer program following exceptionally high vehicle thefts. In it's worst year in 2004, there were 9,000 vehicles stolen in Winnipeg alone.

The province allocated $15 million toward the program, paying for people to have immobilizers installed if they owned high-risk vehicles. They would be ordered to install them when they went to renew their insurance.

"It was highly successful. We saw immediately a 40 per cent reduction in auto thefts after one year, and the numbers continued to go downwards after that," he said. 

The program was repealed in 2018 after lawmakers decided it was no longer needed.

Smiley says the program could prove similarly effective in B.C. where vehicles without immobilizers are being targeted — but there just needs to be the collective will to make it happen.

"There has to be will of government to make it a law, and there also has to be financing behind this program," said Smiley.

Smiley said the program was worth it in the long run, likely saving MPI tens of millions of dollars. But more importantly, he says, lives were saved. He says there were a number of deaths associated with stolen vehicles in the province prior to the program.

"When you look at the human cost of it, that's worth it alone," he said.

Based on the data available, CBC News reached out to ICBC and the Ministry of Public Safety asking if a similar program in B.C. would be worthwhile given the overrepresentation of older vehicles that are stolen.

Both replied to inquiries but did not offer interviews or statements by deadline.

ICBC says drivers can qualify for savings if they have an immobilizer in their vehicle. Drivers can also get a $100 deductible rebate if they can prove an anti-theft device prevented a vehicle from getting stolen.

As for Kevin McKenzie, he thinks a provincial program encouraging anti-theft could go a long way for drivers like him.

"If anybody has an older vehicle like that, it's worth it to have an alarm system and an immobilizer put in," he said.