Cash on car locks is a waste

UNSAFE LOCKS

Central locking in cars is not as safe as it is made out to be. In short, talk to guys who open up your locked car – with your permission of course, and they assure you that every car can be opened with the help of master keys, magnets, wires, batteries, metal hooks et al. In other words, all the  so called ‘central locking systems’ in cars can be tampered with. Which explains why so many cars get stolen in the City everyday. Sounds scary? It is.

A recent report by the Nati­o­nal Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) mentioned that more than 40 vehicles are stolen everyday in Delhi which acc­o­u­nts for 9.7 per cent of motor vehicle thefts in the country, second in number to Uttar Pradesh (14.1 per cent) and Maharashtra (12.7 per cent). Add to this, only about 20 per cent of the stolen vehicles are recovered as per Delhi police. Metrolife checks out reasons behind the low security, even as more and more customers are use steeply priced central locking systems.

Not many are aware that car theft prevention syst­e­ms now come pre-fixed by manuf­a­cturers. Certain car makers are customising every veh­­icle with specific keys and company fitted central locking systems, says experts. So, for example if you own a Hyu­ndai I 10, the key to your car cannot be fitted into another I 10 even if the model is the same. Still, sale of auto-locking and anti-theft systems is on the rise.

Ravinder Singh of BS Electronics in Karol Bagh says, “The price range for a car lock starts from Rs 2000 and goes upto Rs 10,000 which is GP­RS enabled. The GPRS aids in tracing a stolen car, slow down its speed or even make it immobile. But not many buy it. Mostly people purchase low range car locks. Only those who buy expensive cars opt for GPRS.”

But do these door-locking syst­e­ms come with a guarantee? “No, there is no guarantee, no matter which door lock or central locking system you opt for. The maximum is that the car will start buzzing if somebody tries to open the door without the actual key.”

The mechanics candidly share their tales. Sagar, who opens locked cars in cases of emergency says, “Recently, a kid got loc­k­ed in a car and I was called on the spot to open the door. It took me barely two minutes to unlock it.”

Since he claims to help only those in distress, he makes sure that the customer is genuine by checking the driver’s license or any other proof of identity. Another mechanic, Kumar says, “It is very easy to open door locks of Swift, Sa­n­t­ro and Accent. While Santro takes two minutes, an Accent requires around half an hour. There are different ways to open car locks. A foot scale or straightened hanger made into a thin wire with loop can be used for normal locks whe­r­eas for central locks, one can touch the wire near door lock with any batt­e­ry. I open doors for people who forget their keys inside but it is purely on official basis,” he smiles.

So, whether your car lock is broken in front of you or beh­i­nd your back, remember that the Rs. 2500 you spent on it, has been wasted!