Older cars among Nevada’s most stolen

By Kyle B. Hansen

Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2009 | 12:31 p.m.

If your vehicle is more than 10 years old, it might be more attractive to car thieves than your neighbor’s brand new car. That’s according to a new report from the National Insurance Crime Bureau, which released its annual “Hot Wheels” report Monday listing the vehicles most stolen in the United States.

Both nationwide and in Nevada, more than half of the top 10 spots on the list are vehicles that are more than a decade old.

In Nevada, the most stolen vehicles in 2008 were:

1. 1992 Honda Accord

2. 1995 Honda Civic

3. 1990 Toyota Camry

4. 2005 Dodge Ram Pickup

5. 1994 Nissan Sentra

6. 2006 Nissan Altima

7. 2006 Ford F150 Pickup

8. 1994 Saturn Sl

9. 1995 Acura Integra

10. 2001 Chevrolet Extended Cab 4x2 Pickup

Last year’s list was similar, also with the 1992 Honda Accord in the No. 1 spot. On this year’s national list, the 1994 Accord took the top spot.

The National Insurance Crime Bureau is a nonprofit organization supported by insurance companies to fight insurance crimes.

The organization said older cars and trucks are often popular with thieves because of the value of the car’s parts. Some parts stripped from cars can sell for more than twice the value of the vehicle as a whole, the group said.

Newer models can be more difficult to steal because of improvements in anti-theft technology, according to the report. Preliminary FBI data indicates that car thefts nationwide are on the decline, which would make 2008 the fifth consecutive year of declining vehicle thefts, the report said.

The organization credits stricter legislation and more aggressive enforcement for the decrease.

The group also compiles an annual list of “Hot Spots” for car thefts.

Las Vegas dropped to the No. 7 spot on the list in the report for 2008 with 13,662 thefts, according to the report released earlier this year.

Las Vegas was the No. 2 car theft hot spot in 2007 and was No. 1 in 2006.