Scotland’s most stolen cars revealed with one model nicked 800 TIMES – check if your motor is on the list

THE Ford Fiesta has been revealed as Scotland’s most stolen motor amid a soaring demand for black market parts.

Car thieves have nicked hundreds of the sporty hatchbacks across the country in the past five years.

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There were 792 Fiestas stolen since 2020 in Scotland, followed by 415 Volkswagen Golfs.

The slightly larger Ford Focus was stolen 294 times and the Vauxhall Corsa, which is particularly popular with younger and newer drivers, was nicked 246 times.

While more luxurious cars are nicked and shipped off to countries like Russia, the popular Ford runarounds are stripped down to feed the demand for cheap parts.

Figures obtained by The Scottish Sun on Sunday revealed smaller and more affordable cars dominated those reported stolen to the DVLA in the past five years.

Ford Fiestas made up more than ten percent of the 7,600 cars nicked north of the border.

They topped the crime league table, followed by other popular models like the Volkswagen Golf and Polo, Vauxhall’s Corsa and Astra and the Renault Clio.

But their popularity means a surging demand for cheap parts to repair the popular runarounds as drivers feel the squeeze from the cost of living crisis.

Stuart Masson, editor of the Car Expert, told The Scottish Sun: “The obvious answer is that the Fiesta has been the biggest selling car in the UK or the biggest selling single model of car for about 40-something years. 

“There are simply a lot more of them on the roads. Therefore, it's the most likely car to end up in accidents, to be stolen, to have any kind of particular incidents. It's the Fiesta that is going to be the poster-child for it.

“Because there are so many of them, there is a very prominent black market for parts.

“There's no particularly great money in stealing Ford Fiestas and selling them in other countries. 

“It's all about breaking them down for parts because Ford Fiestas are more likely to get involved in accidents than the other cars because there's so many of them. There's a market for cheap Fiesta parts.”

Rhydian Jones from insurance firm Confused.com said popular cars are very desirable to car theives who can make quick cash by dismantling them and selling them off.

Models with particularly older security systems are sought out by car thieves.

Some criminals will burgle houses purely to access car keys to break into older cars.

But newer keyless models have been stolen using relay thefts, where one thief stands outside a home to capture the signal from a key and clone it, before sending it to another person standing at the car.

They capture the signal and are able to drive the car away as if they had the keys.

But car thieves are also on the lookout for luxury motors to ship abroad for huge paydays.

The Land Rover Discovery, Range Rover Sport and Range Rover Evoque all featured in the top ten most stolen cars in Scotland.

Dozens of other luxury briefs like Audi SUVs, BMWs, and Mercedes have been stolen.

Scottish car thieves have driven away 19 Porsches in the past five years.

Three Aston Martins and two Maserati’s were also featured on the list.

Mr Masson added: “If you're talking about things like Range Rovers and Aston Martins and so on, those cars tend to be stolen, shoved into containers and exported and are resold in other countries for massive profit. Particularly Russia, where you can't buy those cars anymore.

“But there's still money floating around. That's not the case with cars like a Ford Fiesta.”

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Ford Fiestas are such a lucrative target for criminals that police forces across the UK have issued warnings to owners.

Cops in Glasgow told a community meeting in February that criminals in the city were targeting the motors after they saw a rise in thefts.

He said: “The more common the car, the higher the likelihood of it being stolen. Ford Fiestas, VW Golfs and Vauxhall Corsas, for example, are among the most popular cars in the UK which increases the likelihood of it being stolen. 

“Not only this, but it could make them more desirable.

“Cars with lower security could also be easy targets for thieves. This could be the case for older cars with less advanced safety features.”

The front end of the car is a goldmine for scrap part merchants, with headlights and bumpers in particularly high demand.

And the cost of living crisis is pushing people towards the much cheaper black market when looking to repair their battered motors.

Five-minute process to stop car theft that costs £20

BY HARRY WILLIAMSON

MOTORING experts at Halfords have told how a simple £20 process can lower the chances of your car being nicked.

Their security Window Etching Service puts of visibly etching all the windows of a vehicle with the logo of the International Security Register (the ISR).

It can act as a visible deterrent to anyone thinking of taking away your vehicle amid soaring car thefts across the UK.

It comes with a code unique to the vehicle. The unique code is linked to a fully certified and secure database used by all Police Forces in the UK.

And it can lower the chances of a car being stolen by 26 per cent, and if it is nicked then it is ten per cent more likely to be recovered.

Halfords CEO Graham Stapleton added: “We’re calling on the insurance industry to reward responsible motorists who do their part to make their car more secure.

"Thefts have skyrocketed and partly as a result of this, insurance premiums for most motorists are soaring.

"Those who invest their own money in making their car more secure should see this reflected in their premiums.

"As well as window etching, many motorists also invest in further measures such as diamond standard wheel locks and dashcams - yet these are still not part of the standard insurance forms for insurers.” 

Stuart added: “The front end tends to be the bit that commonly sustains the most damage, and it has a lot of expensive parts in it like the radiator, brakes, engine parts and so on.

“If you're buying it from a car boot sale, or privately, or from an online marketplace, Facebook, Gumtree, others are available, there is a very, very high probability that it's a stolen part. 

“There are legitimate sources for second-hand parts, cars that are written off, and again, because of the Fiesta, Corsa, Clio, etc, because they don't have huge amounts of inherent value, it doesn't take that much to write it off, because the cost of repair can very, very easily outweigh the value of the car. 

“So even relatively minor damage can see a car written off. 

“Those cars can often be stripped down and the parts sold legitimately, but there are legitimate channels for doing so, and if you're buying a part from a recognised legitimate parts business or a wrecker, then they should be able to show the complete trail to say, this is where we got the car from, this is the certificate to say it's been written off, and these are the parts from that car. 

“So, you've got a high level of confidence that you're not buying stolen parts.”

The DVLA has been approached for comment.

Police Scotland has declined to comment.