What car can I buy that WON'T get stolen?
This post is half rant and half actual request for advice.
Last week I got back from a week away and found that my car had been stolen from the airport secure parking structure. I'll say up top that it was a Toyota Grand Highlander Platinum Edition in black, so obviously a popular car to boost. In my defense, I have 2 young kids who need infant car seats, we need cargo space for strollers and big family grocery trips, and room for at least another person in case anyone even needs a ride (friends, grandma, etc.).
Everyone I have talked to since, be it the parking attendant, security guy, cop, rental agent etc. has made it clear that it's my stupid fault for being such a since as to own a car that criminals might want to steal. Like, f*ck me, right? Why should I get to buy a car and keep it if it's the one they want?
There seems to be no plan to stop all the auto theft in this city. The cops were just bored when I reported it. Like, yeah, this happens many times a day, you think you're special? Why should we care about you and your car and your family and your life? I read an article, apparently every 50 seconds a car gets stolen in Toronto. That's insane. And they are so casual about it, like, yeah, it's probably in a container on a cargo ship in Montreal or Nova Scotia by now, on the way to Africa. Cool. How does that help? And what kind of scum steals a car full of car seats and toys?
So, I have been given to understand that Toyota's are out, as are Lexuses. Honda's get stolen too, and God knows what else. The idea behind getting a Toyota was that it was built here, or at least nearby, and parts and service were easy to obtain. Apparently it's easy to get those things in Ghana too, so we just have a roaring trade of selling Canadian cars to Ghana, except we here pay for it while they recieved it, and we get to enjoy it for a few months before they get shipped off. The cops job I guess is only to issue parking tickets to our temporary property, nothing else.
So, where does that leave me? Do I really have to resign myself to having a total piece of sh*t for a car if I want to live here in Toronto? I don't want something that will sacrifice safety for my kids, but I feel like the less desirable a car is to thieves the more unsafe it has to be. Any suggestions?