Well it's a Start

And a long way to go.

So I'm no expert on car theft, but I can only think of a few things you can do with a stolen car:

• Chop it up for parts.
• Alter the VIN.
• Use it in a place where a license plate can be obtained without the VIN getting checked against a list of stolen vehicles.
• Use it in a place where nobody even cares if you have a license plate.

Just curious -- anyone have thoughts about which options apply in a small island environment?

Dan

Apparently it has been really easy in the past to change or erase VINs and still get the vehicle legally retitled in SXM. Hopefully that will change.

Parting it out to sell the parts is a big motivation and I'm sure has a great audience.

In the French side newspaper article from a few weeks ago they are almost exclusively used for parts. Some are shipped to other islands after the French plates are switched to Dutch plates

Refreshing that they're going to focus on this more. It's been a problem on SXM for as long as I can remember. Auto theft on the island is a little different than car thefts in the states, because first they are looking for goods they can steal that people leave in their rental cars that are in plain sight. And, these thieves will literally steal everything they can see (phones, hand bags, etc.). More sophisticated and better organized car thieves will be big into component theft, like Scubaman mentioned above. Car stereo and GPS systems are always worth stealing and reselling, and especially headlamp modules with high-intensity headlight (xenon) discharge and LED headlamps. An entire black market exists for automobile stolen components, and St. Martin is no different than many other areas of the world. All of the things mentioned in the Daily Herald story merit attention, but for those of who rent a car when visiting I would offer the following suggestions: rent only as much car as you need or feel comfortable with and avoid hatchbacks and lift backs that allow for visible access to the cargo area. Ask if the vehicle has an alarm system that will sound loud and clear if the vehicle is broken in to. And, above all check out what type of auto rental theft coverage is (or can be) provided by the rental car company.