The shocking amount of money thieves get for stolen cars has been revealed – is your car most at risk?

The shocking amount of money thieves get for stolen cars has been revealed.

The investigation was carried out by Direct Line Insurance and reveals just how little thieves get for the cars they steal.

The investigation revealed that on average thieves get just 1.25% of what the car's worth.

The researchers interviewed car thieves who told them that they could expect £2,000 for popular cars such as an Audi S3, or a similar Mercedes or BMW.

But, cars that cost approximately £20,000 could earn thieves as little as £250.

The investigation revealed that performance hot hatches and estates are most desirable for car thieves, especially Audi RS6s, RS4s and S3s along with Ford Focus RSs and Honda Type Rs.

Another shocking statistic told that most successful thieves will steal 60 to 90 cars per week.

Usually, thieves are given a list of cars to steal by people from other countries where that vehicle is much more expensive to buy.

An offender told researchers: "Mainly, people are going to target high-end cars…they've bought a car that's seriously damaged, that's worth £50,000.

"They've bought it for £10,000 because it's been in an accident, then they send some type of criminal to go steal that same type of car, and swap everything over."

state that 108,542 vehicles were stolen between April 2021 and March 2022 in England and Wales.

, Professor of Criminology, University of Huddersfield, said: “Our research shows that the money generated by car thieves is often a fraction of the value of the vehicle, even if it was being sold legitimately second hand. 

"This in turn drives the need for a volume of thefts for criminals to generate large sums of money.

"People may be shocked to learn that criminal gangs have specifically targeted their vehicle for theft due to the model and colour of the car."