It happens at an alarming rate across the country and more often than not, the thefts could have been prevented with some common sense.

If you’ve never had your car stolen before, you are fortunate. If you want to keep your car from being stolen in the future, follow these basic tips to prevent it.

1. Don’t leave the keys in the car. This is probably the most obvious step you could take to prevent getting carjacked, but it is also the most effective. More often than not, cars get stolen because their owners left the car running and run inside to get something. Thieves usually want to find the most convenient crime that’s available.

2. Try to stay away from owning one of the most commonly stolen vehicles in the country. The Honda Civic and Accord are the top two stolen cars on the annual Top 10 stolen cars list. The higher end cars don’t usually get stolen that often because they attract more attention. It’s easier to get rid of the cars that are more common in the market.

3. Owning LoJack on your car. This is the most effective method of preventing your car from getting stolen. 90% of the time, when a car with LoJack gets stolen, it is recovered within 24 hours. This is a pretty amazing rate of recovery for any product. LoJack is linked directly to the authorities and they can track the car quickly. If your car is not recovered within 24 hours, LoJack will actually repay the MSRP of your car to you. This is an unbelievable guarantee that will actually lower your insurance rates because of it.

4. Park in the appropriate areas. When you park at the back of a dark parking lot, you’re probably just asking for trouble. This goes the same for dark alleys or any other area that can’t be easily seen by the public. When you’re out and about, try and park at the front of the parking lot whenever possible. When you’re at home, park in your garage. This is pretty obvious as well, but a lot of people fill their garage with junk and then park out on the street. This is just asking for trouble.

5. Watch what you keep on the inside of your car. Obviously leaving the keys in the ignition is bad, but other people like to leave spare sets of keys in obvious places. Putting keys in the visor, glove box, console, or any other obvious place is going to be found pretty quickly. Also, leaving your wallet or valuables in plain sight will encourage thieves to get in the car. If you don’t have anything valuable in view, they might move onto another car and leave yours alone.

Overall, there are a lot of ways to prevent getting your car stolen. If you’ll follow the above tips, you should hopefully avoid any potential crimes.

Extended car warranty coverage won’t pay for your car if it’s stolen, but it will pay for car repairs if your car breaks down. Warranty Direct offers payment plans on extended car warranties for up to 18 months to make it easier for you in today’s economy.

Not only can the controls be confusing, you may need to figure a way to adjust your car’s mirrors depending on the design of the vehicle so you can see all the angles you need to.

Here are 10 tips on how to adjust your car’s mirrors:

1. If you purchase a new or pre-owned vehicle, before you leave the dealership, ask the salesperson to go through how all the mirror controls work so you won’t be looking for them in the dark or while you’re driving. A good salesperson will take the time to do this, especially if they want you to give them an excellent recommendation. If they don’t offer, ask them to show you how the mirror controls work.
2. You can find the right location for your driver’s side mirror by leaning your head against the driver’s side window. Keep adjusting the mirror back until you see the edge of the vehicle.
3. For the passenger side mirror, place your head in the center area of the vehicle and keep adjusting until you see the edge of the vehicle on the passenger side. Remember this mirror should be adjusted so you can see the traffic in the lane beside you and don’t adjust it to be the same as your rear view mirror.
4. Next, return to a driving position that feels comfortable and if you see the sides of your vehicle, you need to adjust the mirrors so you just see the edge of the vehicle. This is a good test to see if your mirrors are adjusted correctly.
5. Think of the perspective you are trying to achieve when you sit in the driver’s seat. You don’t want the mirrors to all point to the same place.
6. A great tip, especially if you are new to the mirror controls is once you have adjusted the mirrors, and you think you have them right, ask someone to walk from behind the car slowly. You will know you have your mirrors adjusted correctly if you can see the person from every angle of the mirror’s view.
7. Blind spots can be dangerous so have the person walk from all angles, back, left, and right to ensure you can see them approaching.
8. Keep in mind that when you are driving, your arms will move in the same direction that your eyes do. Try to control this if you can and rely more on your mirrors. Use them correctly.
9. Adjust your rear view mirror so you have a clear view of what is traveling behind you. Make sure to not just adjust it left or right, include up or down as well to get it just right to fit the height and position of where you sit in the car.
10. Many rear view mirrors in newer vehicle models have all sorts of controls on them that may include lights, dimmer controls, or other manufacturer controls. Understand what they all mean before you leave the dealership and read your owner’s manual to gather insight on how to adjust your car’s mirrors.

Never drive a vehicle that has mirrors adjusted to someone else’s height or seating position. To be safe, follow these tips and take the time to adjust your car’s mirrors to ensure not only your safety, but everyone else’s safety on the road.

Not only do you want to be a safe driver, you want your car to be safe to drive. An extended auto warranty means you can keep your car’s wear and tear issues repaired without having to come up with a lot of money every time something happens.

When looking to buy a new vehicle, it is extremely important that good safety features fall on the top of your priority list.

Here we will provide some important vehicle safety features that should be considered when you purchase your next vehicle.

Crash test ratings, electronic stability control and rollover resistance should all be looked at closely when evaluating a car for safety. Crash test ratings come from The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. They test cars in frontal collisions and side impacts. Once a vehicle is tested they give it a rating based on its results – knowing the crash test rating of your potential vehicle will help aid you in making a safe car choice.

Electronic stability control selectively applies brakes to one or more of the wheels in order to avoid sliding and skidding. This feature is highly recommended and will help your car stay under control when making sharp and quick turns.

Some vehicles have a high likelihood of rolling over. It is important to determine the roll-over tendency of your potential new vehicle before you buy it. The NHTSA provides a 5-star rollover rating that can be accessed at www.safercars.gov. Take advantage of their research and find out if the car is right for you.

Following through with the suggestions above, along with purchasing an extended auto warranty will help you stay protected. There are so many resources out there that can benefit both you and your vehicle; we highly suggest you take advantage of them all.

Sometimes we buy cars because they’re cool looking, sometimes we buy cars because they’re fast, sometimes we buy cars because they make sense for our lifestyle, but one thing that should always be considered when buying a new car is how reliable the car will be.

After all, a car that looks good won’t get the appreciation it deserves if it’s cooped up in the garage with a busted clutch. Below we have provided you some information on reliable cars that will allow you to avoid the use of your extended vehicle warranty as much as possible.

Reliable Cars

Honda is a great place to start.  Honda has an incredible reputation of producing both safe and dependable cars.  Their cars typically need minimal repairs and experience very few problems.  The Honda Odyssey is a perfect example as it is ranked first on the list of durable cars.  Also making the list is the Honda CRV, Pilot, Accord and Civic.

Other cars that are known for their reliability are small SUVs, such as the Volvo XC90 and the Subaru Forester.  For those of you who want fast, sleek looking cars, the Acura RDX and Audi A4 are both luxurious and well known for their durability.

The Durable Cars List

These cars were selected for The Durable Cars List according to safety, vehicle performance, and history of complaints.  Anyone looking to buy a new car can feel confident in the purchase of any of the above vehicles, especially if reliability is what you’re looking for.

In addition, it’s always good to have an extended auto warranty in case of unexpected repairs that catch you off guard. Unfortunately, as much as we can help to prevent unnecessary fixes, we can only control so much – it’s always a good idea to be prepared for the unforeseen.