Results of the March quarter show that cars manufactured after 1990 are now being targeted by professional thieves, leaving insurers with an average claim cost of $19,500. Ray Carroll, MD of the National Motor Vehicle Theft Reduction Council, said later model cars end up “substantially stripped” and unrecoverable.   

The Hyundai Excel X3 is still the most commonly stolen vehicle for opportunists as well as professional thieves. The Excel also leads the list of unrecovered vehicles.  

The Council says the list for post-1991 models with low recovery rates is led by the Toyota Corolla (50%) and the Holden Barina (33%).

Compare that with the US experience. The sporty Honda Integra has the highest theft insurance premium in the country, according to the Highway Loss Data Institute. That’s because its parts are popular with the younger owners of Honda Civics, who like to use the Integra parts to “hot up” their cheap vehicles.