Your car is an important part of your day-to-day life, so it’s important to protect it as best you can. If you’re able to park it in a garage every day, then that could help keep it safe. However, whenever you park it outside, especially in an unfamiliar place, you leave it prone to getting vandalized and possibly stolen. To help prevent the worst from happening, here are five ways to protect your car from vandalism.

1. Clean your car

According to CNN, the amount of personal items stolen from vehicles amounts to around $1,255 every year. That’s unfortunate, considering a lot of these “smash and grab” types of theft can be easily avoidable. One of the easiest ways to keep a thief from breaking your car’s window and taking your personal belongings is to not have anything in the car in the first place. However, if you keep your car clean and free of any clutter and valuables, then most thieves are likely to pass on it.

2. Park your car in a safe place, if possible

Whether you’re out in public or you need to park your car in an apartment parking lot, for example, it pays to park strategically. This means parking your car in well-lit areas and ensuring that it’s visible to you and/or others as your go about your business. If anything, try not to park in a hidden area as many thieves will target your car since no one will be able to see what they are doing to it.

3. Lock your car

This one goes without saying, but you would be surprised as to how many drivers don’t lock their cars. According to this survey, 1 in 5 Americans don’t lock their cars on a regular basis, which is unfortunate considering a burglary happens every 13 seconds in this country. Don’t be part of the statistic and make sure to lock your every time you park it, even if it’s just “for a couple of minutes.”

4. Add some security to your car

While locking your car can do much to deter some thieves, going the extra mile to secure could make a world of difference. As such, adding some security features like an alarm with a pager remote — which will alert you if the alarm goes off – can aid in preventing anyone from vandalizing or even stealing your car. If you want to go even further down the security rabbit hole, then you can opt for a GPS tracker or even a security camera inside your car.

5. Utilize valet parking, if possible

Lastly, another way to prevent anyone from vandalizing your car would be to valet park it, whenever possible. Sure, valet parking isn’t exactly 100% secure, especially since some valet drivers aren’t exactly the most cautious. But using a valet service can at least keep it out of sight from any would-be thieves.

Isn’t doesn’t take much to keep your car safe

As we can see, it doesn’t take much to keep your car safe from being stolen or vandalized. And while you can never be completely certain that your car is 100% safe, you can at least follow these five steps to keep it as secure as possible. After all, your car is one of the most important assets in your everyday life, so it’s worth it to pay a little attention when keeping it safe.