10 Most Stolen Luxury Cars

Right now is peak season for car theft, according to The Car Connection, because thieves either go after cars left at home during a long summer vacation or those parked in bad locations by tourists.

The West is the clear hot spot for stolen vehicles. According to data from the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB), eight of the top 10 hot spots in 2012 were in California and the remaining two were in Washington state.

Based on claims filed with insurance agencies, car theft rates fell this year, according to the Highway Loss Data Institute. The most stolen vehicle is the Ford F-250. Most of the vehicles on the list are trucks and full-sized SUVs. The only luxury vehicle on the list is the Cadillac Escalade, which used to be number one but has fallen to number six.

But that list doesn’t do as much for high-income earners as it’s lacking in luxury vehicles. According to The Car Connection, one of the reasons the Escalade fell to sixth in the overall rankings is because General Motors has put a lot of work into theft deterrent technology. In fact, many automakers have adopted ignition immobilizers to prevent hotwiring, which came standard on 89% of 2012’s models.

The NICB released a report of the 10 most stolen luxury cars based on thefts entered into the National Crime Information Center database. The NICB identified the vehicles as luxury cars based on Automotive News’ classifications.

Compact luxury cars has the most thefts, making up 49% of all luxury vehicle thefts, followed by mid-sized luxury (39.6%) and then premium luxury (11.4%).

Images from Edmunds.com and price and mileage data from U.S. News.

10. Mercedes-Benz S Class

Class: Premium luxury

Thefts: 163

Unrecovered thefts: 67

Percentage unrecovered: 41.1%

2012 model MSRP: $92,550 — $159,500

MPG: 15 city/25 hwy

9. Lexus IS

Class: Compact luxury

Thefts: 177

Unrecovered thefts: N/A

Percentage unrecovered: N/A

2012 model MSRP: $33,795 — $46,640

MPG: 19 city/28 hwy

8. Acura TSX

Class: Compact luxury

Thefts: 190

Unrecovered thefts: N/A

Percentage unrecovered: N/A

2012 model MSRP: $30,010 — $38,650

MPG: 22 city/31 hwy

7. Lincoln MKZ

Class: Mid-sized

Thefts: 226

Unrecovered thefts: N/A

Percentage unrecovered: N/A

2012 model MSRP: $34,755 — $36,645

MPG: 18 city / 27 hwy

6. BMW 5 Series

Class: Mix-sized luxury

Thefts: 256

Unrecovered thefts: 45

Percentage unrecovered: 17.6%

2012 model MSRP: $46,900 — $68,300

MPG: 22 city/32 hwy

5. Cadillac CTS

Class: Mid-sized

Thefts: 326

Unrecovered thefts: 28

Percentage unrecovered: 8.6%

2012 model MSRP: $35,915 — $50,190

MPG: 16 city/26 hwy

4. Mercedes-Benz E Class

Class: Mid-sized luxury

Thefts: 381

Unrecovered thefts: 80

Percentage unrecovered: 21%

2012 model MSRP: $50,490 — $59,790

MPG: 20 city/30 hwy

3. Infiniti G Series

Class: Compact luxury

Thefts: 405

Unrecovered thefts: 83

Percentage unrecovered: 20.5%

2012 model MSRP: $33,100 — $51,700

MPG: 20 city/29 hwy

2. BMW 3 Series

Class: Compact luxury

Thefts: 471

Unrecovered thefts: 62

Percentage unrecovered: 13.2%

2012 model MSRP: $34,110 — $55,935

MPG: 23 city/34 hwy

1. Mercedes-Benz C Class

Class: Compact luxury

Thefts: 485

Unrecovered thefts: 78

Percentage unrecovered: 16.1%

2012 model MSRP: $34,800 — $42,370

MPG: 21 city/31 hwy