RAC car theft data for 2008/9 is interesting for the relatively low overall value of the car theft problem compared to say motor vehicle accidents caused by crime-related or other issues leading to road deaths or accident damage.
According to the RAC, in Australia five cars most stolen in Australia have a total theft of 4524 cars. Top 5 short-term theft targets, 2008/9
| Model/series/year range | Number of thefts | % Recovered |
| Commodore VN (1988-1991) | 1,718 | 86.5 |
| Excel X3 (1994-2000) | 1,097 | 86.7 |
| Commodore VP (1991-1993) | 719 | 87.1 |
| Tarago YR22 (1985-1990) | 513 | 85.4 |
| Laser KE (1987-1994) | 477 | 88.5 |
For more details see,
Analysis
The average value of the cars below would be expected to be around $10,000. This gives a cost of total loss for this group of 5 vehicles of around $45m. Over 85% were recovered so the cost is much less. In comparison, 2008 road death figures were 1464 deaths at average cost $1.5m/death = ~$2.1Bn.
