It's one of the biggest cash outlays you'll make in your life. And it could be gone in less than a minute.

Chances are you depend on your car for everything from getting to work, chauffeuring your kids to school or picking up some groceries. It turns out thieves depend on your car, too - and the fact you don't do enough to protect it.

Toronto is dealing with an epidemic of auto thefts and it may already have touched someone you know. Last year, more than 8,400 motorists returned to their driveways or parking lots to find their wheels had been taken.

Even worse, some were victims of 'auto home invasions,' a growing practice where a crook will break into a house with the occupants inside just to steal car keys left near an entrance.

And it's become not only a matter of what they're taking but where they're doing it.

While every car owner can become a victim, it turns out there are two specific areas of the city where the problem is worse than others - and both are in the northwest end. Nearly a quarter of all the vehicles boosted in 2007 were in the Bathurst and Sheppard and Jane and Finch areas.

(See a neighbourhood-by-neighbourhood breakdown here)

Why there? One expert suggests it has a lot to do with the available transportation routes in those locations and the plentiful opportunities. Both sections are home to a large number of malls and plazas and while you're inside shopping, thieves are outside doing some browsing of their own, looking for a desired make or model that can be chopped up and sold for a big profit.

And it doesn't take long for them to strike. "These thieves can get cars in as little as a minute," warns Mike Proska of Boomerang Tracking, whose company makes a device that can quickly locate a stolen vehicle. "Basically you're gone in 60 seconds."

There are all kinds of autos on the list of a crook's most wanted but Hondas are often in the Top 10. "Hondas are the number one vehicle," Proska confirms. "A chopped motor vehicle is going to sell for more in parts on the black market than it will as a whole."

It's something one shopper is well aware of. "My neighbours had two Hondas stolen one morning this week," she reveals, as she sits in her own car in a parking lot.

See the most recent list of Canada's most stolen cars here.

Many vehicles now come with immobilizers that prevent thieves from starting up the ignition without the proper matching key. And businesses like Boomerang have helped cops lower the theft rate by 400 cars in 2007.

But there are other things you can do to protect your wheels, including:

* Never leave your car running while unattended
* Park in well-lit, attended areas
* Lock all valuables out of sight in the trunk
* Lock all doors and windows
* Turn the wheels to one side for hard towing
* Use your garage-lock when your car is inside
* Park front-wheel drive vehicles front end first
* Never hide a spare key on or in your vehicle
* Record the serial numbers of your car
* Get a car with an immobilizer and alarm system in it
* Use a tracking service to find your car if it's taken
* Make use of a steering wheel lock device like The Club that keeps thieves from being able to steer the vehicle.

Here's a list of after-market items you can purchase to further secure your wheels:

IGNITION KILL SWITCH: toggle switch spliced into ignition that disables your vehicle

FUEL KILL SWITCH: switch spliced into fuel system wiring that stops fuel supply

STEERING WHEEL LOCK: stops the steering wheel from turning

GEARSHIFT LOCK: disables shifting transmission

TIRE/WHEEL LOCKS: tool wraps around tires/wheels to immobilize your car

HOOD LOCK: stops anyone from opening hood to your engine area

STEERING COLUMNS COLLAR: protects steering column from ignition entry

ELECTRONIC ALARMS: those with "kill "switches are most effective

VEHICLE TRACKING SYSTEM: transmitter in the vehicle allows GPS tracking.

Courtesy of Halton Regional Police

Boosting Breakdown

So is your area one of the worst for car thefts? Here's a look at the 2007 figures that may hit you where you live. (Click each police division for a map of the area)

11 Division
(Includes Runnymede and Bloor West Village, High Park, Roncesvalles, and South Parkdale)

Cars Stolen: 187
Cars Recovered: 147

12 Division
(Includes parts of Lawrence Ave. W., Eglinton West and the Junction)

Cars Stolen: 480
Cars Recovered: 371

13 Division
(Includes Yorkdale, Forest Hill, Oakwood-Vaughan, Corso Italia and Casa Loma)

Cars Stolen: 378
Cars Recovered: 256

14 Division
(Includes Dovercourt, Little Italy, Little Portugal, South Parkdale, Trinity-Bellwoods and the Waterfront)

Cars Stolen: 421
Cars Recovered: 349

51 Division
(Includes Jamestown, Cabbagetown, Regent Park, the Church-Yonge corridor, South Riverdale)

Cars Stolen: 280
Cars Recovered: 235

52 Division
(Includes University Ave., Queen's Park, Kensington, Chinatown, and the Bay St. corridor to Front St. W.)

Cars Stolen: 144
Cars Recovered: 112

53 Division
(Includes Lawrence Park, Yonge-Eglinton, Forest Hill, Rosedale, York Mills, Mount Pleasant, The Annex, Leaside and Thorncliffe Park.)

Cars Stolen: 309
Cars Recovered: 207

54 Division
(Includes Flemingdon Park, Victoria Village, O'Connor-Parkview, Old East York, The Danforth and Broadview North)

Cars Stolen: 298
Cars Recovered: 250

55 Division
(Includes Riverdale, Greenwood-Coxwell, East End Danforth and the Beaches)

Cars Stolen: 286
Cars Recovered: 247

22 Division
(Includes Etobicoke West Mall, Kingsway South, Islington-City Centre West, Long Branch, Mimico and New Toronto)

Cars Stolen: 633
Cars Stolen: 429

23 Division
(Includes Thistletown, Rexdale, West Humber, The Westway, Willowridge, and Humber Heights-Westmount)

Cars Stolen: 669
Cars Recovered: 457

31 Division
(Includes Humbermede, Black Creek, York University, Weston and Downsview)

Cars Stolen: 956
Cars Recovered: 598

32 Division
(Includes Bathurst Manor, Newtonbrook, Willowdale, Bedford Park, Lawrence Park North)

Cars Stolen: 1,029
Cars Recovered: 603

33 Division
(Includes Bayview Village, Hillcrest Village, Don Valley Village and Parkwoods)

Cars Stolen: 445
Cars Recovered: 321

41 Division
(Includes Dorset Park, Wexford, Maryvale, Birchcliffe-Cliffside, Bendale and Kennedy Park)

Cars Stolen: 684
Cars Recovered: 529

42 Division
(Includes part of Steeles Ave. E., Milliken, Rouge, Malvern, Agincourt, and L'Amoureaux)

Cars Stolen: 652
Cars Recovered: 481

43 Division
(Includes Woburn, Scarborough Village, Guildwood, West Hill, Highland Creek and Morningside)

Cars Stolen: 596
Cars Recovered: 439