The 9 Worst Types of Car Vandalism

St. Patrick's Day can get pretty rowdy. People spill out into the streets in their drunken stupors, bottles in hand, stumbling about. In true Irish form, this drinking can sometimes lead to fighting, which can lead to rioting, which can lead to damaged vehicles. This is the most extreme case, obviously, but it does happen. And although we're not happy about the people who are hurt by the craziness, seeing our car stuck in the middle is even worse. Vandalism is one of the most potentially painful parts of owning a car. It doesn't happen just on drinking holidays either. It can happen anywhere at any time. In a sad list of we-hope-this-never-happens-to-anybody, we count down The 9 Worst Types of Car Vandalism.

This is more annoying than anything else. It doesn't actually affect anything on the car, but who wants a Cadillac or a Mercedes-Benz without the crest or star?! Driving around without one of those almost feels akin to driving without your automotive manhood.

This could mean a variety of things. Somebody might put sugar in your tank, somebody might syphon the gas right out of your car, or, like the picture above, somebody could put a towel in your tank and light it on fire. Let's hope none of these instances ever happen to you.

Windows are the most common, but hoodlums will often see it fun to have batting practice on the side mirrors and the headlights as well. It's sort of understandable WHY people do it. Breaking stuff and doing illegal things has an element of fun. That doesn't mean it's okay, though. Sometimes the broken windows are simply a casualty of burglars trying to get that iPod you accidentally left sitting in your cup holder or the nice aftermarket stereo you dropped $200 on. Let's just hope it doesn't rain or snow, too.

Somtimes vandalism comes down to a simple bang to the body work. Using a fist or a wrench or a can of Pepsi, people sometimes feel it necessary to express their unhappiness and frustration through denting a car.

Yes, it works. We've seen the damage on a friend's car. If somebody puts a piece of this nasty deli meat onto the paint and leaves it over night, the preservatives will react with the paint, causing it to strip when pulled off the car.

Few things frustrate us more than keyed paint, and unfortunately, it's one of the most common forms of auto vandalism. The problem lies within its ease. Anybody could do it at any point, and more often than not, nobody will notice. At the grocery store, at the ballpark, at your home ... it could happen anywhere. Often it's the cause of a simple riff on the road and an unreasonable chap having a bad day. It's even worse, when they carve a message into the paint.

Spray painting is most often used when a person wants to deliver an extremely direct message. Unfortunately, these vandals aren't exactly airbrush artists, and the messages found on these cars are racists, sexist, or some other type of -ist that is extremely disrespectful.

Not only is this damage costly, it also renders your ride dormant. Don't even think about trying to drive your car with one flat tire, let alone all for.

Some of this might be happening today, St. Patrick's Day. Most of the time cars aren't just flipped for no reason, like some of the other acts of vandalism. This usually occurs at the height of some celebration or riot, whether it be your favorite NHL team winning the 'ship or long day of drinking green beers on the street corners.