The best deterrent to crime is to make people not want to commit crime in the first place. Education. Social cohesion. Prosperity. Safety nets.
His newer car, which was replaced, now sits and is at once again an object that the previous thief can steal again, and again, and again.
The cycle repeats. The thief, if caught, does not restore the car owner or is even owed compensation. The thief pays in time served, the thief's expenses are paid for by the car owner, through taxes, and the cycle repeats.
End the cycle. End the thief. The value of the human life is set by the thief, not the owner.