Trackers

Author
Discussion

Craphouserat

Original Poster:

1,524 posts

208 months

Friday 27th September
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Hi

Apologies if this has been covered previously, I haven't used PH for a long time now. I picked up a brand new car and was wondering about trackers. Do you have one and would you recommend one?

A car was stolen recently in my street, first time in 40 years apparently (small rural village) and it made me think about more "protection".

A mate said stick an air tag in it.......anybody use these for tracking? looking into them specifically for this reason they don't get great reviews.

Cheers
Baz

Sixpackpert

4,703 posts

221 months

Friday 27th September
quotequote all
I have an S5 Tracker in my car, had to for insurance purposes.

https://www.trackstar.co.uk/trackstar-stolen-vehic...

Only the occasional glitch where it sends me an alert when I am driving! Usually it's down to the battery in the fob being low.

Craphouserat

Original Poster:

1,524 posts

208 months

Friday 27th September
quotequote all
Sixpackpert said:
I have an S5 Tracker in my car, had to for insurance purposes.

https://www.trackstar.co.uk/trackstar-stolen-vehic...

Only the occasional glitch where it sends me an alert when I am driving! Usually it's down to the battery in the fob being low.
Thanks for that.

RazerSauber

2,543 posts

67 months

Friday 27th September
quotequote all
Honestly, it depends if your car is worth stealing. If it's a relatively inexpensive car, or not sought after, then I wouldn't bother with a tracker. Air tags are all well and good but all a thief needs is an iphone and it'll tell them that they're being tracked.

If you've got something worth stealing then look at a proper alarm (Clifford are a good brand for these) and some physical security. Prevention is better than the cure, as they say. If you want a tracker then shop around. You'll find various levels of ability, accuracy and cost. Some alarms that use standard interior buttons for a "pin" entry also allow a drive away timer so the thieves are less likely to come back and "persuade" you to tell them what the code is.

Craphouserat

Original Poster:

1,524 posts

208 months

Monday 30th September
quotequote all
RazerSauber said:
Honestly, it depends if your car is worth stealing. If it's a relatively inexpensive car, or not sought after, then I wouldn't bother with a tracker. Air tags are all well and good but all a thief needs is an iphone and it'll tell them that they're being tracked.

If you've got something worth stealing then look at a proper alarm (Clifford are a good brand for these) and some physical security. Prevention is better than the cure, as they say. If you want a tracker then shop around. You'll find various levels of ability, accuracy and cost. Some alarms that use standard interior buttons for a "pin" entry also allow a drive away timer so the thieves are less likely to come back and "persuade" you to tell them what the code is.
Thanks for the reply - its a performance variant starting at £34k. I have a steering lock and its on my driveway which has gates which lock...and I now have a faraday box as well.
I think either a ghost immobilser or a scorpion tracker is something i will go for,
Thanks again for taking the time to reply.

Baz

Legacywr

12,783 posts

195 months

Monday 30th September
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If you can, turn the keyless entry off.

Actual

1,032 posts

113 months

Wednesday 2nd October
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The cars I have purchased in the last 4 years all have mobile app functions for servicing and remote start and so forth and the apps have a map showing where the vehicle is parked but it does not update with location when moving.

When I was arranging insurance recently over the phone I was asked if the car has a tracker and I said that the app worked for parking location and I was told that this counted as a tracker as far as they were concerned.


Sixpackpert

4,703 posts

221 months

Wednesday 2nd October
quotequote all
Actual said:
When I was arranging insurance recently over the phone I was asked if the car has a tracker and I said that the app worked for parking location and I was told that this counted as a tracker as far as they were concerned.
I was told the exact opposite as the apps do not warn you that the car has been stolen immediately. The app is no use if it was parked up and locked in a container that then gets moved on a truck!

They would not insure my last 2 cars without having a tracker fitted.

Actual

1,032 posts

113 months

Wednesday 2nd October
quotequote all
Sixpackpert said:
Actual said:
When I was arranging insurance recently over the phone I was asked if the car has a tracker and I said that the app worked for parking location and I was told that this counted as a tracker as far as they were concerned.
I was told the exact opposite as the apps do not warn you that the car has been stolen immediately. The app is no use if it was parked up and locked in a container that then gets moved on a truck!

They would not insure my last 2 cars without having a tracker fitted.
Whilst I fully agree with what you say...

The call handler offered the tracker status and presumably all calls are recorded for training purposes.

The answer to the question "Does it have a tracker" is "Yes" although I suppose the actual definition of a tracker needs to be defined.

Also I hate insurance companies with a passion.

bearman68

4,794 posts

139 months

Wednesday 2nd October
quotequote all
I run a business renting old cars to sometimes flaky customers. We frequently have to go and locate a car and pick it up, so accurate tracking is a very strong business requirement.
Initially I bought cheap Chinese trackers from Ebay, and they worked really well, but you could only track one car at a time, and you had to keep the SIM up to date. Not a problem for 1 car, more of a concern for 100 odd. Now I use a company called TruTrack, who are very good and about £5 a month to keep updated. We tend not to bother, and just activate the tracker if we have underhand behaviour.

We have used plenty of others as trials, but these guys are the best we have come across, and we now have around 150 of their units.

https://www.trutrak.co.uk/

donkmeister

9,234 posts

107 months

Thursday 17th October
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On the OP's airtag question, the anti-stalking measures make it a bad solution for tracking a stolen car: the occupants are warned it's there, and you don't get real time location when it's on the move so can only see where it's been (until they leave it parked somewhere).

Google tags are the same, plus the added annoyance that the system is opt-in so I can usually only see where things were when I left them there.

romft123

996 posts

11 months

Tuesday 22nd October
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I am looking for a cheap tracker........I dont have an Apple phone just Android if that helps. I have heard that some plug into your OSB some direct to the battery....either works for me but must be cheap...