Discussion
Never been down this path before and have been advised by my insurer that a tracker will be most beneficial on my upcoming G82.
A google search seems to indicate that only the Trackstar range are BMW approved and what with recent events re warranty exclusions this is the main concern and secondly value for money, I have no issues paying £1k for tracker and 3 year subs if the car is less likely to be stolen , so any experience of the Trackstar S5 Advance ? Is this is a suitable one to consider or are there better alternatives ?
A google search seems to indicate that only the Trackstar range are BMW approved and what with recent events re warranty exclusions this is the main concern and secondly value for money, I have no issues paying £1k for tracker and 3 year subs if the car is less likely to be stolen , so any experience of the Trackstar S5 Advance ? Is this is a suitable one to consider or are there better alternatives ?
I put SmarTrack on my M2 and it is monitored by Global Telemetrics. I have it fitted to several cars and I have been pleased with the app and the service. They do Cat 5 and Cat 6 systems (Cat 5 being the higher). Much more cost effective than the Vodafone Automotive solutions fitted to Porsche and Ferrari as standard.
London GT3 said:
I put SmarTrack on my M2 and it is monitored by Global Telemetrics. I have it fitted to several cars and I have been pleased with the app and the service. They do Cat 5 and Cat 6 systems (Cat 5 being the higher). Much more cost effective than the Vodafone Automotive solutions fitted to Porsche and Ferrari as standard.
What model is yours ? Couldn’t see a cat 5 system on their site , doesn’t look like they offer any more than the other systems Ideally a system with vhf that’s approved by BMW would be ideal
JMBMWM5 said:
Unfortunately Trackers are all but useless and can be Blocked in 2 minutes go to another Insurer and say your money. I have had 12 "M' and "RS" cars never been asked for a Tracker to be fitted.
More and more insurance companies are stating these cars must have a tracker fitted, even BMW insurance will not quote without one. For the ones who have added it as a term either to a new or existing policy, it will usually state that if you don’t have an active tracker fitted they will not cover the car for theft.Some however will just point blank refuse to provide a quote or cover without one regardless of any other factors. Considering the costs involved it can sometimes make little to no impact on prices quoted too.
^^^^^ What he said. I’m trying to get a tracker installed in my RRS that is currently at a dealers 150miles away being prepped for collection. If it’s valued over £50k most insurers now insist on Cat 5,6 or 7 trackers. That is unless it’s a RRS where they insist anyway.
My problem is not being able to confirm if it already has one fitted or not which I can just activate or if my insurer will let me drive it straight to a local company for installation after pick up.
My problem is not being able to confirm if it already has one fitted or not which I can just activate or if my insurer will let me drive it straight to a local company for installation after pick up.
MGirl said:
More and more insurance companies are stating these cars must have a tracker fitted, even BMW insurance will not quote without one. For the ones who have added it as a term either to a new or existing policy, it will usually state that if you don’t have an active tracker fitted they will not cover the car for theft.
Some however will just point blank refuse to provide a quote or cover without one regardless of any other factors. Considering the costs involved it can sometimes make little to no impact on prices quoted too.
Never Every had this to this day.Must be the area you live in more that the cars, all mine were over £80K+.Some however will just point blank refuse to provide a quote or cover without one regardless of any other factors. Considering the costs involved it can sometimes make little to no impact on prices quoted too.
JMBMWM5 said:
Never Every had this to this day.Must be the area you live in more that the cars, all mine were over £80K+.
Only company I’ve had state I needed a tracker and only on the M4 was Esure. And they only advised it after 2 years because according to them it had a higher theft rate. They also only were continuing to insure it as I had previously had a policy with them which I rolled over into the M4. Nothing to do with the area I lived in as they put it in their terms that cars over a certain rating would have a requirement for a tracker. My location is ranked as one of the lowest for insurance, the car didn’t have comfort access. It was kept in a private car park away from my property so even less chance of it being nicked. I’ve also got a V8 supercharged 5.0l Range Rover Sport, a 997 and a i8 and I’ve never been asked for trackers on any of them.
Some insurance companies like esure for example will tell you that they prefer to insure the mundane stuff. The out of 100 rating for theft 20 or under, the M4 came in at 94 out of 100.
The fact others are also clearly telling you that insurance companies are insisting on it, I’ve even said that BMW U.K. insurance also state they will not provide cover on any M car without a tracker means it’s not just location, it’s the car, it’s the industry feeling that these cars are a target to be stolen. Be it with or without the keys.
Regardless of the fact that up until now it has not been a requirement for you, it is still a fact that a number of insurance companies are putting it in their terms for cars over a certain value or ‘high performance vehicles’ require an approved and active tracker.
Edited by MGirl on Monday 10th May 08:44
I'm getting an approved used (20-month old) M5 this week.
The cheapest insurer wants a thatcham approved tracking device fitted to the car. There were insurers who didn't require one, but were considerably more expensive (the difference in premium being greater than the cost of the tracker + subscription).
A lot of insurers didn't want to quote, even with a tracker, due to my area.
The cheapest insurer wants a thatcham approved tracking device fitted to the car. There were insurers who didn't require one, but were considerably more expensive (the difference in premium being greater than the cost of the tracker + subscription).
A lot of insurers didn't want to quote, even with a tracker, due to my area.
I personally wouldn't get BMW to get one fitted as I bet they are all fitted in exactly the same place.
I have never heard of a warranty being compromised by the fitting of a Tracker as, AFAIK, it merely needs to tap into the power.
I would much rather use someone who spent time fitting it in a place that was more secure than a quick fitting.
I had a Cat 5 fitted by Tracker UK and when I had a separate alarm by a different company they found and showed me the Tracker. It was merely under the first panel they lifted and must have taken minutes to fit ... even less to find I expect if a thief looked !
I complained to the company who came and refitted with Tracker UK watching (as I had contacted them too) and, funnily enough, he spent about an hour and a half repositioning it as opposed to the speedy fitment the first time. The positioning is vital, probably more than the make of the unit I guess.
I moved over to Meta when I found a Tracker that works with a separate immobiliser connected via Bluetooth. The size of the actual Tracking unit is tiny compared to Tracker UK's offering too and seemed much more 'up to date' tech wise.
No issues with the Meta unit or immobiliser (S5 Deadlock) where the Tracker UK one drained my battery repeatedly and gave loads of false warnings.
I have never heard of a warranty being compromised by the fitting of a Tracker as, AFAIK, it merely needs to tap into the power.
I would much rather use someone who spent time fitting it in a place that was more secure than a quick fitting.
I had a Cat 5 fitted by Tracker UK and when I had a separate alarm by a different company they found and showed me the Tracker. It was merely under the first panel they lifted and must have taken minutes to fit ... even less to find I expect if a thief looked !
I complained to the company who came and refitted with Tracker UK watching (as I had contacted them too) and, funnily enough, he spent about an hour and a half repositioning it as opposed to the speedy fitment the first time. The positioning is vital, probably more than the make of the unit I guess.
I moved over to Meta when I found a Tracker that works with a separate immobiliser connected via Bluetooth. The size of the actual Tracking unit is tiny compared to Tracker UK's offering too and seemed much more 'up to date' tech wise.
No issues with the Meta unit or immobiliser (S5 Deadlock) where the Tracker UK one drained my battery repeatedly and gave loads of false warnings.
Tea Pot One said:
I have never heard of a warranty being compromised by the fitting of a Tracker as, AFAIK, it merely needs to tap into the power.
.
I think there was an instance here a few weeks ago although it was on the BMW/Mondial insured policy..
I totally agree with your sentiment BTW, however on a £80k car I wouldn't take a chance and would use the BMW dealer.
nickfrog said:
Tea Pot One said:
I have never heard of a warranty being compromised by the fitting of a Tracker as, AFAIK, it merely needs to tap into the power.
.
I think there was an instance here a few weeks ago although it was on the BMW/Mondial insured policy..
I totally agree with your sentiment BTW, however on a £80k car I wouldn't take a chance and would use the BMW dealer.
interstellar said:
I’m considering activating the tracker on my new to me F90 M5. What happens to the BMW connected drive app if your car is stolen as that shows me the location of the car at the moment?
What am I missing?
All bmws have it, so assume that its the first thing that a car thief unticks in the idrive?What am I missing?
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