Which tracker?

[jimmyslr]

I am getting quoted insurance for my replacement RS and now need a "pro-active tracker", ie one which automatically triggers if the car is moved without me (via use of key, clever tag etc). I've not had one of these before, and the search function not much help right now, so would appreciate views on what other have found in terms of good/approved systems.

Thanks, James

[ballast]

RAC Trackstar - bag of bollox; service shite; steer very clear of all RAC prodcuts in my experience. My dog could track it better.

[johnnywishbone]

tracker monitor or horizon are both very good !
give ben a call @ 07000 911 996 for more infomation , or please look @ our website @ www.specialistcarsltd.co.uk on the security section !!

JWB

[Curley]

Well i suspect that you are looking to fit this to a second hand car but i have the porsche VTS system on my 997 ( Cobra product ) and i can vouch that it works really well.

On the odd occasion i have gone out without the separate transponder i have received a call on my mobile within 5 to 10 mins from the call center to say that my car appears to be moving illegally .

I had a tracker on my previous M3 and the down side with that was i never really knew in 4 years of ownership if it was actually working !

[Merritt]

jimmyslr said:

ie one which automatically triggers if the car is moved without me (via use of key, clever tag etc

etc

Thanks, James

These jobbies are very good : www.i-mob.co.uk/

even prevents theft of alloys through the anti tilt mechanism.

If you decide to buy one, give me a shout and I'll refer you... I'll get 6 bottles of 'Champagne' and I'll go halves with you

Steve

[gmk666]

Tracker - good system, lousy customer service.

http://pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.
http://pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.

Edited by gmk666 on Thursday 5th October 14:44

[anniesdad]

Curley said:

I had a tracker on my previous M3 and the down side with that was i never really knew in 4 years of ownership if it was actually working !

'tis a worry agreed - however you can contact them to check whether the system is working or not.

Ballast,

Re: RAC Trackstar - please could you explain your issues? as we are actually having one of these (Trackstar plus) fitted to a new Boxster today.

Edited by anniesdad on Thursday 5th October 15:05

[supermono]

I recommend you steer clear of tracker -- their customer service is zero out of ten. I have had problems with a) broken tracker and no quick service b) few returned calls c) bills and demands from old cars sold ages ago d)service engineer came out did <something> and left without telling me what.

In fact I still don't know if the darned thing is working.

Please, I urge you to buy elsewhere. I definitely won't deal with them again.

SM

[anniesdad]

Problem with Tracker - the only one really is that the annual subscription come off my credit card without a by or leave and I still to this day haven't received the invoice/renewal notice. To my shame, I haven't requested one either.

[ballast]

RAC Trackster - service was absolutely awful. I'm still now convinced to this day that it is being correctly monitored/tracked. There aren't enough days left in my life to sit waiting on hold to be answered by someone who either is (a) not interested (b) interested but clueless (c) interested, led me to belive I'd made progress, but were in fact (a) in disguise. They were awful.

[Steve_T]

I have a Metasat System in the Cerb, it a no frills option, working off a pay as you go SIM, so there's no call centre, but they sound like a waste of time from what's been said. The cost works out to be a few tens of pounds a year (the car sends notifications via SMS), it can be transferred to other cars and so on. Not sure if this is what you're looking for, but thought I should mention. The low battery voltage feature is a handy thing for second/third cars (don't know if tracker does this).

Steve.

Edited by Steve_T on Thursday 5th October 15:43

[ballast]

One final point - you can indeed ask them to do a test track providing (a) you can get through (b) you can convince them it's your car (c) they're interested in doing it (d) they know how to. Then when you've achieved this, they don't ring you back to tell you whether or not is worked. AARGGGHHHHHHHHHH!!!! It's started me off all over again;

now where are those tablets....

[ballast]

The dog does a good job though. I could hire him to you for a reasonable rate??

[smirnoff]

I have Navtrak on my turbo, it is a bit of overkill and very expensive, but I wanted a system that would alert me even if the keys were stolen.

The call centre guys are very friendly and dont get pissed off with the false alarms, which are all my fault, It even sent an alarm once when i rolled down a hill 2 feet with the engine off to make it possible for my mate to park behind me.

If you can afford it I highly recommend it.

[sidicks]

[quote=Curley]Well i suspect that you are looking to fit this to a second hand car but i have the porsche VTS system on my 997 ( Cobra product ) and i can vouch that it works really well.

On the odd occasion i have gone out without the separate transponder i have received a call on my mobile within 5 to 10 mins from the call center to say that my car appears to be moving illegally .

[quote]

Likewise, I have the VTS on my C4S. I'm normally called within 2-3mins when I have mistakenly driven the car without the tag.

Expensive, but effective !!

Sidicks

[M@verick]

i have the navtrack pro active kit on my C4. It seems very good and as smirnoff says, they havent been at all annoyed or unprofessional yet with all the false alarms i keep triggering, or indeed when the OPC guys have the car in for work.

It is a little bit of an arse having to remember to swipe the key everytime you do *anything* but other than that it seems a good bit of kit.

R.

[WardyMWA]

I have the VTS system on 997 C4S. Its foolproof.....as you say they never complain about the false alarms....they call and text me within 2 minutes if the car moves without the special card.

[hughjayteens]

We have recently been fitting a lot of Cobra TrakQ systems - they offer a pretty slick online tracking and remote immobilisation facility which is quite cool. Wake up to find your car gone, log on and then kill it from the internet!

They cost about the same as all the rest, you just pay £200 a year subscription rather than £130 or so.

Also handy if your car is in for a service and you don't want them going for a high speed thrash as you can set a 'geofence' and speed limit on the car!

Cobra also offer full European tracking, and are the factory approved system on all new Porsches.

Cheers

Chris

www.prestigeaudio.co.uk

[Zanderman]

What are the upfront and monthly/yearly of the systems mentioned?

You mention they are expensive, just interested to see HOW expensive.

Cheers!!

[jimmyslr]

Thanks for info so far chaps. I know one tends to get answers from those with strong opinions (ie usually bad), but Tracker seems less popular! The Porsche system sounds interesting, but for me and my 1997 RS, the same kit from Cobra TrakQ sounds promising. The flasher TRakQ Attivo is the one with all the web based whistles and bells, but running cost of £200pa plus usage cost is not cheap so maybe the simpler version (ie not the Attivo) is what I need.

Frankly I'm only doing this because it's a requirement of my insurance, but as I "have to" I do want to get one that does the job well with service that helps rather than hinders.

If there's any more thoughts or any conflicting views please keep them coming