Tracker fitting - manufacturer or authorised independent?

[adbett]

I need to get a Tracker fitted for insurance and will probably be going for a wired system that needs to be properly fitted. Question is do I buy from the manufacturer or buy from an authorised installer? Price difference is significant (about £240 vs £460), do I lose anything by going direct with a local installer?

I'm assuming the manufacturer will contract the work out to a local fitter anyway so it could be the same person fitting it regardless of who I purchase it from!

[sidicks]

adbett said:

I need to get a Tracker fitted for insurance and will probably be going for a wired system that needs to be properly fitted. Question is do I buy from the manufacturer or buy from an authorised installer? Price difference is significant (about £240 vs £460), do I lose anything by going direct with a local installer?

I'm assuming the manufacturer will contract the work out to a local fitter anyway so it could be the same person fitting it regardless of who I purchase it from!

I guess there are two (related) issues:

1) does a non-dealer fitting equipment to your car invalidate your warranty?

2) if you get a problem with the car's electrics - will you expect the tracker fitter or the dealer to rectify?

[Trev450]

It may also be worth a punt in informing your insurance company that you have had other competitive quotes from companies who don't require the fitment of a tracker.

When I purchased my CS, my insurance company requested a tracker be fitted but quickly withdrew the requirement when I informed them of this.

[rbh]

If fitted by anyone other than Porsche it invalidates your warranty, I don't know if this is an issue.

Rob

[NickUSA]

Try these guys:

http://www.mtrackonline.co.uk/

Insurance approved and no wiring, therefore not a warranty issue.

[adbett]

Might have caused some confusion...by manufacturer I meant the Tracker manufacturer not Porsche. It's a 10 year old GT3 so no longer under warranty etc

So purchase directly from www.tracker.com or indirectly for example www.trackerfit.co.uk

Agreed, if there were any issues you would hope that direct from the manufacturer would be a safer bet to get anything resolved

[James44]

I've always found the insurance discount to be much less than the annual cost recurring cost of the tracker. I also found those that insist on it as a base requirement are more expensive than those that offer a discount if you do.

So I viewed it as - why should I pay to limit the potential exposure the insurer when i am paying for theft insurance anyway! I know there's more to it than that as you want your P&J back and its a deterrent that could save a lot hassle in the first place.

J

[adbett]

Unfortunately it's more about getting insurance rather than saving money! Unable to even get a sensible quote without one...

I did speak to mtrack after seeing some previous threads, sounds a good product but probably not the right one for me as the car is parked 2 storeys underground so no GSM or GPS reception

[Trev450]

adbett said:

Unfortunately it's more about getting insurance rather than saving money! Unable to even get a sensible quote without one...

Try Pace Ward. Ask for Daniel.

http://www.paceward.com/

[mrdemon]

I pay about £220 PA with no tracker 8k miles and business use, it's odd they all went though a stage wanting a tracker, now most don't.
my old GT3 was also the same price.

get other insurance quotes is my advice, or if you have more than 1 car at the house go multi car.

[lolbert]

NickUSA said:

Try these guys:

http://www.mtrackonline.co.uk/

Insurance approved and no wiring, therefore not a warranty issue.

+1

[adbett]

Thanks for the Pace Ward tip, hadn't seen them before. They can insure without a tracker.....for £650 more than my best quote with! Very helpful though, will try them again next year anyway.

I think london location is making a tracker look mandatory, so can anyone recommend an independent fitter or should I stick with the tracker manufacturer?

[SEE YA]

What about a DIY tracker?

[BlackGT3]

lolbert said:

NickUSA said:

Try these guys:

http://www.mtrackonline.co.uk/

Insurance approved and no wiring, therefore not a warranty issue.

+1

+ another. Also, if you sell the car you can move this tracker to another vehicle. Lots of advantages with wireless trackers.

[s3nick]

NickUSA said:

Try these guys:

http://www.mtrackonline.co.uk/

Insurance approved and no wiring, therefore not a warranty issue.

Does look like a good unit if you need a tracker!

No brainer tbh!

[adbett]

I agree, it's a very attractive product, unfortunately as the car is located underground and out of range of GSM it could take 6-12h for the unit to send an alert if it is stolen. Some of the wired products use VHF that would alert immediately. Are there any DIY trackers that use VHF?

[lolbert]

adbett said:

I agree, it's a very attractive product, unfortunately as the car is located underground and out of range of GSM it could take 6-12h for the unit to send an alert if it is stolen. Some of the wired products use VHF that would alert immediately. Are there any DIY trackers that use VHF?

Not if you use the geofencing capability. You would get an alert as soon as the unit acquires a signal

[supersport]

In some respects do you care if it works properly or not, you are trying to get insurance at the best price, if they accept that the track you choose if of good enough quality, then go for it.

[NickUSA]

adbett said:

I agree, it's a very attractive product, unfortunately as the car is located underground and out of range of GSM it could take 6-12h for the unit to send an alert if it is stolen. Some of the wired products use VHF that would alert immediately. Are there any DIY trackers that use VHF?

I think you'll find if your car is stolen it wont be in the underground carpark, therefore the GSM/GPS will alert. That said the unit does have a VHF transmitter.

[adbett]

I did speak to the supplier for mtrack, exactly how it will work depends on the strength of the GSM signal in the car park. I think if there is 0% or 100% signal the unit can be set up to alert immediately on movement out of the car park when it finds a GSM signal. If the signal is weak or intermittant then some of the features would have to be switched off to stop false alerts happening - in this case it will only alert you when the unit does a poll every 6-12h and notices it has crossed a geofence.

I'm sure it would work and let's me get insured, however for 5% more I can get something that will always alert me immediately and doesn't require me to carry a remote around or need recharging. As the car is parked away from my property the extra security was appealing!

What companies have people used to get trackers fitted?