Tracker Question...

[snipez999]

Sadly though, as E63 says, insurers want the Cat 5 (mainly) fitted, full stop, and Ghost isn't Thatcham approved (though Google says a Thatcham engineer tested one and couldn't fault it - then again Google suggests I can sort my Hallux Rigidus by dislocating my own toe and moving it around for 5 minutes before popping it back in!!)
Such is life. The Cat 5 + Tracker also uses VHF, so you will find it in containers (unless Mr Scrote finds it first). It's a Catch 22 really. I'm actually considering fitting both Tracker and Ghost. Total cost is less than getting the invisifilm fitted on half the (Designo Selenite Grey Magna) car
Cheapest nationwide fitting price on Cat 5 + Tracker is here: https://www.trackerfit.co.uk/stolen-vehicle-trackers/cat-5-trackers/tracker-cat-5-plus.html

 

[sl500amgsport]

Can't fault the aftercare service, as my unit stopped transmitting GPS info they are arranging an onsite visit to fix/replace f.o.c. 3.5 years after it was installed! Big thumbs up from me..


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[snipez999]

I see there is a new version of the Ghost out now: https://www.autodefence.co.uk/autowatch-ghost-adr.html

Weird thing is they say this:
WE WILL NOT FIT THIS PRODUCT TO LAND ROVER / RANGE ROVER / JAGUAR VEHICLES.

But then they say this:
Did you know the Autowatch Ghost is compatible with a very wide range of vehicle manufactures? Audi, BMW, Ford Land Rover, Range Rover, Porsche, Ford, Hyundai, Honda, Nissan, Mercedes and VW. There are many more vehicles being added daily.
Most common vehicles currently getting secured with the Ghost are... Focus RS, Audi RS, VW R, Range Rover Sport / Evoque.

WTF??

 

[sl500amgsport]

I see there is a new version of the Ghost out now: https://www.autodefence.co.uk/autowatch-ghost-adr.html

Weird thing is they say this:
WE WILL NOT FIT THIS PRODUCT TO LAND ROVER / RANGE ROVER / JAGUAR VEHICLES.

But then they say this:
Did you know the Autowatch Ghost is compatible with a very wide range of vehicle manufactures? Audi, BMW, Ford Land Rover, Range Rover, Porsche, Ford, Hyundai, Honda, Nissan, Mercedes and VW. There are many more vehicles being added daily.
Most common vehicles currently getting secured with the Ghost are... Focus RS, Audi RS, VW R, Range Rover Sport / Evoque.

WTF??

This appears to be an immobiliser rather than tracker?

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[snipez999]

This appears to be an immobiliser rather than tracker?

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Yeah I'd considered getting both; there are now 2 versions of Ghost out, one with an app the other with a tag (which would mean carrying 2 tags with you everywhere!)

 

[John Laidlaw]

Sadly though, as E63 says, insurers want the Cat 5 (mainly) fitted, full stop, and Ghost isn't Thatcham approved (though Google says a Thatcham engineer tested one and couldn't fault it - then again Google suggests I can sort my Hallux Rigidus by dislocating my own toe and moving it around for 5 minutes before popping it back in!!)
Such is life. The Cat 5 + Tracker also uses VHF, so you will find it in containers (unless Mr Scrote finds it first). It's a Catch 22 really. I'm actually considering fitting both Tracker and Ghost. Total cost is less than getting the invisifilm fitted on half the (Designo Selenite Grey Magna) car
Cheapest nationwide fitting price on Cat 5 + Tracker is here: https://www.trackerfit.co.uk/stolen-vehicle-trackers/cat-5-trackers/tracker-cat-5-plus.html

I’m with Churchill and they don’t insist on a tracker strangely. I have the ghost which isn’t a tracker obviously but then a tracker isn’t necessary as the car can’t be stolen!

 

[sl500amgsport]

I’m with Churchill and they don’t insist on a tracker strangely. I have the ghost which isn’t a tracker obviously but then a tracker isn’t necessary as the car can’t be stolen!

Can the ghost prevent a low loader ;-)

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[John Laidlaw]

Yeah I'd considered getting both; there are now 2 versions of Ghost out, one with an app the other with a tag (which would mean carrying 2 tags with you everywhere!)

I have the Ghost and had the app but I disabled it, my disarm is purely a pin sequence on the dashboard somewhere- I wasn’t comfortable with the app, as if someone knicks my phone which can be hacked beyond pin by clever people it’d be vulnerable...that my take anyway

 

[John Laidlaw]

Can the ghost prevent a low loader ;-)

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Nope...but I suspect someone in our small cul de sac might notice ....(OK OK I know I might not be at home when the low loader thieves come!!)

 

[sl500amgsport]

Nope...but I suspect someone in our small cul de sac might notice ....(OK OK I know I might not be at home when the low loader thieves come!!)

Ever watched Can't pay will take it away, I'm always amazed how the neighbours just accept cars being towed away! I guess the neighbours would assume a breakdown/recovery scenario..

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[snipez999]

And your neighbours always suspected you were living beyond your means by owning a nice Merc anyway ;-)

I've seen cars being picked up on low loaders in Manchester and taken away, alarms screaming, with people not taking a blind bit of notice (saw it twice in space of 6 months at the start of the global economic crash!) What's to stop someone putting false plates on and ordering a bit of 'good looking, but fake livery' off EBay? Basically it's all about deterring thieves by making it hard for them. Then again, have you ever returned to your car to find the window smashed and steering column/dash in bits where they tried but failed? My Sapphire Cosworth and subsequently, a few years later, Evo VI had such attempts made on them in public car parks :-(

 

[Paul Goff]

Maybe buying a Trabant would have been a far less stressful experience! [/QUOTE]


Back in the late Eighties a friend had a new Peugeot 205 GTi 1.9, it went AWOL one night and and was found a week or so later with lots of expensive GTi goodies missing, seats, wheels, trim etc etc. It was duly repaired by his insurers and he fitted a Thatcham alarm.

Come insurance renewal, he couldn't get theft cover without a £400 upgrade to the security system, and an eye watering premium increase, he complied with both and another year passed without incident.

Same thing on next renewal, this time a further £500 security upgrade was insisted upon!!! His premium by now, was in four figures too, at age 36!

He sold the car and bought, for £400 the pair, two 1300cc rear engined Skodas! each with 12 months MOT and no rust Third party insurance for him and his spouse was below £100 for both cars. He did find the oversteer a bit "exciting" but new quality tyres and some very simple suspension mods tamed things well.

They ran those Skodas for 4 years, for less than one year's insurance and security costs, if you exclude fuel, of the 205.

He is an Accountant though

 

[C350Carl]

I wouldn't bother with one. They can be circumvented in seconds by most car thieves.

This ^^^

Even the best one, the Disklock, in terms of attack resistance. I used one until I saw a demonstration where it was defeated in just under 2mins! I stopped using it after that as it really only deterred the dumb scrote thief who would just smash the car up if they couldn't get it off. Best waste of £70 ever!!

 

[LostKiwi]

There are two schools of thought.

1. Prevent the car going in the first place. The common methods are immobilisers, alarms and disklocks etc.
2. Let the car go and then recover it. This is the tracker school of thought.

Personally I view the second way of thinking as the last resort option when option 1 fails.

Each has its benefits and drawbacks.

If you stop the thief getting the car they may resort to break-in/violence either to the vehicle or to you. Any immobiliser device must be painless to use as otherwise it becomes a chore and people don't put up it. You can bet that the time you don't bother with a disklok because you're "just nipping into the shop for a bottle of milk" is the time it goes missing.

If you let them get away with it they may find the tracker at which point the vehicle is as good as gone.
They may still trash the vehicle and dump it anyway so you may not be any better off than option one in terms of damage to the vehicle.

My personal view is to use both methods.
Make it as hard a possible to get the vehicle in the first place and fit two tracking devices so that if they do get it away and find a tracker they will likely stop looking and not find the second one. Of course it doesn't help if they trash the car but there is only so much you can do!

 

[snipez999]

Maybe buying a Trabant would have been a far less stressful experience!

Certainly a lot easier choosing add-ons!

 

[sl500amgsport]

There are two schools of thought.

1. Prevent the car going in the first place. The common methods are immobilisers, alarms and disklocks etc.
2. Let the car go and then recover it. This is the tracker school of thought.

Personally I view the second way of thinking as the last resort option when option 1 fails.

Each has its benefits and drawbacks.

If you stop the thief getting the car they may resort to break-in/violence either to the vehicle or to you. Any immobiliser device must be painless to use as otherwise it becomes a chore and people don't put up it. You can bet that the time you don't bother with a disklok because you're "just nipping into the shop for a bottle of milk" is the time it goes missing.

If you let them get away with it they may find the tracker at which point the vehicle is as good as gone.
They may still trash the vehicle and dump it anyway so you may not be any better off than option one in terms of damage to the vehicle.

My personal view is to use both methods.
Make it as hard a possible to get the vehicle in the first place and fit two tracking devices so that if they do get it away and find a tracker they will likely stop looking and not find the second one. Of course it doesn't help if they trash the car but there is only so much you can do!

All modern cars have immobilisers built in often along with security door locks and steering locks. Professional thieves can overcome most of these. The modern issue is keyless start car thefts, these can be avoided cheaply by securing the fobs in a Kevlar type container or simply too far away from the vehicle to be picked up by a scanner or as mentioned above a ghost type of immobiliser.

The tracker helps to improve the chance of recovery and can be useful to reduce insurance cost but at the end of the day we all have car insurance to recompense us if the worst were to happen.

Insurance premium hikes following a theft can often be offset by shopping around so I do not see any of it as too much of an issue, all of this is from personal experience of having a CLK stolen, I took a philosophical view to it as an ideal opportunity for a change of car.

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[snipez999]

So it's: tracker + ghost + faraday pouch + throwaway chinese tracker + OBD lock cover.
Where's that Trabant dealership number?!?

This is my favourite, despite how useless it would be in reality: