Guard 360 instead of a dedicated tracker?

[Chris-net]

https://shop.mercedes-benz.com/en-gb/connect/pdp/GUARD-360-Package/702

I'm awaiting delivery of my new car and looking at security options including trackers.

I'm thinking of multiple approaches like including cheaper options like hiding a tile in the car, crook lock etc.

I see the car has an option for Guard 360, £319 for 3 years which I think is a lot. I assume I can tell my insurance a tracker is fitted if I subscribe to that service.

guard 360 includes stolen vehicle help and key deactivation.

Case number: solved. To make sure that your Mercedes returns to where it belongs as quickly as possible.

Although you cannot keep an eye on your Mercedes around the clock yourself, you can at least rest assured that the necessary steps will be taken as soon as possible in the event of theft. In that case, one thing matters above all: not losing any time and finding out where your Mercedes is as quickly as possible. Our authorised service partner can provide the crucial edge in terms of time. The service partner releases the position data of your vehicle directly to police. As a result, the investigations start immediately even without a court order. And you increase the chances that your Mercedes quickly returns to where it belongs.

Your advantages at a glance.

If your vehicle was stolen, report the theft immediately to the police. There you will be given a case number. Then use the service in the Mercedes me App to contact the security centre of our authorised service partner. After you have relayed your data, the case number and the relevant police station to the security centre, its employees will take care of the further process. They will manage communication with the police and provide support for the officers by starting the tracking feature and transmitting the position data. If your vehicle is located, the police can start the search immediately.

Anyone use Guard 360 or have any detail if its worth it?

I see lots of mention of ghost immobilisers and agree its better for the car to be immobilised rather than stolen, I think my better half will have issues with it though and can see it causing issues when in for servicing etc.

I've searched the forums for guard 360 and see no mention hence the post.

 

[JBell]

Think @AMGeed has one as did John Laidlaw which is highly recommended

 

[AMGeed]

Think @AMGeed has one as did John Laidlaw which is highly recommended

Yes I had an Auto watch Ghost on my previous car. Fitted at Comand online, you wouldn't be able to find it. Highly recommended.
Valet mode for servicing and MOT's is easily programmed so you don't need to give away the sequence of buttons used to unlock the immobilizer.

I have heard good things about Pandora immobilizers and will investigate when I eventually change cars to something worth stealing

 

[Chris-net]

The immobilisers do look like a smart idea to stop the vehicle from moving, unless the thieves decide to up the ante and ask for the code.

Trackers are good for recovery.

Anyone any experience of guard 360 which is built into the car but requires a fee to activate, along the lines of all trackers.

 

[daveenty]

Not sure exactly what you'd want it for? The Guard 360, which I'll admit to having never heard of, seems to operate on the same principle as a tracker in that it sends out a signal to locate a missing/stolen vehicle. Ghost immobilises the vehicle rendering it immoveable though, as you infer in your post above, to do this to the wrong sort of person is potentially inviting hassle. In effect they are totally different devices.

I have a tracker system fitted to mine but the only reason is that the insurers insist upon it. Were it to be stolen I wouldn't particularly want it back as it would never be the same car to me again. If your insurance company are the same then it may be worth having a word with them initially to see if it's compatible with their policies as they can be fussy. It may be worth a word with them anyway as they may be able to give you more insight into the Guard thing...

 

[Chris-net]

Not sure exactly what you'd want it for? The Guard 360, which I'll admit to having never heard of, seems to operate on the same principle as a tracker in that it sends out a signal to locate a missing/stolen vehicle. Ghost immobilises the vehicle rendering it immoveable though, as you infer in your post above, to do this to the wrong sort of person is potentially inviting hassle. In effect they are totally different devices.

I have a tracker system fitted to mine but the only reason is that the insurers insist upon it. Were it to be stolen I wouldn't particularly want it back as it would never be the same car to me again. If your insurance company are the same then it may be worth having a word with them initially to see if it's compatible with their policies as they can be fussy. It may be worth a word with them anyway as they may be able to give you more insight into the Guard thing...

Instead of a separate tracker I could just use the built in one.

I know some trackers use vhf to relay their location instead of the phone network.

Not having used either a vhf based or a phone based tracker I’m wondering what the community thinks.

Not sure it’s worth buying a seperate tracker plus subscription if the car has one built in I can use with a subscription.

I guess it’s a post looking to understand the views on trackers with recommendations and a secondary same question on immobilisers.

In an ideal world you’d want an immobiliser-tracker combo, immobiliser is no good if they’ve lifted or towed the vehicle and then have time to find the immobiliser. Then again I’d likely not want the car back so a tracker isn’t really useful unless to prove the car left port on its way to adventures unknown.

 

[s5tuart]

I'd want a device that allows the engine to run for 20 minutes then shuts the whole car down.
That way they can't beat the code out of you because they'll be miles away.
Probably easy enough to do using a 555 timer and a couple of solid state relays.

 

[Chris-net]

I'd want a device that allows the engine to run for 20 minutes then shuts the whole car down.
That way they can't beat the code out of you because they'll be miles away.
Probably easy enough to do using a 555 timer and a couple of solid state relays.

Definitely want them away before the car stops. The service/valet settings that ghost offers looks good, means they can’t go over 36 (I assume indicated 40)mph.

I think guard 360 offers something similar.

Checking local police stats looks like my very local area is having ~20 reported motor related incidents a month, lots of chatter on social media about mainly keyless BMW’s evaporating in the night plus some merc’s. Naturally police are not interested.

 

[LostKiwi]

The biggest issue with any tracker device is that it needs to receive an easily jammed GPS signal. Those that rely on mobile phone tech have the same issue.

 

[Chris-net]

In theory the vhf ones can be localised to receivers in a certain area. You’d know it was last seen or is in for example Dover rather than Portsmouth. Better than last seen on your drive But depends if you want it back.

there are numerous networks that relay tracking comms around like helium although that is uhf not vhf, range is 40+km at very low power ~10mw rising to 180km’s at 200mw which is still low power.

table here shows distances at power levels

The LoRa Protocol | Raveon Technologies

LoRa Overview LoRa is short for “Long Range”. LoRa radio modulation scheme is a modulation technique combined with a data encoding technique that gives a broad-

www.raveon.com

whilst it’s possible to jam vhf/uhf/gsm/gps especially if the jammer is close to the source it’s all upping the cost and sophistication of the heist.

apologies for getting techie.

 

[MBDevotee]

I've always just hardwired one of these in and hidden behind the covers in the boot using the magnet - powered off the boot fag lighter cable.

Amazon.co.uk

I used a giffgaff sim and used less than £2 data out of a £10 PAYG sims data use.

however these seem to have gone up (I paid £30) and there are others like this out there now - but a lot seem to charge monthly for the sim - which is a pain.

 

[Chris-net]

That’s likely the cheapest method.

If they have a jammer though would render it useless as it’ll show last seen where you left it.

 

[Rotorhead500]

I had a very good immobiliser fitted to my Scooby Spec D years ago, fitted at the dealer for handover.

Without the code, it allowed any tow rag, with or without keys, to start the car and get about 1/4 down the road (max 3000 rpm) before it goes in to full limp mode, then stops.

Can't for the life of me remember the manufacturer though!