Car Tracker - advise

whippet

With my impending order for a new Golf GTI I think I should really get a tracker for security.

I really don't know what I should be looking for or what I should be expecting to pay. Has anyone got one fitted or any advice? I don't need anything fancy .. just something the insurance companies will take into consideration and that will locate my car if some scumbag takes a fancy to it !

Tipsy Mac

If there's an insurance company discount I would get one, otherwise I wouldn't bother. You would be better off never finding the car again and getting the insurance money for it as it will have had the guts driven out of it and effectively raped.

whippet

I might be niaeve (spelling!!) in my thinking but Joyriders really aren't interested in cars where they have to steal the keys .. and that cars that are stolen with the keys are stolen to order and left sitting in a public car park for a few days to make sure there isn't a tracker on board before being shifted to the waiting customer?

Do driveway barriers make any difference?

prospect

Tipsy Mac wrote:

If there's an insurance company discount I would get one, otherwise I wouldn't bother. You would be better off never finding the car again and getting the insurance money for it as it will have had the guts driven out of it and effectively raped.

**cough**
crap
**cough**


Most cars like this are stolen to order. So, the person making the order does not want a trashed car. Also, in anticipation of the car having a tracker, they are usually driven to a discreet location (e.g. underground carpark), and left idle for a couple of days, too see if the owner tracks it down. So, if your car is stolen too order and you have a tracker, there is a reasonable chance you'll get it back with little or no damage.

Regarding costs:
For a good unit, with online tracking (you can go to a secure website and see where your car is on mapping software) you will pay about €1200 and €120 per annum for monitoring.

maidhc

prospect wrote:

For a good unit, with online tracking (you can go to a secure website and see where your car is on mapping software) you will pay about €1200 and €120 per annum for monitoring.

The car would want to be pretty valuable, and the chance of it being robbed pretty high!

Could you not just hide a PAYG mobile phone behind the dash/in the boot and wire a charger into the 12v supply? The location could then be triangulated if necessary, and the phone battery would be a useful UPS if the theives removed the car battery.

I wouldn't notify my insurance company about a tracking device. You are leaving yourself open to they refusing a payout if the system fails to work as it should. Same goes for car alarms.

prospect

maidhc wrote:

The car would want to be pretty valuable, and the chance of it being robbed pretty high!
QUOTE]

I think that your insurance will cover the annual payment. The system could be removed if you sold on the car, so your €1200 (I am not 100% on that price) investment stays with you. Also, how much is the excess on a claim, and the depreciation loss on the car. I reckon on a high value car, these would amount ot over €1200 after you drive it away from the dealer.

HashSlinging

maidhc wrote:

Could you not just hide a PAYG mobile phone behind the dash/in the boot and wire a charger into the 12v supply? The location could then be triangulated if necessary, and the phone battery would be a useful UPS if the theives removed the car battery.
QUOTE]

How does triangulation work on a mobile phone, and how would joe public do it.

neacy69

i dont think Joe public can do this and I doubt any mobile phone company will do it for you either
in fact I know that Vodafone won't do it for Joe Public

Thomas_S_Hunterson

neacy69 wrote:

i dont think Joe public can do this and I doubt any mobile phone company will do it for you either
in fact I know that Vodafone won't do it for Joe Public

Yes but surely they would do it for the guards whenthey come knocking wielding a warrant?

maidhc

neacy69 wrote:

i dont think Joe public can do this and I doubt any mobile phone company will do it for you either
in fact I know that Vodafone won't do it for Joe Public

Top security provide the service. No idea as to cost: www.toplocate.ie. I think it uses GPS rather than GSM though. A GSM service (less accurate, but cheaper) was provided in the UK for a while (and I think O2 did in Ireland too for a very brief period, but am open to correction). It was very open to abuse though, as a person could set it up to track your phone if they had access to the phone for half an hour or so... it was being used by jealous partners and so forth.

The gardai can get the triangulation information anyway, in particular if it is your phone, and if there is a crime involved. I don't see how they could refuse to co-operate if you told them that stolen goods could be found, and a possible arrest made, if they found out where your car was.

neacy69

Like i said if I or you were to ring a mobile phone company for instance Vodafone and say my car was stolen and my phone was in it can you tell me where it is they wouldn't be able to help...
whereas if a garda uses the specific department that they work in conjunction with for each mobile operator maybe they will do something for them........(again vodafone as an example from my own experiences)

FX Meister

prospect wrote:

Also, in anticipation of the car having a tracker, they are usually driven to a discreet location (e.g. underground carpark), and left idle for a couple of days, too see if the owner tracks it down. So, if your car is stolen too order and you have a tracker, there is a reasonable chance you'll get it back with little or no damage.

Surely the GPS won't work in an underground car park so it won't be found. Then when the thieves take it overground it'll pop up on the tracker system again.

Funxy

www.trackandtrace.ie seem to be good

Seinas

ahh my dad is putting a tracker system on my jeep

so he can find out where I am and whats my average speed :rolleyes:

but i actually never thought about it as security....pretty cool :cool: