Thinking about fitting a tracker to the new motor - this will be done at the dealer by the tracker company ? I think.
What do other BR's think of these devices, you read all the advertising blurb and according to this they are up there in sliced bread territory. Just wondered if there were any real life stories from BRs either good or bad.
Thanks
Paul
|
Depends on the car you are thinking of fitting it to. If you think its a target and you would want it back with any damage repaired, then sure. If you (and personally i wouldnt) want a car back and there is a chance it may never be the same, and the car is not a real target, then i would bother.
What car are you buying?
|
|
ooops. read the last sentence of the first paragraph as 'i wouldnt bother'
|
There are many examples of people having Tracker fitted to gain a very small reduction in insurance premium.
If the car is stolen and recovered you may get away with little or no body damage, or if there is body damage the insurance will pay to rectify it, BUT, the car will normally have been thrashed to within an inch of it's life by the thieves and may mechanically never be the same again. It will probably have been rattled over kerbs and constantly redined.
I'd rather have the payout to spend on another.
PP
|
|
Oops.....redined = redlined!
|
|
|
Depends on the vehicle and how long it was thrashed for - whether the PFD wants to retain its value or do a ram-raid / getaway.
On a similar mechanical note why would a stolen/recovered vehicle be any different from a used daily-rental vehicle ?
Thrashed to within an inch of it's life ... Check
Mechanically never the same again ... Check
Rattled over kerbs ..................... Check
Constantly red-lined ...................errr Check
|
|
|
|
|
Phoenicks : You are assuming that damage goes beyond a hot-wired ignition, smashed window etc ? Why wouldn't you want it back then ? Would you rather have an insurance record of stolen vehicles ? If you just want the payout then maybe but if you have spent money on a car you like and don't want the hassle / cost of finding another then, for the right value car, it is worth it.
Also the thought of the PFD driving getting caught is a plus surely.
|
|
|
Phoenicks
Already bought Jag x type 3.0 SE, so IMO it's a target, or have I just answered my own question ????
P
|
My thoughts on damage werent just about visual damage, it was the thrashed drivetrain, suspension, engine and gearbox too. I agree with PP. Would you really want it back?
When i say target, i refer to the fact as to whether its viewed as a car likely to be stolen. Of course every car can be a target, but what cars are regards as genuine cars desired by theives. Regards an X-Type, i wouldnt consider this as a possible theft target in the same vein as i would consider most imprezas/evo's/porsches/fast fords/novas and astras are.
|
Phoenicks : Correct - depends on the car and I would think twice about it if not a special vehicle that I wanted back / needed to do to get cheaper insurance.
BTW why do you consider that a thief would be able to trash the mechanicals of an impreza in 1 day when most owners seem to be attempting that every day ?
|
|
Last post should have ended - "Do you think they will not cope with high revs ?"
|
Having had three (!) cars stolen over the years, I can say the two that came back were never the same. I wasn't comfortable driving them and got rid of them pretty soon after.
i. Burned out
ii. Engine removed
iii. Cosmetic damage, just didn't like the thought.
I'd rather they had them long enough to wreck them completely, not just a few hours/days.
Stu.
|
I would say that having a tracker in your car makes no difference as to whether or not it is stolen.
I would also say that it makes some, but not a lot, of difference as to whether or not you get your car back.
But if the perception is that, for example, all BMWs are fitted with trackers whereas all Mercedes are not, then I would expect overal thefts of BMWs to decrease and Mercs to increase.
However, the overall perception that cars are fitted with trackers, thus decreasing overall thefts, will not be maintained unless individuals have them fitted even being aware that it may not help them personally.
And I know that's garbled, but I know what I mean.
Mine have trackers fitted because thieves tick me off and anything I can do to make their life more difficult, even by a scrap, I will do.
|
|
|
Some insurers won't cover certain cars without one.
Some expensive, rare or more exotic cars which are more likely to be "stolen to order" may be worthwhile having Trackers.
Obviously a baseball-cap-wearing ragga isn't going to steal your beloved Vectra or Yaris to order.
There have been reports (on the backroom I think) of higher-end cars being stolen with keys, parked up a few streets away and left for a day or two in case they have a tracker fitted, so that the police aren't led back to the criminals themselves.
mike
|
Sorry what I forgot to add to the above is, someone stealing your car to order is not going to trash the interior or whatever.
mike
|
|
|
>>There have been reports (on the backroom I think) of higher-endcars being stolen with keys, parked up a few streets away and left for a day or two in case they have a tracker fitted, so that the police aren't led back to the criminals themselves.
This happened a few weeks ago at our showroom ,two guys walked right into the sales office when it was unattended, went into one of the guys drawers, got the keys and walked out. All done fairly discreetly with no-one noticing.
They then drove off in his BMW 330Ci convertible, car got parked up in a longstay car park at Birmingham Airport, presumably to checkcheck for a tracker - car was recovered within an hour of being stolen.
If i was buying this kind of car i would definately invest in one. An X-Type? probably wouldn't bother.
|
|
|
|
|
|
I couldn't get insurance for my imprezza without a tracker, hence it has a tracker fitted.
There isn't much problem with redlining it, the engine management system of most modern quick cars ease the rev limitter in slowly to aviod engine damage.
If I was doing it again I would go for the option of being able yo have the engine turned off remotely. That would be a gaurnateed way to annoy the PFD who steal cars.
--
I read often, only post occasionally
|
|
|
|
|
|
A previous discussion on trackers:-
www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?t=14785
(See my answer in this thread of how to make your own cheap tracking device.)
|
|
Can you get a Tracker sticker. Would be a lot cheaper.
|
|
Don't attach a Tracker sticker. This can encourage the idiots to trash the car without nicking it, or have a go at looking for the transmitter - Tracker is supposed to be undetectable.
|
So it's no deterrant then. You just get it back if stolen...
I'd rather it wasn't pinched in the first place!
|
Is there any information about Trackers which you can monitor from your own computer and turn the engine off remotely once the car reaches a standstill?
Are they any good? Worth it?
--
Espada III - well if you have a family and need a Lamborghini, what else do you drive?
|
|
|
|
Well the motion detector works, I can assure you. After my little (err) accident, the nice people at Tracker called me to let me know that the car had been loaded onto the tow truck.
They also called us to let us know that the ferry had departed. To be fair, we did notice that one as everyone else's alarm went off.
If the car is likely to be stolen for resale the I'd fit it immediately. If it's likely to be stoled for joyriding then no.
Take care choosing though - there are three trackers, Retrieve, Monitor and Horizon.
Retrieve requires you to call them to say it's gone, which will be ok if you never leave the car alone for any length of time. My car might sit in a car park all day, which is ample time for it to vanish.
Monitor senses movement of the car, as above; if the immobiliser has not been deactivated then they call you to see if all is well.
Horizon is Monitor plus a GPS device. This is thought to be a bit overkill and pointless, apparently
|
Thanks P.
I think my Subaru is likely to be taken for other illegal activity and joyriding, so I think I'll just skip it. It has a good Thatcham Cat 1 immobiliser fitted as standard anyway.
--
Espada III - well if you have a family and need a Lamborghini, what else do you drive?
|
I think unless you own a "high luxury/sports" car then your better spending the money on theft prevention & make sure it's visible - IMHO your main concern is joyriders/amateur scallies.
|
|
Tracker has been a standard option (IYKWIM) from the BMW dealer that my last four cars have originated. It saves a good percentage on insurance and hopefully the local tea leaves know that this is the case.
|
Tracking is also an optional (£7 pm IIRC) cost with SmartNav.
But as Direct Line wouldn't give any discount if activated, I don't bother.
|
|
Tracker has save me the grand sum of £0 on my insurance! My insurance commpany don't even ask if it's fitted.
|
|
Have you volunteered the fact ? Do their name appear on the list enclosed in the Tracker pack ?
|
Forgive me but what is the point?
The scum don't know it's fitted, it doesn't immobilise your car, and you end up getting back a thrashed, pretty much wrecked car which I personally wouldn't want to drive again.
It doesn't even give you much discount on your premiums.
--
Adam
|
I have a friend who owns a Scooby - offered to fit the car with a Tracker & the insurance company offered him an extra £10 discount !!!
Call me suspicious but surely it's in the Insurance companies interest to see the vehicle recovered, claim would obviously be significantly less ?? Makes me think the insurance companies actually want people making big claims, otherwise I think the discount for fitting Trackers would be quite substantial !!
Seems to me all your doing when fitting a tracker is helping out the insurance company at your own cost.
|
|
I get 10% from RSA. Equates to £49.00. May Trak the Defender up, I fear it may be stolen for its bits or for export...I love it.
|
A thachem 1 alarm was a must for my insurance on the Discovery. You're right, apparently there's big money to be made with 2nd hand LR parts. A decent TDi engine is worth around £700+!
H
|
How does a modern car fitted with normal security aids get stolen without the keys?. Even on my ordinary Vectra it has some kind of device (second press of the remote button) which immobilises the car.
How do the lowlife overcome this. The days of pulling the ignition wires out and connecting together surely doesn?t bypass all this gadgetry.
|
How does a modern car fitted with normal security aids get stolen without the keys?.
Easy. The lowlife rent a car for the day and experiment with how the alarms and immobilisers work.
Even on my ordinary Vectra it has some kind of device (second press of the remote button) which immobilises the car.
Actually the second press of the remote button activates the deadlocking on the doors. The immobiliser part consists of a chip inside the keyfob. When put in the ignition will tell the car's ecu whether it's the correct chip or not.
|
|
