tracker

[Rick007]

Who off you have a tracker installed ?  I'm thinking of installing one but preferably one that cannot be blocked and easy to hide inside the car?
Any experience with these devices and what to look for ?

[mdsalemi]

Rick, I think all the trackers are hidden by specific design.

The gold standard in the USA at least is a system called LoJack. This is tied directly to law-enforcement and has been around for decades with an unbelievably successful track record.

They are supposed to have some international presence  and their European operations are located in Ireland but I couldn’t get their website to pop up.

It’s worth a look.

From what I understand the theft of high value vehicles in Europe, and then getting them to the east, is big criminal business. I remember the restrictions on car rentals on my last couple of trips there. a system that ties directly to law-enforcement is preferable than something with just alerts you on your phone… I don’t think you want to confront these people yourself.

[Rick007]

Thank you Michael , i will certainly take a look at LoJack.
 
I know certain insurance companies make it a requirement to accept coverage of your car , at a certain value.
And yes high valued classic cars as well.  But i never heard of a police force going after your car when it passes the border.
And in reality the cars are pretty well gone as soon as they pass one of our borders , and certainly gone if they pass European outer borders.
The only thing some insurance companies do is try to retrieve the vehicle if they think its cheaper the do that.

For me it would like a sytem so i would be notified if my car is tampered with, and i could notify the police before it passes the borders.
And i would certainly go after my car.   

[FresnoBob]

I think the new Apple Airtag would work well as it is exceptionally small (so can be hidden easily), the battery lasts for a very long time and you can track the car on your phone.  It will also notify you if it leaves your network. 

I have an expensive Brickhouse Security system and I definitely would not recommend it.  You can't set a geofence if you leave the car somewhere like a restaurant. 

[AGT]

Rick

I have Scorpion S5 VTS on two of my cars.

You get two key fobs with the tracker and if the car is started or moved or has the battery disconnected without the key fob present then you get a call from the control centre.  You can add an immobilising function so that the car won't start without the key fob present and this can also be triggered remotely after the car has been stolen so that the car won't restart.

The tracking is Europe wide. 

There is also an App that lets you see where your car is and enable/disable certain functions.

That's the theory.  Neither car has been stolen yet and so I can't say whether any of it actually works.

Regards
Andrew

[RAY]

Hi Rick,

I have had a tracker from Classic Tracker Ltd ( www.classic-tracker.com ) fitted for several years. It does all the usual things you expect these days linked to your smart phone plus if someone does drive it away obviously you can track it in real time but I can also disable the car remotely to stop it.

I also have a Revelco Anti Theft Device fitted and have a good old fashioned heavy duty Crook Lock that my father made ( he was an engineer ) before the now original Crook Lock came out. Pity he did not have the foresight to patent it ! 

Best

Ray

[mdsalemi]

I modify my reply about LoJack. Apparently they do NOT have a European Office, or it was closed or something...
I tried calling them today only to find out that speaking with a human was nearly impossible. I had to pose as a "dealer" and keep pressing "0" to get to one. That is, in my book at least, an extremely poor way of doing business. If I could find what I wanted on [your useless website] I wouldn't be calling! Get me to a &^%$ human being please!

The person in "support" who finally answered didn't know about European operations (see attachment; I think it is gone or not set up yet) and had to put me on hold to check. She came back and said they don't have European operations.

Moreover, for USA operations, LoJack was sold, apparently more than once in recent years. First to a place called "CalAmp" https://www.calamp.com and then to a place called Spireon. https://www.spireon.com. Nothing like a bunch of acquisitions to screw things up. But to try and call them to get a simple answer was crazy.

The cost of all these sophisticated tracker systems, and their monthly fees, is pretty high; I don't know if you get any break on insurance with them in the USA.

Though I never worried about it prior, I'll stick an AirTag in my car (because we're Apple-centric here) because it's just $29 and the car is rarely out of my sight, even when taking it somewhere. Frankly I'm more concerned about someone cutting off the catalytic converter on one of our daily drivers, or stealing the wheels than I am of something happening to the well-insured Pagoda.

 

[doitwright]

While I do not have an airtag but would consider installing one, I have read a few details about them. Their effectiveness is dependent on being in the proximity of other apple devices since they operate on a bluetooth connection. Also, once they are outside the proximity of the registered owner, they start emitting a beep sound. This was designed with the intent to alert someone they are being tracked without their consent. Supposedly there are youtube videos on how to disable the speaker in the airtag.

[BartSt]

An Apple Airtag will do 75% of what you are looking for.
Barr

[mdsalemi]

An Apple Airtag will do 75% of what you are looking for.
Barr

I agree. The price is right (USD $29); and it would be very, very rare to NOT have your car--stolen or not--somewhere within the proximity of some iPhone, somewhere. On a street in any town or city in the USA? It may be in the proximity of DOZENS of iPhones each minute. Of course if you live on a mountain top or in the middle of nowhere where there's little cell service, that's a different story. The more "universal" the security system, the more costly it is going to be. Once you get some kind of GPS or satellite tracking system you're talking a LOT of money If the crime where you are is that bad, perhaps something not as rare and exotic (if you like those words!) as a Pagoda would more be in order.