Tracker-worth getting?

OnlyGotOneSong

Hi all,

Could anyone give me some advice on car trackers.

Im about to purchase a new car and am hearing lots of stories lately about cars being stolen and shipped out of the country.

Would a tracker be a worthwhile investment and could anyone offer any recommendations for where to purchase or trackers they have bought and were happy with.

Thanks in advance.

Desolation Of Smug

If it's a bmw or a range rover, get one. If it's a Ford Fiesta, maybe not so much.

goz83

For the sake of around €100 and a fiver credit every few months, I would say yes, they are worth it, if you are at all concerned of your motor going missing. I got mine on ebay and hooked it up to a constant supply of power in a mitsi fto. The unit has GSM and GPRS tracking. The main unit was hidden in the dash. The GPRS antenna ran up the pillar and peeked out from behind the rear view mirror, making it effectively invisible, unless you knew where it was. The GSM antenna ran up the pillar and along the roof liner and was hidden in the third brake like unit. The rear window was tinted, so the antenna was again hidden, but would have been very hard to spot either way. The device came with a few options, all activated by text, or by calling the unit. You could listen in to conversations in the car, cut the power to engine, set alerts if the car was moved, or left a pre defined perimeter. I never bothered with all that stuff, but it was cool to have the option. Ebay.

Desolation Of Smug

goz83 wrote: »

For the sake of around €100 and a fiver credit every few months, I would say yes, they are worth it, if you are at all concerned of your motor going missing. I got mine on ebay and hooked it up to a constant supply of power in a mitsi fto. The unit has GSM and GPRS tracking. The main unit was hidden in the dash. The GPRS antenna ran up the pillar and peeked out from behind the rear view mirror, making it effectively invisible, unless you knew where it was. The GSM antenna ran up the pillar and along the roof liner and was hidden in the third brake like unit. The rear window was tinted, so the antenna was again hidden, but would have been very hard to spot either way. The device came with a few options, all activated by text, or by calling the unit. You could listen in to conversations in the car, cut the power to engine, set alerts if the car was moved, or left a pre defined perimeter. I never bothered with all that stuff, but it was cool to have the option. Ebay.

Yeah, but FTO.. robbey. Some cars just really aren't. BTW I also have an FTO, it's currently behind a steel door with a big lock on it. Robbey cars...

Trollhättan

goz83 wrote: »

For the sake of around €100 and a fiver credit every few months, I would say yes, they are worth it, if you are at all concerned of your motor going missing. I got mine on ebay and hooked it up to a constant supply of power in a mitsi fto. The unit has GSM and GPRS tracking......

Hi Goz...do you have any link to the kit you bought? Thanks.

goz83

Desolation Of Smug wrote: »

Yeah, but FTO.. robbey. Some cars just really aren't. BTW I also have an FTO, it's currently behind a steel door with a big lock on it. Robbey cars...

Any car can be robbed. Some are more likely to be targeted, I agree. There is certainly no harm in adding extra security, especially when it's inexpensive.

Are you on fto ireland? My FTO got a battering. See my thread here http://www.fto-ireland.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=13627&start=200

Trollhättan wrote: »

Hi Goz...do you have any link to the kit you bought? Thanks.

I can't see the exact kit, as they change, but this one looks pretty much the same, with extra features. The brand is the same and the control unit and attachments are all there, but it also seems to have an alarm function. I haven't read the whole listing, but I think that's what you want.

http://www.ebay.ie/itm/Realtime-Vehicle-Car-GSM-GPRS-GPS-Tracker-Tracking-Alarm-System-TK103-A-VG3-/130994399034?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item1e7fdfe73a

CJ Haughey

Desolation Of Smug wrote: »

Yeah, but FTO.. robbey. Some cars just really aren't. BTW I also have an FTO, it's currently behind a steel door with a big lock on it. Robbey cars...

A steel door and a big lock is a mild inconvenience.

listermint

CJ Haughey wrote: »

A steel door and a big lock is a mild inconvenience.

So is an FTO

Satanta

goz83 wrote: »

http://www.ebay.ie/itm/Realtime-Vehicle-Car-GSM-GPRS-GPS-Tracker-Tracking-Alarm-System-TK103-A-VG3-/130994399034?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item1e7fdfe73a

Wow. I was working on building a tracking website in 200 or so and bought a unit just like that for 600 sterling. That's a good price there.

ironclaw

Just a reminder than a tracker is only as good as its positioning and the time it takes to find. You want to ensure its not wired obviously (i.e. Don't tap on the fuse boards) and on some installs, I've seen two. A 'decoy' and a real one. Both working but wired entirely separately with the idea being if you find one, then you're unlikely to look for the second. You'll also want to make sure its independently powered if the battery is disconnected.

Lastly, remember they can be jammed and you will be snookered if its left in a underground car park or steel container. That said, the modus operandi seems to be to leave a car in an estate to see if its collected or a tracker installed. Its a worthwhile investment given the cost of insurance and car versus the unit itself.

clint_silver

for anyone that has one of these, what pay as you go sim did you get? and how much do you spend/top up by.

As far as I can tell with that ebay one its constantly tracking its position. How much data would that use per month?

tescomobile do a 5e per month sim with 5e addon for a 1gb of data. Is that enough?