Discussion
So the nice lady from AM tracking called me yesterday to tell me that my subscription was about to expire.
Now I've always questioned how useful this is, as I imagine it can be easily overcome by a knowledgable blagger and more importantly would I actually want the car back if it had been stolen by an opportunist thief. With my cynical hat on I've always thought that this was just another method for the insurance companies to charge me more to insure my car.
So today I thought I'd push my insurer to find out whether it was really necessary to have a tracker subscription to maintain my cover. Well, to my surprise I found that it wasn't provided my cars agreed value was below £75k and that while at my premises it was garaged overnight. ( Now I guess this might be different for other insurers ).
So I reduced my cars agreed value by £1 and saved £250 tracker renewal charge.
Just thought folks might be interested.
Now I've always questioned how useful this is, as I imagine it can be easily overcome by a knowledgable blagger and more importantly would I actually want the car back if it had been stolen by an opportunist thief. With my cynical hat on I've always thought that this was just another method for the insurance companies to charge me more to insure my car.
So today I thought I'd push my insurer to find out whether it was really necessary to have a tracker subscription to maintain my cover. Well, to my surprise I found that it wasn't provided my cars agreed value was below £75k and that while at my premises it was garaged overnight. ( Now I guess this might be different for other insurers ).
So I reduced my cars agreed value by £1 and saved £250 tracker renewal charge.
Just thought folks might be interested.
CatalystV12V said:
So the nice lady from AM tracking called me yesterday to tell me that my subscription was about to expire.
Now I've always questioned how useful this is, as I imagine it can be easily overcome by a knowledgable blagger and more importantly would I actually want the car back if it had been stolen by an opportunist thief. With my cynical hat on I've always thought that this was just another method for the insurance companies to charge me more to insure my car.
So today I thought I'd push my insurer to find out whether it was really necessary to have a tracker subscription to maintain my cover. Well, to my surprise I found that it wasn't provided my cars agreed value was below £75k and that while at my premises it was garaged overnight. ( Now I guess this might be different for other insurers ).
So I reduced my cars agreed value by £1 and saved £250 tracker renewal charge.
Just thought folks might be interested.
So which model Aston is it you have and err, where is it you live. Now I've always questioned how useful this is, as I imagine it can be easily overcome by a knowledgable blagger and more importantly would I actually want the car back if it had been stolen by an opportunist thief. With my cynical hat on I've always thought that this was just another method for the insurance companies to charge me more to insure my car.
So today I thought I'd push my insurer to find out whether it was really necessary to have a tracker subscription to maintain my cover. Well, to my surprise I found that it wasn't provided my cars agreed value was below £75k and that while at my premises it was garaged overnight. ( Now I guess this might be different for other insurers ).
So I reduced my cars agreed value by £1 and saved £250 tracker renewal charge.
Just thought folks might be interested.
I hear what you're saying, Rich, but I always believed the £250 to be good peace of mind considering I kept mine on the driveway.
Yes, technically it can be circumvented by a GPS blocker whereby they will know your car has been taken but they won't have a clue where it is
I always found Eurowatch's calls far more therapeutic that those of the Samaritans too
Yes, technically it can be circumvented by a GPS blocker whereby they will know your car has been taken but they won't have a clue where it is
I always found Eurowatch's calls far more therapeutic that those of the Samaritans too
dredders said:
CatalystV12V said:
I imagine it can be easily overcome by a knowledgable blagger
Cockers, you input would be welcome 
More importantly there are only so many places it can be fitted
Any car alarm fitter would know where that is . All hearsay and conjecture obviously Y100 said:
When was the last time anyone heard of cars being taken without the owners consent from the forecourt of a dealership, please. In my naivety I always imagined they would be the easiest targets?
Ramposts, CCTV and well lit forecourts put off any would be tea leaves. Whereas a secluded garage in the middle of the country is an easy target 
me old china.We now hear about mobile telephones being stolen, the owners do something on a computer, and then tell the police exactly where their telephone is. The police call round, and crime solved.
Presumably therefore, a telephone (with a wire to keep charged), hidden in a box section of the car, might do the same job as a tracker, for a fraction of the cost.
Is that so, technical people?
Jon39 said:
We now hear about mobile telephones being stolen, the owners do something on a computer, and then tell the police exactly where their telephone is. The police call round, and crime solved.
Presumably therefore, a telephone (with a wire to keep charged), hidden in a box section of the car, might do the same job as a tracker, for a fraction of the cost.
Is that so, technical people?
Theoretically. However, keeping it powered would be a massive pain as it will be draining the car battery constantly when the car is off. Put car in a garage with no mobile signal the phone will increase its power draw trying to find a signal thus increasing the power draw on the car battery.Presumably therefore, a telephone (with a wire to keep charged), hidden in a box section of the car, might do the same job as a tracker, for a fraction of the cost.
Is that so, technical people?
Jockman said:
I hear what you're saying, Rich, but I always believed the £250 to be good peace of mind considering I kept mine on the driveway.
Yes, technically it can be circumvented by a GPS blocker whereby they will know your car has been taken but they won't have a clue where it is
I always found Eurowatch's calls far more therapeutic that those of the Samaritans too
Absolutely Phil.... But even if my car was on the road would I really care? Yes, technically it can be circumvented by a GPS blocker whereby they will know your car has been taken but they won't have a clue where it is
I always found Eurowatch's calls far more therapeutic that those of the Samaritans too
I asked myself the question am I in any way disenfranchised by not having an active tracker , answer no. My premium is unaffected. If my car is stolen I get the same payout. Second question, who benefits from the tracker. Answer the insurance company as they stand a better chance of recovering the car. So I pay £250 to reduce their risk.
Now if the insurance company gave me a hefty discount for having an active tracker that would be different....
I guess it comes down to whether you want your car back. Personally I'd rather take the cash and source another car. The insurance value is probably higher than I'd get as a part-ex too.
Neil1300r said:
Jon39 said:
We now hear about mobile telephones being stolen, the owners do something on a computer, and then tell the police exactly where their telephone is. The police call round, and crime solved.
Presumably therefore, a telephone (with a wire to keep charged), hidden in a box section of the car, might do the same job as a tracker, for a fraction of the cost.
Is that so, technical people?
Theoretically. However, keeping it powered would be a massive pain as it will be draining the car battery constantly when the car is off. Put car in a garage with no mobile signal the phone will increase its power draw trying to find a signal thus increasing the power draw on the car battery.Presumably therefore, a telephone (with a wire to keep charged), hidden in a box section of the car, might do the same job as a tracker, for a fraction of the cost.
Is that so, technical people?
My old non-smart phone used to happily stay alive for 5 days without a charge, including commuting/continually searching for cells and actually being used as a phone. It had a 930mAh battery.
5 days is 120 hours so that equates to 7.75 mA draw which is pretty damn trivial.
With a 100Ah battery that would run for over 500 days (probably more given that it's starting voltage is 12volts and the DC to DC converter will probably keep providing 5 volts).
Have you got a lead lined, Faraday caged garage if yours doesn't work in there?
To the OP. No reason why that wouldn't/couldn't work.
I was playing around with one of those online insurance comparison sites a couple of years ago and actually found that it cost more to insure one of my cars if it had a tracker fitted than it did if no tracker was fitted, so that year, I not only saved on the cost of the tracker renewal I also got the insurance cheaper as well.
peterr96 said:
You been drinking Neil?
My old non-smart phone used to happily stay alive for 5 days without a charge, including commuting/continually searching for cells and actually being used as a phone. It had a 930mAh battery.
5 days is 120 hours so that equates to 7.75 mA draw which is pretty damn trivial.
With a 100Ah battery that would run for over 500 days (probably more given that it's starting voltage is 12volts and the DC to DC converter will probably keep providing 5 volts).
Have you got a lead lined, Faraday caged garage if yours doesn't work in there?
To the OP. No reason why that wouldn't/couldn't work.
You still on the drugs Pete?My old non-smart phone used to happily stay alive for 5 days without a charge, including commuting/continually searching for cells and actually being used as a phone. It had a 930mAh battery.
5 days is 120 hours so that equates to 7.75 mA draw which is pretty damn trivial.
With a 100Ah battery that would run for over 500 days (probably more given that it's starting voltage is 12volts and the DC to DC converter will probably keep providing 5 volts).
Have you got a lead lined, Faraday caged garage if yours doesn't work in there?
To the OP. No reason why that wouldn't/couldn't work.
Non-Smart phone? What is this lunacy you speak of?
Got customers whos office acts like a Farady cage. Currently suing Vodaphone for non delivery of mobile signal even with its own base station.
You'll be suggesting a design based around a Raspberry Pi and a soldering iron next.
Had my V8V a year now and my tracker subscription is up for renewal. I am insured with Aviva and a recent phone call to them revealed that tracker subscription is not required for my cover and will not affect my premium. Very inclined to let it lapse and spend the £250 on something I can actually enjoy (wine, fuel, bike bits etc).
I don't know how to start one of those surveys on here but if someone does then it would be interesting to see if I will put myself into a tiny minority if I go this way. Thanks in advance.
I don't know how to start one of those surveys on here but if someone does then it would be interesting to see if I will put myself into a tiny minority if I go this way. Thanks in advance.
My £250 tracker subscription was also recently up for renewal. I checked with my insurance company (Locktons) who said that a tracker wasn't required for my policy. So I let the subscription expire and have saved myself £250 a year.
If AM had a lifetime subscription (say £350, like other tracker companies), then I would have paid for it. But £250 per year is just being greedy.
And, on top of that, the service is pretty useless. I used to get plenty of calls when my bluetooth didn't connect to the tracker properly on start up. But did I get any calls when my car was moved in the back of a covered trailer? Nope!
If AM had a lifetime subscription (say £350, like other tracker companies), then I would have paid for it. But £250 per year is just being greedy.
And, on top of that, the service is pretty useless. I used to get plenty of calls when my bluetooth didn't connect to the tracker properly on start up. But did I get any calls when my car was moved in the back of a covered trailer? Nope!
when I got mine in 2007 a tracker was a requirement, the next year the renewal came and tracker offered lifetime for £299 so I took up the offer. £299 one off fee for so long as you own it is fair enough, dont think I would have renewed otherwise ....Its just a way for us to pay to insure the insurance company against a total loss...
oh and usually the tracker company is owned by a group of insurance companies and same insurers enforce the tracker requirement ....
oh and usually the tracker company is owned by a group of insurance companies and same insurers enforce the tracker requirement ....
Cockernee said:
dredders said:
CatalystV12V said:
I imagine it can be easily overcome by a knowledgable blagger
Cockers, you input would be welcome More importantly there are only so many places it can be fitted
Any car alarm fitter would know where that is . All hearsay and conjecture obviously Much to the surprise of the guy who bought a used Range Rover wing mirror and promptly got a visit from plod having "tracked the stolen visit to his location"
Not sure I'm going to bother with mine unless the insurance insist.
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