Tracker recommendations
Discussion
RAC Trackstar all the way. There are no silly 'not so little' cards to carry about (that are bloomin easy to forget if you are just nipping out to the shops etc), and you can opt for the Speed Alert function (an extra £90 p/a) which bleeps at you to warn of impending fixed speed traps (which has saved me on many an occasion). IIRC the Trackstar unit is abour £420 fitted, then the £120 p/a active tracking subscription, then another £90 p/a if you want the Speed Alert. The unit is portable too, RAC will come and de-install it for £100 and re-install it in your next car.
I have used Tracker, RAC Trackstar and most recently i-Mob. I would now choose i-Mob every time, certainly for a high value vehicle.
The key problem with Tracker and Trackstar is that in the event of an alarm from the car, you have to first report the potential theft to the police, obtain a crime number, and only then will the control centre begin to track the car.
I actually have a Tracker fitted to my G., and two years ago the battery was disconnected whilst at Lambo High Wycombe (during a service). The back up battery then ran low and raised an alarm at 2am in the morning. I was called by the call centre. I told them where I thought the car was, and asked them to check against the GPS signal. They refused to do this (ie, turn the unit on) until I had reported the theft to the police. Despite the early hour, I felt reasonably confident that the car was secure and that the battery was the issue. I explained this to them patiently and said I did not want to waste any police time. They still refused to activate the tracking device. It would have taken a minute at most to do this, confirm the location and report back to me. To this day, I cannot understand their operating procedures.
In contrast, i-Mob, which I now have on 2 cars, allows you, the owner, to find out what is going with the car. The i-Mob system fitted to the car calls you directly, and through your keypad you can a) determine if the car is moving and at what speed b) covertly listen in to the passenger compartment via a telephone link c) get GPS read outs and much more. Best of all, you can set the system so that it immobilises the car permanently when the car comes to a halt for more than few seconds (or if you prefer, when the engine is next turned off). Assuming you have a high value car, the thief is unlikely to want to damage the car, so the important thing is that you know where it is, and it can't be moved again.
The system also has some features that one would hope to never use - eg, it recognises if the car has been in a big accident, automatically calls the emergency centre and opens the telephone link to the car, and tells the emergency centre your location. Could take vital minutes off the emergency services' response time.
It's more expensive than the other systems, although not excessively so.
If you Google i-Mob you'll find their website.
Kind regards
Steve
The key problem with Tracker and Trackstar is that in the event of an alarm from the car, you have to first report the potential theft to the police, obtain a crime number, and only then will the control centre begin to track the car.
I actually have a Tracker fitted to my G., and two years ago the battery was disconnected whilst at Lambo High Wycombe (during a service). The back up battery then ran low and raised an alarm at 2am in the morning. I was called by the call centre. I told them where I thought the car was, and asked them to check against the GPS signal. They refused to do this (ie, turn the unit on) until I had reported the theft to the police. Despite the early hour, I felt reasonably confident that the car was secure and that the battery was the issue. I explained this to them patiently and said I did not want to waste any police time. They still refused to activate the tracking device. It would have taken a minute at most to do this, confirm the location and report back to me. To this day, I cannot understand their operating procedures.
In contrast, i-Mob, which I now have on 2 cars, allows you, the owner, to find out what is going with the car. The i-Mob system fitted to the car calls you directly, and through your keypad you can a) determine if the car is moving and at what speed b) covertly listen in to the passenger compartment via a telephone link c) get GPS read outs and much more. Best of all, you can set the system so that it immobilises the car permanently when the car comes to a halt for more than few seconds (or if you prefer, when the engine is next turned off). Assuming you have a high value car, the thief is unlikely to want to damage the car, so the important thing is that you know where it is, and it can't be moved again.
The system also has some features that one would hope to never use - eg, it recognises if the car has been in a big accident, automatically calls the emergency centre and opens the telephone link to the car, and tells the emergency centre your location. Could take vital minutes off the emergency services' response time.
It's more expensive than the other systems, although not excessively so.
If you Google i-Mob you'll find their website.
Kind regards
Steve
I use an irish company (http://www.trackandtrace.ie) but i think they may supply the uk too. They are excellent. I have a fleet tracker in all the cars and its the best ever. You can see a detailed map plotted of everywhere you have ever been. You can see what speed you did. Exact gps location. When the ignition is on or off. You can get txts sent if the car goes over a certain speed. You can do all this as it happens with the software and also you can log in online and check it. It's really great for keeping an eye on things especially if you stay overnight at a hotel or such, always good to be able to check up they didn't drive your car like requested :P
rac trackstar plus lets you at any time get the location of your vehicle up to 6 times an annum without charge. you must have been on a different subscruption. not a bad little thing plus i knocks down insurrance. Imob does seem to be just a gsm device and im not sure if insurers cover it. my SL has a trackstar the E and the SLR have security guards with dogs 
i've got an i-mob system also stefan. quite impressive when qv in ascot removed my battery and my mobile went off about 10 seconds later. if i'm right, the system has an alert if the vehicle is tilted, which may have been why it alerted the centre because they where jacking it up to get at the headlights. quite an impressive piece of kit i think...probably its me, but dont you find the contact system, using text's and stuff a bit complicated..i cant imagine if my cars been nicked having the mind set to text in the codes etc. ps nowich union recognise it....and also ..cant you talk to the thief using this system....
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