Great Tracker tag solution.....
Discussion
It's been annoying me having to remember to pick up my Tracker tag every time I go out in the car, then having to remember to grab it on the way out of the car praying I don't lose it. So doing a bit of shopping in the big smoke today I noticed an item that looked like it'd do the trick. Bit of a gamble as I didn't have the tag with me, it looked about the right size. And no opportunity to take it back after I had it embossed. Well just got home and it fits perfectly, nice tight fit so no chance of it slipping out.
What do your think?......
When you buy these they come in a pair, one small, one big. The smaller one just fits the Cobra / Vodafone tag.
What do your think?......
When you buy these they come in a pair, one small, one big. The smaller one just fits the Cobra / Vodafone tag.
V8LM said:
Sticking the Tracker fob to the keys? Great idea. 
Why not just unsubscribe from Tracker?
DickWhy not just unsubscribe from Tracker?
There are many scenarios where a car gets stolen and with the keys is only one. And as my keys are kept in the safe that's not going to happen. It's much more likely that I'll forget the Tracker tag and leave it in the car, or leave it at home rendering the system useless. At that point I may as well unsubscribe.
Next time pal, if you haven't got anything constructive to say just don't bother saying anything, well on my threads at least. Just glad most on here aren't like you.
AstonExige said:
V8LM said:
Sticking the Tracker fob to the keys? Great idea.
Why not just unsubscribe from Tracker?
DickWhy not just unsubscribe from Tracker?
There are many scenarios where a car gets stolen and with the keys is only one. And as my keys are kept in the safe that's not going to happen. It's much more likely that I'll forget the Tracker tag and leave it in the car, or leave it at home rendering the system useless. At that point I may as well unsubscribe.
Next time pal, if you haven't got anything constructive to say just don't bother saying anything, well on my threads at least. Just glad most on here aren't like you.
AstonExige said:
What do your think?......
I think it looks very nice but an absolutely bonkers thing to do.How is it bonkers? How many keep their Tracker tag in a completely different place in the house to the key? Bet my bottom dollar they are next to each other. Anyone going for one of these cars is very likely to know to take the little black plastic square too. Keeping the tag with the key will ensure I always take the tag with me and more importantly always take it out of the car. When the keys are in the house they are always in the safe. So the only time leaving the tag with the keys could be an issue is if I lose them when I'm out, and trust me, that's not going to happen, I'm so paranoid with my keys it's more likely i'd misplace my daughter 
Anyway, all previous cars I had that had a Tracker didn't even have a tag, they just relied on you notifying the Tracker company if you noticed the car was taken. The idea of the Tracker is that when they are notified they can track the cars location. That still happens whether the thief has the Tracker tag or not. The tag just tries to shortcut that notification process. Everything still works with or without the tag. And most don't even have the Tracker activated anyway.
So, my pain is carrying and remembering to take/remove the tag each time I use the car. Pain relieved
Anyway, all previous cars I had that had a Tracker didn't even have a tag, they just relied on you notifying the Tracker company if you noticed the car was taken. The idea of the Tracker is that when they are notified they can track the cars location. That still happens whether the thief has the Tracker tag or not. The tag just tries to shortcut that notification process. Everything still works with or without the tag. And most don't even have the Tracker activated anyway.
So, my pain is carrying and remembering to take/remove the tag each time I use the car. Pain relieved
What's the worst that happens if you forget the fob? You get a phone call.
What's the worst that could happen if you have the fob stuck to the keys? Someone takes your keys and then takes your car, Tracker don't know, you don't know until it's too late, and the insurers play hard ball.
What's the worst that could happen if you have the fob stuck to the keys? Someone takes your keys and then takes your car, Tracker don't know, you don't know until it's too late, and the insurers play hard ball.
V8LM said:
What's the worst that happens if you forget the fob? You get a phone call.
What's the worst that could happen if you have the fob stuck to the keys? Someone takes your keys and then takes your car, Tracker don't know, you don't know until it's too late, and the insurers play hard ball.
Forget the fob and leave it in the car and insurance is void.What's the worst that could happen if you have the fob stuck to the keys? Someone takes your keys and then takes your car, Tracker don't know, you don't know until it's too late, and the insurers play hard ball.
There is no stipulation on the insurance that the keys and fob have to be kept separately.
Therefore bigger risk leaving fob in the car and car is stolen.
AstonExige said:
V8LM said:
What's the worst that happens if you forget the fob? You get a phone call.
What's the worst that could happen if you have the fob stuck to the keys? Someone takes your keys and then takes your car, Tracker don't know, you don't know until it's too late, and the insurers play hard ball.
Forget the fob and leave it in the car and insurance is void.What's the worst that could happen if you have the fob stuck to the keys? Someone takes your keys and then takes your car, Tracker don't know, you don't know until it's too late, and the insurers play hard ball.
There is no stipulation on the insurance that the keys and fob have to be kept separately.
Therefore bigger risk leaving fob in the car and car is stolen.
Re insurance - good point. However, if the insurers specify Cat 5 then a big part of this is driver identification. For this to work properly then the keys and fob need to be separate, so I can see potential problems in case of a claim if the keys are connected to the fob.
Should we be wary of writing on the Internet, exactly where our car keys are kept?
Perhaps thieves might bring more than just a torch, if they know what is needed for the job.
https://www.staffordshire.police.uk/article/6827/A...
Edited by Jon39 on Sunday 12th February 21:22
AstonExige said:
How many keep their Tracker tag in a completely different place in the house to the key? Bet my bottom dollar they are next to each other.
Sorry but you have just lost that bet...with me anyway. I keep the key and tag totally separate from each other. I wouldn't dream of keeping them together. If the car is driven with the key and without the tag (if I have forgotten it)I get a call within 5 minutes from Cobra alerting me. If they are together I wouldn't and I would not look forward to the conversation with the insurance company trying to explain both key and tag, on same key ring was what the thieves managed to take. I'll read up about the CAT5 Tracker requirements, if it does say they can't be kept together then my new tackler tag holder will just be mated with my door keys then 
Thanks for the heads up on that one
If someone has a link to where it says they have to be kept separately can you post it up?
Thanks for the heads up on that one
If someone has a link to where it says they have to be kept separately can you post it up?
M5MarkM said:
AMTony said:
I had mine paired to my phone.
Easier for me to remember than a fob as for some reason phones are glued to us all these days.
OOOO I didn't now that could be done! I'm a bit of a technomong, can you give a heads up on how to do this please?Easier for me to remember than a fob as for some reason phones are glued to us all these days.
I'm not sure of the year it changed but if you are with Eurowatch give them a call and they will pair it for you.
This is the cover for my iPhone 7plus and there is a convenient pocket which takes the tag neatly. It's rare I leave the house without my phone so it works for me. I know that none of my Astons have been able to use the phone as a tracker fob so that's since 2012 onwards, I think it may have stopped a couple of years before that.
Pairing with a phone is the best solution IMO (though see below).
For a leather case that probably doesn't cost what an Aspinall's one does:
http://cobracartech.co.uk/en/home/968-bespoke-leat...
You can then modify them very easily. Et voila:
Insurance companies might grumble but I don't see any way they'd have a leg to stand on. If a thief nicks the car when you're out and about with the keys, how did they get the keys and how wouldn't they have obtained the fob?
And if they get into your house for the keys? Sorry but locking your keys in a safe is a really bad idea if a ne'er-do-well is intent on getting your car and prepared to break into your home to get them.
Making it harder for them still so they hang around in your house for longer by keeping keys and fobs separate is an even worse idea. Which insurance company is not going to pay out because you weren't prepared to risk personal injury to prevent the car being stolen?
Personally I think trackers are a con. Professional thieves know how to get around them. Scrotes don't care (not to suggest professional thieves aren't scrotes of course!). And if either steal my car there are very few circumstances under which I would want my car back I'm afraid (if the car was very rare, or had sentimental value perhaps).
The cost of subscriptions to these services is getting beyond a joke. Vodafone wanted over £300 a year for the Maser. 20% of my insurance premium! I was able to shop around and get better cover without the strings. (Though value of the car helps I think). I'm sure when I first had to have one of these the annual subscription was £100 or so. At that level they may make some sense...but not at 3x that.
For a leather case that probably doesn't cost what an Aspinall's one does:
http://cobracartech.co.uk/en/home/968-bespoke-leat...
You can then modify them very easily. Et voila:
Insurance companies might grumble but I don't see any way they'd have a leg to stand on. If a thief nicks the car when you're out and about with the keys, how did they get the keys and how wouldn't they have obtained the fob?
And if they get into your house for the keys? Sorry but locking your keys in a safe is a really bad idea if a ne'er-do-well is intent on getting your car and prepared to break into your home to get them.
Making it harder for them still so they hang around in your house for longer by keeping keys and fobs separate is an even worse idea. Which insurance company is not going to pay out because you weren't prepared to risk personal injury to prevent the car being stolen?
Personally I think trackers are a con. Professional thieves know how to get around them. Scrotes don't care (not to suggest professional thieves aren't scrotes of course!). And if either steal my car there are very few circumstances under which I would want my car back I'm afraid (if the car was very rare, or had sentimental value perhaps).
The cost of subscriptions to these services is getting beyond a joke. Vodafone wanted over £300 a year for the Maser. 20% of my insurance premium! I was able to shop around and get better cover without the strings. (Though value of the car helps I think). I'm sure when I first had to have one of these the annual subscription was £100 or so. At that level they may make some sense...but not at 3x that.
Currently paired to the phone - but thanks OP in case I end up with tags.
Getting a notification if the car is moved without the phone being connected gives me a bit of peace of mind - though doesn't prevent the car from being stolen, of course. Insurance reduction / tracker fee is a wash. Is there really a way around this that is easy enough for the casual thief?
Getting a notification if the car is moved without the phone being connected gives me a bit of peace of mind - though doesn't prevent the car from being stolen, of course. Insurance reduction / tracker fee is a wash. Is there really a way around this that is easy enough for the casual thief?
M5MarkM said:
AMTony said:
I had mine paired to my phone.
Easier for me to remember than a fob as for some reason phones are glued to us all these days.
OOOO I didn't now that could be done! I'm a bit of a technomong, can you give a heads up on how to do this please?Easier for me to remember than a fob as for some reason phones are glued to us all these days.
As has been said already, mine is an old version which makes it possible.
The cars that have seperate tags, I always keep seperately and have a secret labelling system.
Never keep keys in safe as if Johnny Burglar comes with a gun, he gets the crown jewels - well my £50 life savings and the fobs that would have been in there. He then would probably choose not to nick the Aston knowing my luck.
I find my secondary system a fairly effective deterrent I have to say
Without being sure (Nick ?), I have to agree that once your keys are nicked from your home, I can't believe having the tracker fob with them is then used as a way for insurers to get out of the claim
Apart from anything else, what classes as 'together' - same drawer, same cupboard, same room ?
Plus, how do the insurer's know ? If you say the fob was in a different room to the keys, do you get challenged on that point ?
There is of course a separate issue which is what you do to make stealing your car more difficult, but on the insurance point, it does seem like a non-issue
Incidentally a friend with a valuable late '60s classic was advised to never lock his car on the basis that if someone broke into it, there is no availability of parts so they would have to be manufactured from scratch at huge expense
Sorry forgot to add, the main purpose of my post - I like your solution to carrying the fob ! I tend to put mine in my trouser pocket when I go out in the Aston, on the basis that if my jacket/bag (which is normally where the car key goes) is stolen, it will send an alert if someone then finds my car to use the key with. But I may rethink that now and try your idea !
Apart from anything else, what classes as 'together' - same drawer, same cupboard, same room ?
Plus, how do the insurer's know ? If you say the fob was in a different room to the keys, do you get challenged on that point ?
There is of course a separate issue which is what you do to make stealing your car more difficult, but on the insurance point, it does seem like a non-issue
Incidentally a friend with a valuable late '60s classic was advised to never lock his car on the basis that if someone broke into it, there is no availability of parts so they would have to be manufactured from scratch at huge expense
Sorry forgot to add, the main purpose of my post - I like your solution to carrying the fob ! I tend to put mine in my trouser pocket when I go out in the Aston, on the basis that if my jacket/bag (which is normally where the car key goes) is stolen, it will send an alert if someone then finds my car to use the key with. But I may rethink that now and try your idea !
Edited by jonby on Monday 13th February 15:16
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