Would you install non-approved tracker?

[Loonycat]

I'm looking for a bit of advice. Porsche have told me that their only approved tracker is from Tracker however there are a few others out on the market that seem to offer a better proposition.

Have any of you guys got other types of trackers in your cars? Any problems? Will Porsche really care from a warranty perspective? Just trying to avoid the nightmare scenario of some electrical problems causing ££££k of damage and Porsche refusing to honour the warranty because of 'non-approved modification'

Cheers
Loony

[henry-f]

My understanding was that Tracker is not Porsche`s chosen provider in this field. They have developed a relationship with another of the security companies. I was told this by a Tracker rep recently.

As with all things commercial relationships are not always based on the best actual product or service. Factors such as cost and convenience can play their part.

Assess all the products on the market and then fit whichever best suits your needs.

Henry

[Loonycat]

Hi Henry -thanks for that. Interesting that you say Tracker don't think they are the approved provider. The Porsche dude on the phone didn't sound too knowledgable so maybe he got it wrong.

There is one system that I quite like as you can check car location at anytime via the web (the Auto Alert) but I didn't want to threaten the warranty by installing something non-approved.

Cheers!

Ps, on a non-related note does anyone else think the French girl on the new Clio ads is absolutely gorgeous? The ad's on as we speak... I appear to be drooling.... wonder if she fancies a spin in a German car....oh bother I need to get out more don't I...?

[DanH]

Just make sure its properly approved by the insurers. The Porsche dealer just wants a commision from their preferred company. Don't get a cheap/crap one though as I believe some of them are being knocked off the insurance approval lists.

[hugoc2s]

My view is that if an insurance company doesn't specify the need for a tracker then I wouldn't bother. I've had several cars with tracking devices and they are crap for several reasons. One: they are easy to find on the car for a professional thief. Two: they are often not working...see numerous threads on various boards on the subject. Three: if some ar$e stole my car and thrashed it, I would not want it back. Better to keep it in a garage out of view of prying eyes. Mind you if you have to build a garage that might be more expensive than a tracking device!

I also think that the new Clio girl is stunning! Unique looks, sometimes I think Oriental, other times North American Indian but nevertheless beautiful!

[murray]

Porsche have or will have soon their own 'badged' Tracker device (think it's made by Cobra but could be wrong). This is a Thatcham Cat 5 device, biggest difference from a useability point of view is that it uses a 'passive' external device e.g. rf keytag, which if not present puts the Tracker into alarm mode.

Jim

[dilbert]

It's up to you, I would say. This wasn't an issue when I got mine because the car was already fifteen years old! On the other hand the people who installed it did so underneath the bell crank that does the brakes. When stationary it would have been fine, but if you pushed the brake pedal, it got in the way of the bell crank, and the brakes didn't work properly.

The people who installed it were different from those who supplied it. I complained, but had no joy. In the end I did the job myself, properly.

I doubt that is the sort of thing you would get from Porsche directly. The company that I had the tracker from went bust in the end, but that was relatively early days for trackers per se. IIRC, the company I chose were one of the first to offer a GPS based unit, so not entirely surprising.

I suppose that all I'm trying to say, is that it's not just the electrics you need to be carefull of!

[frankc]

Trackers Echo systems is Cat 5 compliant......insurance company,s will be asking you to fit the highest rating of tracker system,ie Cat 5, in the near future.
System fitted and years subsciption is £900........made a huge difference to my insurance quote
Cheers
fc

[dazren]

Whatever system you go for, make sure the supplying dealer fits it. That way if anything goes wrong with the install it's their problem not yours.

Had a problem on a merc install a few years ago that cost the supplying dealer £4k to sort out. Dare say they may not have coughed up if they could have blamed the installation on another company......

DAZ

[silver993tt]

frankc said:

Trackers Echo systems is Cat 5 compliant......insurance company,s will be asking you to fit the highest rating of tracker system,ie Cat 5, in the near future. System fitted and years subsciption is £900........made a huge difference to my insurance quote Cheers fc

what is the cost for the following years subscription?

[frankc]

Pretty sure its £169 a year.
Tracker can send an Engineer to install the system at your home providing you have a garage he can work in.
Installation time was around the 3-4 hour mark.
Cheers
fc

[loonycat]

Thanks for the great info guys. I spoke to PCGB and their new 'Porsche' tracker will be introduced only for 06 cars. They told me that for pre 06 cars the Tracker is their approved systems but yes I felt this was only because they wanted to sell it out of the OPC network. Very helpful PCGB girl got costs and contact details from local OPC and had the costs been anything reasonable you might have considered it. But £799 + VAT + install + subscription for a Tracker Horizon is about £300 more than everyone else. And they hadn't heard of the Echo which is the best of them (although expensive).

Think I might hold fire for a bit while a few new tracker products hit the market in early 06.

Cheers,
Loony