Bernmc2

Thought I'd sing some praises for a change.

P1's come with a TrackStar fitted as standard - Prodrive trying to justify that high price, I think! Couple of months ago, I smacked my offside rear wheel on a curb, and, rather than try to drive it, I had the car transported to my nearsest Subaru garage. The moment the car was moved, RAC tried to get hold of me. Muggins me had left my mobile in the car, so they couldn't reach me. When I responded to the message a couple of hours later, they told me that they hadn't been too concerned as they'd tracked the car to Carstins garage, and they knew that it was a Subaru dealer.

The car has been moved from Carstins to the body shop to get the scratches resprayed - again, as soon as the car is moved, I get a call from RAC to find out what's going on. They also phone Carstins to make sure it's been moved legit.

This is a BRILLIANT device!! Unlike the Tracker system which needs a Police car with a receiver nearby to detect it, the TrackStar uses satelites to monitor and track. If your car gets nicked, they'll guide the police to the car, and can even remotely disable it!

I'll definately be fitting one to the other family cars!

DrEvil

Tops.. remember to phone them before getting on a ferry, unless you want to be met the other side by the boys in blue! I almost fell fowl of this

Rgds, Alex
P1

Blackscooby

Anyone any idea of costs involved ?

DrEvil

Blackscooby - about 500 notes for install i believe for the 24hr guardian, and either 300 one off payment or approx 100 quid a year..

Rgds, Alex

[This message has been edited by DrEvil (edited 18 January 2001).]

Blackscooby

OK was being a lazy bugger.

GCollier

Unless stipulated as a requirement by the insurance company, I can't see much point in these devices. I still think that if your car is stolen, in most cases you're better off never seeing the thing again. Would you really want it back if it had been thrashed and damaged by some lowlife trash?

Simon R

My insurance company wern't even interested. Said it'd make no difference to the premium. Muppets

Puff The Magic Wagon!

iTrader: (2)

GCol

One would probably agree, but at least you would know how thrashed/trashed it may have been

Looking @ GPS tracking for our couriers & it is a great giggle. Where they went & at what speed - no hiding

Rum*

Black Scooby,

IMHO I would go for the slightly cheaper GPS system....courtesy of Telematics...their eGuard Executive system is circa £400-£450 installed including VAT...with annual monitoring circa £150.

The advantage of this one over the other systems is that you can transfer it from one car to another as and when you sell it....for a fee of circa £200...i.e. half the cost of replacing the full hardware.

I believe that they are the only ones that do this.

The system is full GPS and by all accounts my clients who have had it fitted all agree it is excellent and on a parr with the RAC Trackstar system.

As stated this is IMHO....and obviously bearing in mind I have the RAC Trackstar on the P1...which, as with Bermc2 I have had the misfortune (depending on how you look at it) of experiencing....the same happened to me when my car was put on the transporter....dropped at the holding garage....moved again to R N Goldens....then again on the way to the Bodyshop....I agree that the service provided by them is excellent....but if you are looking at cost then the Telematics system is worth looking at.

I too would fit a GPS system to any future cars of mine...even if just for piece of mind.

Hope this helps...

All the best

Tom

Rum*

Tracker Horizon circa £600.00 + Monitoring

Telematics eGuard Executive have a European system (UK & Europe) @ circa £600.00 + Monitoring

paulmon

I think the main down side with GPS based systems is that the signal can be blocked by hiding the car in a steel container or a concrete building. The tracker system works using land-based radio transmission which makes it more difficult to block the signal.

Regards
Paul

mutant_matt

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:<HR>Originally posted by Bernmc2:
<B>This is a BRILLIANT device!! Unlike the Tracker system which needs a Police car with a receiver nearby to detect it, the TrackStar uses satelites to monitor and track. If your car gets nicked, they'll guide the police to the car, and can even remotely disable it![/quote]

You don't need a Police car for Tracker, they have land based receivers all over the country with the added bonus that Police cars can track a signal without 3rd party help. As mentioned by paulmon, the other bonus is that the signal is very hard to block as it uses very low frequency radio (so it'll still work when your car is inside a container at the docks!!!).

I think the Tracker Horizon is the best one out there as it uses the existing Tracker network plus GPS. Best of both worlds then (but I don't think it's cheap!).



Matt.

kurtw

Hi Folks

Shame the coverage ends once you get over the water.

I took mine to France - now if they could cover it in Europe, that would be something.

I can't imagine the GPS cover stops at the coast.

tarmacterrorist

Anyone used Skynet ?

It uses GPS but also covers 169 countries.
I want a tracker & the Skynet looks a good option at £349.00 fitted plus £15.00 a month for monitoring.

Andy.

kryten

Tracker Horizon is £599 PLUS £149 installation so its more expensive than the eGuard option - but you do get GPS and Radio based tracking.

I was just wondering how 'easy to spot' the aerial for GPS based devices is.

All the GPS systems I've used MUST have line-of-sight to the satellite to be able to work - does this apply to the tracking systems too?

Just wondering cos I'm trying to decide whether to get one fitted....

TonyBurns

iTrader: (3)

Oh here we go again!!

the original tracker is old, outdated and needs a police vehicle in the area to pick it up, other systems like trackstar dont and you get a call to see if you are in the car, if not they will notify the police for you and if you have the guardian option, pick the car up if its dumped.
As for tracker being better cos of radio signals, nope!! sorry but its affected just like your mobile phone (one bandwidth = approx 31 inches) and when you move it changes along with the signal strenght (also deteriorates due to saturation from buildings etc)
Tracker also does NOT cover the entire country with there original system, they now have another option (because they were loosing customers due to being out of date) which is now a gps system.
The thing that you have to remember thou is that tracker needs police in the area, trackstar doesnt

Tony

mattski

I currently have a Tracker 24hr Monitor and have heard lots of good stuff about the gps based systems. Does anyone know the situation if I was to have a Trackstar/Navtrack fitted?

i.e. I would have cat1, tracker and trackstar!

comments?

Stuart H

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:<HR>Originally posted by TonyBurns:
<B>the original tracker is old, outdated and needs a police vehicle in the area to pick it up[/quote]

No it doesn't Tony. Police control rooms frequently get calls from Tracker about stolen vehicles that have been picked up on the beacons which are all over the country. They can then deploy suitably equipped vehicles to the area.

Trackstar is a bit of a pain in the ar$e, 'cause we have to rely on our radio despatchers to relay the information which is being passed to them via telephone. I agree with what you're saying about Tracker being a bit old, but IMHO it is still the best system and gets results (5000+ vehicles recovered).

[This message has been edited by Stuart H (edited 20 January 2001).]

KF

This thread keeps popping up, and each time it does there is this ensuing debate.

If I were in the market for one, I would listen to Stuart H, our friendly officer, as he is <B>the actual user </B> of the device, not us - unless you feel like getting in your mates car and tracking the stolen vehicle yourself.

Just my tuppence...
KF.

Newbie123

How easy are these monitoring trackers to live with day in day out?

I see that the trackstar comes with a key fob. Does that mean that you have to press 2 buttons everytime you want to drive the car (ie one to disarm the alarm and one to disarm the tracker). How do you know if it has correctly registered ? Is there any warning light (i.e. second alarm light).

Is it worth the extra to have the 24hr monitoring ?

PhilH

Hi Newbie123

I've a Trackstar unit fitted and you are correct that it has an additional key fob which requires activating before you drive. There is an LED which informs of the status of the device. I've found it to be very easy to live with.

As for the 24hr monitoring - I have this because it gives piece of mind. If Trackstar don't call my mobile then I expect the car to be where I left it.

Phil

Newbie123

Thanks Phil,

I am pleased to know it's easy to use.

I am going to have either the tracker horizon (not sure how this works in practice)or the Trackstar (inc 24hr monitoring)fitted to my new shape Impreza WRX when it arrives in a few weeks.

The horizon is about £300 more to fit, but the annual fees are about £100 a year cheaper. So I think it will depend on which is easier to use, and which gives the higher insurance discount.

Nick

[This message has been edited by Newbie123 (edited 20 January 2001).]

Bernmc2

I think you get the extra keyfob if the trackstar is fitted as an aftermarket device (I seem to remember you can also have buttons to call emergency services etc). However, my P1 came with a single keyfob with one button only - this activates/de-activates both the thatcham 1 alarm and the trackstar - looks exactly the same as the standard uk turbo's keyfob.

Bernmc2

Oh, and BTW - my yearly subscription for the Trackstar is only around 112 pounds, so I don't see how that other gadget can be 100 squids a year cheaper...?

Newbie123

Sorry Bernmc2,

Yeah your right, the standard annual fee for trackstar is £120, its £180-£200 when you have the Breakdown & emergency option. Tracker horizon is £90.

My car will be an import so I'll have to have 2 key fobs.

By the way has anyone seen my earlier thread about bucket or sport seats. Any views about long distance comfort with bucket seats would be greatly appreciated.