Cheap eBay Vehicle Trackers - do it

[jamie]

Putting this in the locked section of the forum for obvious reasons.

Over the years I've heard many stories about people's cars being stolen. I think it's one of the worst things that can happen to a petrolhead.

I've been reading about cheap trackers available on eBay and recently decided to buy one and try it out. Good news is, it's very simple to install and uses text messaging to let you know exactly where the vehicle is, to the nearest few metres. This is a good how-to of the exact same model I bought: http://vandogtraveller.com/cheap-gps-tr ... nd-review/

The tracker kit is £25, and a pay-as-you-go SIM from GiffGaff costs just £5/month for a package of 300 texts. That's £60 a year to know exactly where your car is, any time of the day, wherever you may be in the world. You can set the tracker to tell you if the car moves outside a certain area without you being there - basically the same service as provided by the commercial tracker services. You can even send it a text to cut the fuel and ignition if you can see the car is on the move

Again, for obvious reasons, I'm not going to elaborate here on how and where I've installed mine, but I'm happy to go through it with any DDker face-to-face, or PM me to discuss over the phone.

[jamie]

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[smallspeed]

The Amazon link 1/4 of the way down the van-dog-traveller page is here..

http://amzn.to/1qvymex

..which gives the guy who owns that website 5% of the transaction value or something from hosting the advert
The unit is currently listed at £13.91 + 5.99 delivery, plus there's a "fancier version" available at £35 too with things like geo fence included

[DustyM]

I've looked into these and they seem a great idea, but...

Like all alarms and trackers they really only help against amateurs, unfortunately I think most of the time cars like ours are stolen it is by professionals and all they need do is throw a €20 GSM jammer in the car and your tracker cannot send out its texts, nor receive your signal to shut off the engine etc.

I'm not sure what the answer is to guard against the pros.

I've been thinking about some sort of hydraulic lock on the brakes, we all know how much of a bitch it is to move a car around with seized brakes!
It won't stop a car being physically lifted but would make it very hard to push it out of my garage!

[mycar]

Reading through the instructions in the blog, notably the "observations and quirks" and the ratings on Amazon, it looks a lot like one of those diy alarms from the 80's which plays havoc with you ignition and works best in the bin.

[David Rooke]

Agree as above.

I got mine for a little more from Rewire security (includes an M2M or something data only all network sim and a year of online monitoring /tech support) - its been great. Obviously not as good as some of the most expensive systems but good enough.

My only worry about the PAYG Sims is that most are deactivated after 3 months if they are not used and my car can sit in the garage for longer than that over winter. The M2M data card lasts 12 months and does not require any top ups or other attention so the tracker is fitted and forgotten about.

Cheers.

[jamie]

Reading through the instructions in the blog, notably the "observations and quirks" and the ratings on Amazon, it looks a lot like one of those diy alarms from the 80's which plays havoc with you ignition and works best in the bin.

I've specifically kept mine separate from the main wiring loom. The ignition cutout feature is neat, but remember this thing is made in China. The only wires you have to connect are positive and ground - the rest are optional extras.

It's never going to be as good as a commercial tracker, but it's a good working alternative.

[mycar]

Is "Made in China" a good thing these days ? It's a long way away if you have to send it back.

You say you dread the idea of your car being stolen and so what... you invest in a 13 quid Chinese alarm system to cover every eventuality?

[myatt1972]

invest in a 13 quid Chinese alarm system to cover every eventuality?

I don't think that is what Jamie is saying.
It must be better to do something rather than nothing and why pay £££££ when £13 will do the job.
Made in china, great ! I wouldn't want one made in the UK on a Friday afternoon

[sladey]

Rather than just saying all Chinese made stuff is bad (iPhone anyone?) I read some of the reviews in more detail.

It looks pretty good. Lots of really positive reviews. The only downside for me is that if you wire it into the battery the drain is equivalent to leaving your interior light on which would make mine unstartable if I left it for a week

[Hendrik Moulds]

I tried one of these for a while but it kept (falsely) alerting me the car was moving so I binned it.
Have now bought one from Skytag (as recommended by Mark/912uk here) which is more expensive but quite frankly I don't care given the consequences of having her stolen.

[mycar]

I've looked into these and they seem a great idea, but...

Like all alarms and trackers they really only help against amateurs, unfortunately I think most of the time cars like ours are stolen it is by professionals and all they need do is throw a €20 GSM jammer in the car and your tracker cannot send out its texts, nor receive your signal to shut off the engine etc.

As you say Jon, this is what renders GPS tracking systems useless.

Stick one of these in the cigarette lighter and it'll create a cloak of invisibility round the car.



$18 from China and as the law stands it's not illegal to import, buy, sell or use these devices in the UK. It is worrying but it appears GPS trackers/security devices are now worthless.

Jon... about that hydraulic system you've been thinking about.

Hurry up.

[jamie]

Remove the lighter socket? I mean, who is expecting a tracker on an old Porsche anyway?

Whatever. I'm not saying 'buy it and your car is safe forever', I'm saying - for the sake of £13/£25 and five quid a month, it's probably worth doing. And if you like the idea and want some help getting it running, I can offer it.

Or don't. I don't care.

[barryb]

Hi

I have to agree with Jamie, if you don't fit a tracker because someone can block it then why have door locks when thieves can pass them anyway. Why have steering wheel locks when it is simple to break them as with crooklocks, immobilisers etc. In all these case we are trying to block the casual thief and hope that we can save our property from being taken by a joyrider and left in a dark alley somewhere. We may never stop the professional but at least we can give it our best shot rather than resign ourselves to the fact they are cleverer than we are, so we leave the car open with the keys in the ignition because they are going to steal it anyway. I don't think so.

Barry

[dragonfly]

Heritage Insurance's latest newsletter said they are offering a Skytag GPS tracker FOC for new clients, so it only costs the subscription from £80. I will check what's on offer for existing clients too:
http://www.heritagecarinsurance.co.uk/h ... ar-owners/