hi,
we've bought an ex-company vehicle, and it's equipped with a "tracker",
we hav'nt declared it on the insurance - as we do NOT know it's spec..,

also is there a service subscription for Trackers, or are they just "pinged" when required..??,
TIA,
Charlie

varesecrazy said:

Hi,
We've bought an ex-company vehicle, and it's equipped with a "tracker",
we haven't declared it on the insurance - as we do NOT know its spec...
Also is there a service subscription for Trackers, or are they just "pinged" when required..??
TIA,
Charlie

Click to expand...

Thatcham Cat 6 here is £189 + vat to install and £149 p.a. maintenance. That's not the trade marked 'Tracker' but one that will no doubt do the same job. I'd have thought the previous owner would have the details of the installed one or contact details to transfer the cover if you want it.

'Free' ones are available on ebay that use a SIM card (PAYG so not entirely free) and send you a text if there's a security breach plus give you a GPS fix on where the car is - plenty to choose from and not expensive.

R-V-M

thanks,
so the @£150 maintenance is the cost of keeping it alive"..??

unlikely to recoup that on the insurance each year,

Charlie

varesecrazy said:

Thanks.
So the £150 maintenance is the cost of keeping it "alive"..??
Unlikely to recoup that on the insurance each year,

Charlie

Click to expand...

Well I don't work for a firm doing this but I guess since they provide a service of monitoring, that's where the annual fee goes.
If an improper movement occurs (the car is reported stolen) then the monitoring firm alert the Police who attach a special baseplate with 4 aerials on top of their squad car (I've been watching too much Road Wars!) and they track the signal from the activated tracker device following an indicator mounted inside the pax sun-visor which displays the code of that tracker and an arrow points towards the direction of the signal.

If you buy a tracker off ebay, you hide it in the car with a power supply and set it up to contact you - as explained below... (Item can be viewed here it's just £37.99) There is a mention below of a fee but I'd not come across that before.

R-V-M

HOW IT WORKS?
Simply insert a GSM sim card into the GPS unit. Whenever you call the unit it will respond with the coordinates of its location thru a SMS message. You can then use these coordinates on any mapping software (for example google earth) which will show where exactly the unit is located. With some little setup, you can also have the device to send the data directly to a computer thru GPRS and display its location on a map with our bundled software for real-time location tracking.


1.Track on PDA &Cell Phone
The SMS received from tracker including an http link, enter the link through your PDA or cell phone to get the detailed position anywhere and anytime. As shown below:

Note;PDA or cell phone for this function must/support pictures viewing/and internet capability.

2.Track on Google earth
Enter the latitude and longitude on Google earth, as follow:


3. Track on GPRS Monitor Software in CD to Install in Your PC: Real time track on your PC and route repeat.
As follow:


4.Track on GPRS Web-server Monitor Center:Real
Demo on www.gpstrackerxy.com (Test ID:demo Password:8888)
The website www.gpstrackerxy.com ,supports English, Portuguese, Spanish, Thai, Simplified Chinese.
Note:
7 days free!
If you still want the service,please send your IMEI to us,we will provide the service after your payment for one year.

FAQ - Frequently Asked Questions​

• How do I make sense of the longitude and latitude data this unit provides?
  Both Google Maps and Google Earth can easily translate the data into usable visual information.​
• How long does it take to recharge the battery for this unit?
  First use requires 8 - 12 hours charging time, while subsequent usage only needs 3-5 hours of recharging time.​
• The unit does not pick up a GSM signal and the SMS functions aren't working, what's wrong?
  A number of things could cause this to happen:
  1) Make sure the SIM card is compatible (only 2G, 2.5G, 2.75G SIM cards work)
  2) Make sure there is money left on the SIM card and that it has not expired
  3) Make sure there is no PIN code associated with the SIM card
  4) Make sure roaming is enabled on your SIM account if you are in a different country​
• Please check that the local cell network matches the product's GSM standard. Click here to view your regions cell phone network.
  ​
• In UK you can choose,​
  Everything Everywhere Limited (Orange)(UK) GSM 1800
  Everything Everywhere Limited (T-Mobile UK)(UK) GSM 1800
  TeleWare PLC (PMN) GSM 1800
  Telefónica UK Limited (O2) GSM 900/1800
  Test RAEX IR 21 Operator (Test RAEX IR21 Network) GSM 900/1800
  VODAFONE Ltd (vodafone) GSM 900/1800​
• 5)Can I install the software on multiple computers?
  No. Each tracker’s IMEI number is unique and can only be used to setup the software on one computer once and ONLY ONCE, which means you can only use the software on that computer exclusively after successfully set it up. This is due to the security requirements of the software and the product.​

varesecrazy said:

thanks,
so the @£150 maintenance is the cost of keeping it alive"..??

unlikely to recoup that on the insurance each year,

Charlie

Click to expand...

Correct. I'd either remove and sell it (assuming you know it's location) or just leave it be.

Not a fan of subscription trackers myself.

Most Easterly Pandas said:

Correct. I'd either remove and sell it (assuming you know it's location) or just leave it be.

Not a fan of subscription trackers myself.

Click to expand...

Its location is obvious - , we'll try and find out more info from previous owner , there MAY be a sensibly priced service on offer ( on a £5K car ),
cheers,
Charlie

varesecrazy said:

Its location is obvious

Click to expand...

Well that's worrying, sounds like a fleet tracker rather than a stolen car tracker, trackers to track stolen cars are well hidden to stop them from being ripped out.

Hi there, I am new to the forum, and as such I am not too familiar with protocol so if I overstep the bounds then I apologise:

I own, developed, tested, market and operate a gps tracking system, so while I do know what I am talking about; i do not want this to turn into a spam post.

There are massive differences in tracking systems and tracking devices. However, they fall into two broad areas. Fleet systems provide companies with information about thei fellt that is useful to their operations staff. It usually combines AVL (Automatic Vehicle Location) with some data on the way the vehicle is driven. The second area is anti theft, or threat management, (for example... anti hijack).

Trackers also tend to either be track once (like tracker who charge for each individual vehicle location and are designed to be used following the vehicle's theft) or continuous tracking which would be subscription based but allow for tracking once a minute ot sometimes even more frequently. As GPRS becomes cheaper and storage space becomes greater; it is getting more and more common for a vehicle to be tracked continuously.

There is a common fallacy that having a tracker gets you a discount on your insurance. While there will be one or two who will offer a discount if you are driving a very expensive vehicle, the majority will actually put your premium up... yes up! Why? Because people are getting used to the idea that if they get their pride and joy back after a theft.. they do not have to accept the insurance decision to write it off... they can, and often do, insist on a repair which is more costly for the insurance company.. this advice is direct from the horse's mouth.

Now: Devices are advancing at an alarming rate. Do not accept a new device that uses anything short of DGPS - Dynamic GPS is an advanced method of combining positional information with basic maths to establish a more accurate position. While the theory of gps is sound... it assumes that the signals from the satellites are traveling in a vacuum which of course they are not. Hence they slow down to a variety of degrees which can throw the position out by anything from a meter to a mile. The more channels the receiver boasts, the less dramatic the margin of error... at the moment our most up to date models are using 64 channel receivers... where 16 was the norm just ten years ago.

I hope this helps some people a little... if you need further info I am happy to help.

Another "against" tracker position I have heard is that once a vehicle has been stolen the police do not always try to intercept and recover the vehicle in the shortest time possible.

I gather is because once they get alerted and the tracker signal remains live (i.e. is device not quickly located and terminated) then the tracking position information is very useful in trying to track and detect criminal gangs etc. Joy riders or get me home cheap thefts tend to be drive, park and abandon events.

How much truth there is in this I don't know but it sounds quite plausible as whilst the police object as far as you are concerned is to locate and recover your car, they also have crime reduction and elimination responsibilities.

e.g. Expensive Merc stolen and tracked to say Dover port. Car put in container or driven onto ferry so signal disappears. Car emerges in say Spain and then tracked to Madrid. and so on. Almost certainly a large criminal gang. Meanwhile your car could have been intercepted at Dover (or before).

Now if your tracking company payed you £1000 per day (after 24/48 Hours) that your car was allowed to roam free then then this might be acceptable.

s130 said:

Another "against" tracker position I have heard is that once a vehicle has been stolen the police do not always try to intercept and recover the vehicle in the shortest time possible.

I gather is because once they get alerted and the tracker signal remains live (i.e. is device not quickly located and terminated) then the tracking position information is very useful in trying to track and detect criminal gangs etc. Joy riders or get me home cheap thefts tend to be drive, park and abandon events.

How much truth there is in this I don't know but it sounds quite plausible as whilst the police object as far as you are concerned is to locate and recover your car, they also have crime reduction and elimination responsibilities.

e.g. Expensive Merc stolen and tracked to say Dover port. Car put in container or driven onto ferry so signal disappears. Car emerges in say Spain and then tracked to Madrid. and so on. Almost certainly a large criminal gang. Meanwhile your car could have been intercepted at Dover (or before).

Now if your tracking company payed you £1000 per day (after 24/48 Hours) that your car was allowed to roam free then then this might be acceptable.

Click to expand...

I can't say I can see that there is any truth in that tbh. I can see the logic, but not the financial side to insurance co's etc, if police were doing that then insurance co's would recover the vehicle themselves using 3rd party companies etc.

Well yes I have to agree (to an extent) with you. The more parties that are involved in any given situation the more complex their dependencies become.

I also hope and expect that the police and insurance companies work hard to reduce the theft/fraud risk and "to have live tabs on a stolen car" has got to be a frigging bonus to BOTH the insurance company and the police. If their tracking and cracking efforts succeed then they/we are all better off and this then leaves the insurance company to placate the port victim with what ever story they want to press.

If you were a crime cop and had a juicy and tracked vehicle that could lead to a major bust then I suspect you will be getting the insurance company on-board immediately.

Simply and obvious logic.

Basically two agendas in play.

1) I want my vehicle back asap
2) "They" want to use your vehicle to flush out the criminal chain

If the criminal chain is a joy rider then your car will be home soon.

If the criminal chain is medium to substantial then your car might not be home as soon as you would have liked.

Personally I would prefer a private tracker that sends ONLY me the data. Even if I inform the police only I am getting the tracking data and the police have to liase with me. This gives me a little control over the situation but of course the could possible get a court warrant to tap my phone/internet site/etc. but I doubt they would want to go to those lengths. Far better to speak and liase with me.

s130 said:

Personally I would prefer a private tracker that sends ONLY me the data. Even if I inform the police only I am getting the tracking data and the police have to liase with me. This gives me a little control over the situation but of course the could possible get a court warrant to tap my phone/internet site/etc. but I doubt they would want to go to those lengths. Far better to speak and liase with me.

Click to expand...

That's what I've got, when I fit a tracker I want to see where my assets are when I want, not when the police want to.

Um. You need a tracker to find your assets ?

better to just not let them take it in the first place ....

For information - DGPS makes use of land base stations and was originally designed to eliminate the Selective Availability errors (the pseudo-random errors introduced by the Yanks) when ships were entering coastal waters.

By using the known, fixed datum the receiver could accurately determine how much of an error had been introduced. The other bonus of this is reduced errors and therefore more accurate fixes.

If the situation is similar to my caravan insurance you will find the insurance companies are not interested in: Any self track devices, any pay as you go track units or any self fitted devices

.....and its almost impossible to get cover decent cover at a sensible price on a high-end van that DOESNT have an approved system fitted.

As for all this talk about the 5-0 delaying the interception of stolen tracked vehicles. I call BS. If they wanted to catch the gangs involved they have the resources to use their own tracker equipped vehicles as bait rather than upsetting 3rd party owners and their insurance companies.

I saw something on TV the other day where they hid a mini-cam in a cable drum to catch metal thieves. If they wanted to do something similar with vehicles I am sure they could......assuming they don't already!

Oh look http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-wiltshire-21841620