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2022 view on Trackers & extra Immobiliser

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OceanHolidays

Lifetime VIP Member
Messages
8
Location
Wokingham
Vehicle
T6.1 Ocean 204 4 motion
Haven't see a recent / up-to-date discussion on Trackers and extra Immobilisers. I accidentally set of the alarm on our Cali Ocean 6.1 and was surprised how quiet it is. Have seen some positive reviews on Autowatch Ghost immobiliser, but I can also save a good chunk on the insurance with a Tracker. Any views on best immobiliser, best tracker, or is there a good combo package containing both? Many thanks
 
All down to personal choice.

Personally wouldn’t bother unless your insurance company insists upon it…and then it might be better to look at other insurers who might well offer a better rate anyway. Those who have it fitted will say that it’s great, reality is that a thief wants it they will take it.

Perhaps a better question to ask is..how many forum members without a third party immobiliser have had their vans stolen, and then work out if the additional cost is worth it.
 
I got a Stoplok, tracker & immobiliser. Depends where you live...
 
Where is the Cali kept? Road? Driveway? Garage?
 
All down to personal choice.

Personally wouldn’t bother unless your insurance company insists upon it…and then it might be better to look at other insurers who might well offer a better rate anyway. Those who have it fitted will say that it’s great, reality is that a thief wants it they will take it.

Perhaps a better question to ask is..how many forum members without a third party immobiliser have had their vans stolen, and then work out if the additional cost is worth it.
I second this.

I see soooo much talk about theft but the stats do not backup the fear. Most reported vehicle "theft" are actually unlocked cars. The stats also have ALL car crime lumped into them, most of which is theft from the vehicle, not of - and many of them are, as mentioned, unlocked. Even stolen cars are mostly very old models without the levels of security a Cali has. Outside of that it's steal to order and full time pro crims.

People want to have peace of mind because they have a VERY expensive van on the drive, and if they need some of the toys on the van to help them sleep, fine but it is one big fear game by the companies selling this stuff.

The reality is, unless a thief breaks into your house to get the keys, that they cannot steal it without a low loader and a crane/tow. Even then they have a job on their mind to get around the immobiliser once in a lock up.

Everything else is just FUD and peace of mind.

I find not having my keys hanging up in the kitchen on a hook and a baseball bat close to hand helps me sleep the most.
 
Just get a Ghost fitted, for some extra piece of mind.
I personally wouldn’t waste my time with a tracker.
 
All down to personal choice.

Personally wouldn’t bother unless your insurance company insists upon it…and then it might be better to look at other insurers who might well offer a better rate anyway. Those who have it fitted will say that it’s great, reality is that a thief wants it they will take it.

Perhaps a better question to ask is..how many forum members without a third party immobiliser have had their vans stolen, and then work out if the additional cost is worth it.
I read a police report recently on most popular vehicles stolen. Range Rovers and collectible sports cars, not surprisingly on the list, but high spec Campervans now have also made the list.
 
I second this.

I see soooo much talk about theft but the stats do not backup the fear. Most reported vehicle "theft" are actually unlocked cars. The stats also have ALL car crime lumped into them, most of which is theft from the vehicle, not of - and many of them are, as mentioned, unlocked. Even stolen cars are mostly very old models without the levels of security a Cali has. Outside of that it's steal to order and full time pro crims.

People want to have peace of mind because they have a VERY expensive van on the drive, and if they need some of the toys on the van to help them sleep, fine but it is one big fear game by the companies selling this stuff.

The reality is, unless a thief breaks into your house to get the keys, that they cannot steal it without a low loader and a crane/tow. Even then they have a job on their mind to get around the immobiliser once in a lock up.

Everything else is just FUD and peace of mind.

I find not having my keys hanging up in the kitchen on a hook and a baseball bat close to hand helps me sleep the most.
I agree.....better to try and stop the theft in the first place! I have a bulldog wheel clamp and like you, don't keep the keys in the kitchen! I'm inclined to agree with an earlier post.....Immobiliser more impt than tracker.
 
I agree.....better to try and stop the theft in the first place! I have a bulldog wheel clamp and like you, don't keep the keys in the kitchen! I'm inclined to agree with an earlier post.....Immobiliser more impt than tracker.
And luckilly the Cali is already fitted with a very sophisticated Thatcham approved immobiliser….
 
I read a police report recently on most popular vehicles stolen. Range Rovers and collectible sports cars, not surprisingly on the list, but high spec Campervans now have also made the list.

We recently someone try to steal our EV (or possibly just the charging cable) off the driveway, they used a scanner similar that that used for Range Rover thefts but had no interest in our Cali. Have now hidden an apple tag in the Cali behind the dash (EV already had live tracking as standard).

The trouble with some products is that you may have to prove to insurers that they were activated at the time of the theft if they are claused on your policy. Bit like telling household insurers that you have a house alarm to obtain a small discount. If your house is broken into and the alarm was off, you may face some issues with a claim.
 
We recently someone try to steal our EV (or possibly just the charging cable) off the driveway, they used a scanner similar that that used for Range Rover thefts but had no interest in our Cali. Have now hidden an apple tag in the Cali behind the dash (EV already had live tracking as standard).

The trouble with some products is that you may have to prove to insurers that they were activated at the time of the theft if they are claused on your policy. Bit like telling household insurers that you have a house alarm to obtain a small discount. If your house is broken into and the alarm was off, you may face some issues with a claim.
I see a few people mentioning air tags, and while a cheap and simple solution it does need to have someone with an iPhone near your stolen Cali in order to get a ping.

I assume personally most thieves use Android ;) (Sits back and awaits the android users…)

TBH, as mentioned, I don’t get the fervour to pay up to thousands to bolt onto the existing factory installed anti-theft measures. Peace of mind, yes, but if your key is in a non obvious place in the house, it’s literally impossible to steal and there are no numbers on the police stats that back up modern cars like these being stolen by anything other than highly trained pro’s (which remains low numbers).

One assumes, even with a scanner, they never managed to get the EV?
 
I agree.....better to try and stop the theft in the first place! I have a bulldog wheel clamp and like you, don't keep the keys in the kitchen! I'm inclined to agree with an earlier post.....Immobiliser more impt than tracker.
Wheel clamp just proves to the scumbags the vehicle is not used on an everyday basis. For a Professional it is just a mild inconvenience .
 
One assumes, even with a scanner, they never managed to get the EV?

One bloke unlocked it within 10seconds by holding a device in the air by our front door, whilst his mate opened the boot. (Key card was in bedside drawer upstairs, but they were still able to read it) Charging cable was in the front boot which they couldn’t open as needs to be done in a different way. They then ran off and police arrested them 30 mins later.

We now have RFID wallets!
 
One bloke unlocked it within 10seconds by holding a device in the air by our front door, whilst his mate opened the boot. (Key card was in bedside drawer upstairs, but they were still able to read it) Charging cable was in the front boot which they couldn’t open as needs to be done in a different way. They then ran off and police arrested them 30 mins later.

We now have RFID wallets!
Jeezus wept. I previously thought Faraday wallets tin hat teritory, not anymore! Luckilly the Cali has no such issues being non keyless, but no such luck on our Tiguan. I guess challenge for them was while they could open the doors was too far to trigger the immobiliser to drive off. I believe without a key there is only so far you can get anyway before engine shuts down.
 
Wheel clamp just proves to the scumbags the vehicle is not used on an everyday basis. For a Professional it is just a mild inconvenience .
Should go have a look at “The Lockpicking Lawyer“ on YT - he opens most things in <10 seconds. Some good recomendations from him on key locks and better padlocks though that defeat most if not all professional chancers.
 
Should go have a look at “The Lockpicking Lawyer“ on YT - he opens most things in <10 seconds. Some good recomendations from him on key locks and better padlocks though that defeat most if not all professional chancers.

He’s brilliant.
Real eye opener with some of the bike locks he’s reviewed.
 
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