Tracker

[guffy]

I was musing about a cheap-ass tracker at the weekend.... could you maybe hide a cheap PAYG mobile in the boot/arch recess, wired up to charge only when the car is running and then track the car via the mobile signal... assuming your car is not stationary for more than a few days

[spikeyboy101]

Stolen recovered doesnt show up on a HPI check.

However is you do a My Car Check it does show up, i almost bought one like this from Tonbridge Audi - they swore blind it hadnt been S&R as it was HPI clear - i told them to ask the previous owner who then fessed up - needless to say i walked away as Audi wouldnt budge on their price.

So the cost of £2.99 for a My Car Check saved me from buying a car that i may have had problems selling on.

On private purchase GAP cover you can still get return to invoice - the value at time of purchase is just calculated slighlty differently (From click4gap website):

How Is My Car Valued?

If you purchased your car from a vat registered motor dealer within 90 days of purchasing the GAP policy, the purchase value is the cost of the car as shown on the invoice*. We're often asked what should be included in the purchase price of the car, here's a useful guide;

Do Include
Factory fitted accessories if your car is new
VAT unless you are vat registered
Don't Include
Any discount
warranty charges or insurance premiums
vehicle excise license (vehicle tax disc)
dealer fitted extras
delivery charges
* To ensure the benefit due to you is fairly and impartially calculated, like all responsible insurers Click4Gap undertake to recognise the independent third party valuation of Glass's for accurate purchase and loss valuations. Glass's Guide has been the motor and insurance industries leading car valuation service for almost 75 years. As with all responsible Gap providers, should there be any difference in the loss or purchase value, we refer to the Glass's retail value.

If you didn't purchase your car from a vat registered motor dealer, again apply the above guide. In this instance we refer to Glass's trade value plus 5% at time of purchase

[spikeyboy101]

I was musing about a cheap-ass tracker at the weekend.... could you maybe hide a cheap PAYG mobile in the boot/arch recess, wired up to charge only when the car is running and then track the car via the mobile signal... assuming your car is not stationary for more than a few days

You could put an iphone in with runkeeper installed - then you could track from a web site.

[stu]

I was musing about a cheap-ass tracker at the weekend.... could you maybe hide a cheap PAYG mobile in the boot/arch recess, wired up to charge only when the car is running and then track the car via the mobile signal... assuming your car is not stationary for more than a few days

You could put an iphone in with runkeeper installed - then you could track from a web site.

+1

That's exactly what I did earlier this year and caught a dealership employee ragging my car at 100+mph whilst supposedly bedding in some new front discs. The dealers shat themselves when I presented the evidence. Soo very worth it...

[EDIT: created a new post to explain this rather than derail the current discussion]

[RS04YOB]

http://www.tramigo.net/ go for something like this then you can completely shut down the car via a sms

[adsgreen]

Won't get on my little soap box but in short, both phone and gps based systems rely on technology that can be defeated for under a tenner.

If you are interested where your car goes - get a cheap phone/gps tracker. Plenty out there. 50 quid will get you one with a 24 hour battery, gps and even the ability to call the unit and listen in on the audio. Oh, you'llneed a payg sim but they can be had for 8-10 /month.

If you want to get your car back then unfrotunately tracker is the best overall device - frequency hopping the VHF system is the key. Unfortunately the tech is hard to test is working and you'll only know if the box had gone bad when you don't get your car back.

[PetrolDave]

My insurance company insisted i had one fitted.

Blimey! I haven't had an insurance company say that to me since 2000 (when they insisted I had a Tracker on my 8L S3).

[Madmonkee]

My old insurance company was under the impression trackers in the RS4 were factory fitted. They were an option as far as I know but not standard fitment. As said above, do a search on the "bay" you will find signal jamming devices for less than a tenner! Plug into Ciggy lighter and away it goes...

[PetrolDave]

They were an option as far as I know but not standard fitment.

"Trackers" (not often an actualTracker but a competitor) have been a dealer-fit, not factory-fit, option from Audi for many years on all models.

[EddyPee]

I considered a tracker but decided on getting a metal baseball bat instead. Break in to my house when I'm in and your getting battered.

My simple rules after a break in for a previous focus ST ( which failed)

make sure all doors are locked from the inside before you go to bed, dont leave your keys downstairs and if you are going out and the RS4 isn't then take both sets of keys.

[Montymole]

Cheers guy's for the advice.... Eddy...I like how you think, this has been the routine for the past 3 weeks...the keys go where I go...

Main reason I was asking was a friends Dad who lives in the same village as me had his S4 robbed last year, they broke into the house and stole the keys... he had tracker monitor fitted and got the car back within 24 hrs.... was found about a 100 miles away in Manchester...and no damage at all !

[Timster]

The whole tracker/baseball-bat debate has been on-going for years.
Personally, I've moved from having only tools next to the bed + keys, to leaving the keys in a really obvious place by the front door.

If the little scumbags have got the balls to break-in to nick my car... they can have it (and fcuk right off), I don't want it back.
If there's any chance they would hurt my partner... again, as above.
Plus I've got dealer Gap insurance.

If however, they still want to get greedy and come upstairs, they'll get a BB around the head and 10" chefs knife in the neck.

[Rory]

If however, they still want to get greedy and come upstairs, they'll get a BB around the head and 10" chefs knife in the neck.

:snigger:

My "ornamental" nunchucks and various other sparring sporting goods might come in handy if they went billy big cojones on me and decided to look upstairs for my keys.

[spikeyboy101]

Punch your friends dads car reg into "my car check" and see if it comes up stolen recovered. If it does wether he likes it or not his car is now worth less with that tag.

Whilst we all like to idea of giving some scumbag a good wack round the head if they break in, the simple fact is that you will be the one that ends up in court and possible jail time for doing it, far simpler to leave the keys downstairs where they can get them rather than face the conflict - if they have the ball to break in when your in they will also be tooled up.

Is it really worth your life or your familes life for a car ?

[Rory]

Whilst we all like to idea of giving some scumbag a good wack round the head if they break in, the simple fact is that you will be the one that ends up in court and possible jail time for doing it, far simpler to leave the keys downstairs where they can get them rather than face the conflict - if they have the ball to break in when your in they will also be tooled up.

Is it really worth your life or your familes life for a car ?

Simple answer - no its not worth anyone's life and I would definitely leave my keys downstairs if my family were there just so they don't come up grab your kids and threaten them causing undue stress to them etc.

I've had someone break into a house I was in before and the fact it's the night makes it weird for weeks - always on edge etc. bad news for the thief at the time was he broke into our student accommodation to get the laptops not realising there were 8 lads all still awake playing Pro Evo in the back... Who could all run faster than he could. No violence required - he got grabbed and had to wait for the police. Clown.