Satellite Tracking Car Alarms

[spoons]

Has anyone had any experience to which is the best satellite GPS tracking car alarm on the market...

What are the pitfalls or benefits etc...

Cheers

[Ben H]

Best systems I came across were the new industry reveloution Cat 5 systems which will become needed on anything in excess of £25k. They use a secret blue tooth device as a secondary key so in the event of your typical break in and grab car keys they wouldn't necessarily go for say your mobile phone too which is the most common device.
If your car is started and the system can't connect with the blue tooth device it will bleep to warn you. If you don't give it the satisfaction of logging onto the blue tooth device and drive it out of it's geo fence (usually 50 yards from it's position) it will automatically alert the tracking centre who will then contact you.

Haven't heard of any GPS tracking built into alarm system but your factory fit alarm's up to the job so just go for a tracking device.

[VauxVeteran]

Mines got a standard fit one, didn't renew the offer though, might need to burn it sometime soon.

[Gsi3.2]

I beleive Cabby's RAC trackstar does both the alarm and the theft tracking... remeber who had to phone them quickly when they ( RAC monitoring) noticed unusual movement of the vehicle.....

PM Crabby.. he'll confirm what it does or doesn't do..

[parapaul]

...your factory fit alarm's up to the job so just go for a tracking device.

How do manufacturers and insurance companies decide what makes a Thatcham approved alarm etc? I know for a fact my alarm was going off while my car was sat on the drive, and I couldn't hear it inside the house! Do they just have to specify that the've fitted an 'x' dB siren, because hiding it inside the car pretty much cancels out any use it might be...

[Ben H]

How do manufacturers and insurance companies decide what makes a Thatcham approved alarm etc? I know for a fact my alarm was going off while my car was sat on the drive, and I couldn't hear it inside the house! Do they just have to specify that the've fitted an 'x' dB siren, because hiding it inside the car pretty much cancels out any use it might be...

I wasn't even aware the factory fit was a Thatcham approved alarm. Other people on here seem to think it is. Can't really see for any reason it wouldn't as even the siren is battery backed up.
As for sound level, the more important criteria is that it's not too loud as this equates to noise pollution and about 10 years back the introduction of alarms continually going off for no reason was forced to cease and so manufacturers had to make them ignore a false trigger say if the same circuit was triggered like 5 times in a row.

[parapaul]

OK, just had a look round the Thatcham website....

The Vauxhall 3000 Security System (standard fit on ALL Vectra/Signum) is Thatcham Category 1 approved - ie Alarm & Immobiliser. The only specification is that it has a sounder.....it could be the sound of a butterfly flapping its wings, or the sound of a muted TV.....

[SignumPhil]

OK, just had a look round the Thatcham website....

The Vauxhall 3000 Security System (standard fit on ALL Vectra/Signum) is Thatcham Category 1 approved - ie Alarm & Immobiliser. The only specification is that it has a sounder.....it could be the sound of a butterfly flapping its wings, or the sound of a muted TV.....

When my neighbour's Signum was broken into, he didn't hear the alarm -and the car was parked under his bedroom window!
It was only when I banged on his door the next morning to tell him that he found out!

Phil