Im getting soon a 55 reg black Octy VRS, and was wondering if anyone had any resonably priced suitable aftermarket alarms and/or trackers,?

The car already has a thatcham approved alarm system. Also unless your insurance company requires you to have a tracker then there is little point in bothering, the small saving made in insurance will be offset by the high charges of the tracker and you cannot guarantee that it will work, should the car go walkies.

The car already has a thatcham approved alarm system. Also unless your insurance company requires you to have a tracker then there is little point in bothering, the small saving made in insurance will be offset by the high charges of the tracker and you cannot guarantee that it will work, should the car go walkies.

Thanks for the reply, it answers my question about the type fitted by the factory, but no the insurance company was quite happy with the factory spec alarm it was more of a 'piece of mind' thing as my experience of factory alarms (admittadely from older lesser specced cars) isnt brilliant. With the tracker, I was hoping for maybe an insurance reduction.

Thanks for the info (glad I joined up )

IMO, the only useful trackers are the ones that do geofencing, i.e. they call home as soon as the car moves when it shouldn't, for example in the middle of the night, or when it leaves a certain area, like your town's area.

Magic words are 'Thatcham approved immobiliser and alarm system'. For most insurers, the immobiliser is more important than the alarm. Remember, the person at the other end of the phone may not really understand what it means. They just have a list of options to pick from.

Trackers don't always reduce a premium & if they do, for many cars it's hardly worth the outlay if that is the major concern! It depends on so many factors, like level of risk from the area you live in etc. A mate of mine has just got his new Scooby & was going to fit a tracker device, however from an inurance perspective he was told it would only reduced his premium by £30. When asked why he was told it was becuse he garaged it over night, didn't use it for commuting/business and lived in a low risk area. He got more of a reduction by having passed his advanced driving test.

I have just had a Tracker fitted. Not told the insurance company yet, will do soon.

Unless I have looked at this the wrong way, when I insured the car, the insurance company asked me how much was it worth & I told them.

They then told me that if the car was stolen, they would only pay market value so, should it be stolen, it won't be long before I get my machine back with all the extras that the insurance company would not be interested in compensating me for.

...with all the extras that the insurance company would not be interested in compensating me for...

You need to make sure your insurance company is aware of 'all the extras' and check they are listed on your policy. Extra such as expensive ICE make the car more attractive to thieves.

Some insurance companies will increase the premium if you fit a tracker, on the basis that you yourself have decided that the risk warrants it.

Got a discount with my R36!

Holy thread revival!

I have just had a Tracker fitted. Not told the insurance company yet, will do soon.

Unless I have looked at this the wrong way, when I insured the car, the insurance company asked me how much was it worth & I told them.

They then told me that if the car was stolen, they would only pay market value so, should it be stolen, it won't be long before I get my machine back with all the extras that the insurance company would not be interested in compensating me for.

GAP insurance is probably a cheaper way of ensuring that if your car gets stolen or written off you get enough money back to get a new one of the same value. I was looking to get a tracker fitted to my new car but the cost was over £300 and only reduced my insurance by £20 a year, GAP insurance is costing me £200 for the 4 years that I plan to keep the car for and gives me a return to invoice payment - making up for any shortfall in the normal insurance payout.

As a previous customer, I got Tracker fitted for (I think) half price.

I'm sure there's some room for negotiation, when shopping around for fitment prices. It seems to me it's the ongoing subscription cost that's the money-maker. Also which type of subscription you go for.

GAP insurance is probably a cheaper way of ensuring that if your car gets stolen or written off you get enough money back to get a new one of the same value. I was looking to get a tracker fitted to my new car but the cost was over £300 and only reduced my insurance by £20 a year, GAP insurance is costing me £200 for the 4 years that I plan to keep the car for and gives me a return to invoice payment - making up for any shortfall in the normal insurance payout.

To be honest thats the same route I took. If stolen I would rather not have the car back. The scum would not treat the car like I do and if trackered and the police give chase we all know what that means.........one very very ragged and abused car.

Only reason I would fit tracker is if it dropped the insurance by a lot.

Tracker often allows the police to do the opposite and not engage a pursuit situation, because there's not as much need and they'd rather catch them by surprise anyway.

Most targeted vehicle crime in this area I know of, they tend to leave the car parked up somewhere inconspicuous for 24hrs, as a test to see if it's fitted with Tracker and if it'll be picked up.