Comments on stolen 914s and GPS devices, Put a GPS in your cars Options

[Pezz]

Like @Cairo94507 said, it's dreadful and discouraging to read about more stolen 914s on this website, some of the creme of the crop ( @Marv's3.6six )(IMG:style_emoticons/default/headbang.gif) And to find that these cars simply "disappear," ( @dr914 @autoatlanta.com, http://www.914world.com/bbs2/index.php?sho...tolen&st=0), during repairs(??),.. and then the sketchy insurance "issues(?), (IMG:style_emoticons/default/hissyfit.gif) ... There seems to be a common theme in these crimes. Be damned, it is all too easy to steal and hide this car.

To live more relaxed when you are away from your beloved car, check out the Track-it GPS device. They are small and inexpensive.
https://tracki.com/blogs/post/everything-yo...ut-gps-tracking
I have 2 trackers. I have no affiliation.

One device is hidden under the spare tire in my 914 whenever it is off my property, mostly it is just shopping in town. I use one in luggage when I travel so I can actually watch where my check-ons are as we are loading and departing the airplane. I use one when I get a rental car and put the other in my luggage.
I'm a geologist, travel often, and it tracks my lat-long location throughout the day when hiking, with positions and times, and has an SOS for emergencies in remote outback. It works everywhere and without having to be near it. A flashing icon is displayed on your cell phone even if the device was on the other side of Earth or on your shelf.
I change the time sampling interval from 1 or 2 minutes when I carry it hiking, to 10 minutes with my cargo on airline flights. I change to 30-minute samples when I leave it with my car, where it can track for 3 or 4 weeks. Battery life depends on sampling interval. It notifies with a text message when the battery gets to 10%.

There's $20/month subscription for the GPS service, cheaper if you buy a year, which I do. I use it so often, it is worth the cost to me.
I consider it like insurance at $5/week even simply when I take the car shopping once a week with 5 or 6 stops in a day parked outside different stores. That's less than $1 a day for this kind of theft insurance. Unfortunately it is not comprehensive.
When I hike, the SOS is insurance because I'm often outside of cell service. That's worth $1 a day.

If my '14 ever goes to a shop, it will have this device hidden deep in the bowels - The upgraded units I have come with a rubber case and lanyard, a magnet and clip attachments and tools, like in the photo below. Mine were $24 each.
An Apple Aircard is worthless. It's all about getting a GPS unit and buying service. There are many more devices - I'd just say pick one. I can recommend this one. For me, this device mitigates several potential serious risks at low cost. ~ Thieves beware.

914World Rocks! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/cheer.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/first.gif)
~ Pezz

[914sgofast2]

Why not just use the Apple Tags?

[Shivers]

Maybe it is my imagination but it seems like a lot of the cars are stolen from repair shops. And that is distressing. Most car owners need to trust they will still have a car when they go to pick it up from the shop. The vw shop in my home town had big dogs and a fence. Now a days with all the electronic goodies available I’m pretty shocked how often it happens.

[mepstein]

If I was at our shop late at night, I would sometimes hear people trying to open the garage and man doors. We had a couple doors that we used every day and a couple more that were only used sparingly. You could hear someone going around to each door and trying to get in. It was in an industrial park so no way to fence in the unit.

Our current shop is behind a house. My business partner lives in the house and is a gun enthusiast. Someone trying to break in would really be chancing their life.

[Shivers]

If I was at our shop late at night, I would sometimes hear people trying to open the garage and man doors. We had a couple doors that we used every day and a couple more that were only used sparingly. You could hear someone going around to each door and trying to get in. It was in an industrial park so no way to fence in the unit.

Our current shop is behind a house. My business partner lives in the house and is a gun enthusiast. Someone trying to break in would really be chancing their life.

That must be a great selling point with the high end guys. Breaks my heart every time it happens

[Pezz]

Why not just use the Apple Tags?

They do not use GPS. AirTags rely on other iPhones to be near the tag to establish a network, providing it is within Bluetooth range of that iPhone. This requires one or more iPhones running the latest software. If the thieves hid your car in an area without cell coverage, the AirTags won't work.

[ClayPerrine]

I use GEGO Luggage trackers.

We bought a bunch of them for a trip to Europe a year ago last July. They will track your luggage anywhere in the world.

https://www.gego.io/products/gego-universal-tracker

After that, I bought some 12v to USB converters off Amazon, and wired them in the 914s, the BMW, and the trailer.

The 12v to USB converters keep them charged off the car's battery, and if it is disconnected, then the internal battery keeps them going for a couple of weeks. We have a solar cell and trickle charger setup on the trailer to keep the breakaway battery charged, and the tracker is wired into that same circuit.

I have two geo fences setup in the app. One being my house, the other being the storage lot where we store the trailer. If the tags leave the fenced area, I get an alert in email.

There is also historical locations, so if it disappears off the net, the software keeps the last known location of it.

We have the app installed on both of our phones.

So at the touch of a button, I can see where my 914s, my BMW and my trailer are in real time. They are also bluetooth linked to my phone, so when I get close enough for bluetooth to connect, I can track them down within 1 meter of their location.

That should be close enough for a car or a trailer.

There is a yearly fee to keep them active. It is cheap insurance.

[930cabman]

I have thought about a tracking device, but wondered if the thieves have something to detect tracking?

Often times the bad guys are out in front (IMG:style_emoticons/default/screwy.gif)

[technicalninja]

I have the very most expensive tracker available in my wife's Odyssey.

We had a Lo-jack installed when we bought the car 14 years ago.

GPS stuff was not really available then.

This pup DOES NOT send out any signals UNLESS something happens that it doesn't like.

We both have key fobs that talk with it and 14 years down the road it still texts us "vehicle has been moved without your permission" if the batteries die in the fob.

It doesn't alert the police at this point but...

If we called into then and said the "car has been stolen" it starts broadcasting like nothing else.

One of the first kills for a Low jack was in a Ferrari. Car got swiped and when it was told to broadcast, they found it moving at 8mph in the San Francisco Bay. Stopping the ship it was on revealed 85 stolen cars on their way to China!

Good stuff IMO but still very expensive but the only system that is integral to most larger Police forces. The cop cars with 4 antenna are Low jack receiving cars.

Now-days I'd use something like Clay or Pezz uses but for automotive recovery systems the Low-jack is hard to beat.

In 2009 it cost $1200 but no other fees ever!

I DO NOT have stickers stating "Low-jack protection." This critter is a hidden time bomb for theives...

[StratPlayer]

I have a tracker in my car tkstar.

[ClayPerrine]

I have the very most expensive tracker available in my wife's Odyssey.

We had a Lo-jack installed when we bought the car 14 years ago.

GPS stuff was not really available then.

This pup DOES NOT send out any signals UNLESS something happens that it doesn't like.

We both have key fobs that talk with it and 14 years down the road it still texts us "vehicle has been moved without your permission" if the batteries die in the fob.

It doesn't alert the police at this point but...

If we called into then and said the "car has been stolen" it starts broadcasting like nothing else.

One of the first kills for a Low jack was in a Ferrari. Car got swiped and when it was told to broadcast, they found it moving at 8mph in the San Francisco Bay. Stopping the ship it was on revealed 85 stolen cars on their way to China!

Good stuff IMO but still very expensive but the only system that is integral to most larger Police forces. The cop cars with 4 antenna are Low jack receiving cars.

Now-days I'd use something like Clay or Pezz uses but for automotive recovery systems the Low-jack is hard to beat.

In 2009 it cost $1200 but no other fees ever!

I DO NOT have stickers stating "Low-jack protection." This critter is a hidden time bomb for theives...

IIRC, Low-Jack only works if the PD has the Low-jack receiver in the car.

And never advertise your protection on your car. It just makes the thieves look for it.

[930cabman]

I have the very most expensive tracker available in my wife's Odyssey.

We had a Lo-jack installed when we bought the car 14 years ago.

GPS stuff was not really available then.

This pup DOES NOT send out any signals UNLESS something happens that it doesn't like.

We both have key fobs that talk with it and 14 years down the road it still texts us "vehicle has been moved without your permission" if the batteries die in the fob.

It doesn't alert the police at this point but...

If we called into then and said the "car has been stolen" it starts broadcasting like nothing else.

One of the first kills for a Low jack was in a Ferrari. Car got swiped and when it was told to broadcast, they found it moving at 8mph in the San Francisco Bay. Stopping the ship it was on revealed 85 stolen cars on their way to China!

Good stuff IMO but still very expensive but the only system that is integral to most larger Police forces. The cop cars with 4 antenna are Low jack receiving cars.

Now-days I'd use something like Clay or Pezz uses but for automotive recovery systems the Low-jack is hard to beat.

In 2009 it cost $1200 but no other fees ever!

I DO NOT have stickers stating "Low-jack protection." This critter is a hidden time bomb for theives...

Might be a nice add on feature for a "self destruct" device. If within 30 or so seconds the system does not receive a verification, KABOOM
(IMG:style_emoticons/default/aktion035.gif)

[arbitrary]

Why not just use the Apple Tags?

They do not use GPS. AirTags rely on other iPhones to be near the tag to establish a network, providing it is within Bluetooth range of that iPhone. This requires one or more iPhones running the latest software. If the thieves hid your car in an area without cell coverage, the AirTags won't work.

But neither will any other tracker! The ones mentioned in this thread use GPS to locate the device but they still rely on a cellular network to send you the location.

AirTags are far from perfect but they are cheap, small and have a long battery life. And there are stories about them working when a GPS tracker didn’t because the thieves left a GPS jammer running. An iPhone geolocates using cell towers, wifi SSIDs and GPS; GPS jamming alone isn’t enough.

[emerygt350]

Just put a chalon kit on it. You will be fine.

[emerygt350]

Actually, I have been recently think about melding this to a 914 chassis.

[76-914]

Just put a chalon kit on it. You will be fine.

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/av-943.gif)

[sb914]

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/lol-2.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/agree.gif)

[mepstein]

Actually, I have been recently think about melding this to a 914 chassis.

I really want a Laser.

[emerygt350]

This one is near me and 2800. It's on a bug at the moment. With monster tires.

[technicalninja]

IIRC, Low-Jack only works if the PD has the Low-jack receiver in the car.

And never advertise your protection on your car. It just makes the thieves look for it.

Completely correct!
This is a limitation with Lojack.

I really like Pezz"s suggestions for a personal tracker.

I like yours better for a car tracker. The fence feature and last spot broadcasting feature are critical IMO.

I have lots of stuff in different spots and the units you suggested will be what I end up purchasing next.

How much $ per year?
Actually at $100 per year the Lojack has already paid for itself and just might end up being cheaper than I anticipated.

When I sell the van in the next year, I'm planning on taking the Lojack off and putting it on one of my other cars...

I sent Lojack and e-mail stating that I would be interested in fitting a unit into my main toolbox. They never replied ...