So much hard work goes into the stage of life you’re in when you’re ready to afford the car you like, and then just as much hard work is required for you to maintain that quality of life. So to deal with an incident outside of your control and the financial repercussions associated with a stolen vehicle should be preempted at all costs — when and wherever possible.
As car lovers, we couldn’t stand here as the Subaru brand and talk about all the silver linings without some of the hard truths that come with owning a car. Sadly, in South Africa, crime affects all of us in ways both directly and indirectly. So within the context of cars, it would only be mindful and respectful of the forum to discuss a car tracker.
Did you know that an estimated 99 000 hijackings occurred in 2019/20, affecting 85 0001 people aged 16 and older? And that an estimated 88 000 incidents of vehicle theft from homes occured in the same timeframe? So while we’re not here to simply echo the complaints about the crime statistics in the country, it would be remiss of us not to encourage all drivers to responsibly prepare for the chances that you may need to recover your vehicle someday (though we much rather you never have to!).
The Science of Car Trackers and GPS Systems
How does a car tracker work?
Car tracker features begin primarily with its GPS — or Global Positioning System — technology; the method used for working out exactly where something is. When placed in a vehicle, it provides information of the tracker / car’s exact location — whether moving or stationary. The GPS tracking system uses the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) network that makes use of a range of satellites, all using microwave signals that are transmitted to GPS devices to give information on location, vehicle speed, time and direction. A GPS tracking system can therefore potentially give both real-time and historic navigation data on any kind of journey.
What are the benefits of car tracking systems?
Car tracker benefits go beyond the most obvious — that being that it is the most reliable and efficient way of recovering your vehicle when it has been stolen and/or hijacked from you. The secondary benefits are that having a tracker placed in your vehicle will often have a positive effect on your insurance assessment and show as a reduction on your premium.
The Cost of Car Trackers
How much do car trackers cost?
The services and software that car tracker companies use is so competitive, that you can be sure the advancements are put to use as the ultimate benefit to you — the consumer. When you start to wonder “what is a good GPS tracker for a car?” — you’ll see that a variety of packages and options are available based on varying demands and affordability levels, making the choice suited to the individual or even a company (in the event that an organisation might want to protect and monitor their fleet).
There are several competitive players in this area here in South Africa, which means the value add is passed onto you — the customer.
Let’s take a look at three of them and what their promise is to you:
Cartrack
“With an audited recovery rate above 92%, Cartrack ensures you have total peace of mind from only R99 per month.” Find out more here.
Netstar
Netstar offers the 36-month NANO package for R99 per month as the “MOST AFFORDABLE option for hi-jacking and stolen vehicle recovery” and their Netstar BASIC as the “ESSENTIAL vehicle tracking and recovery option with added safety” for R139 per month on a 36-month contract. They also have Netstar PLUS and Netstar EARLY WARNING packages and you can browse the differences across their offering here.
Tracker
Offering various packages from the basic to the comprehensive, but starting from as little as R75 per month. You can find out more about their wide range of services here.
We at Subaru know that safety has many different meanings to different people, at different times and within different contexts. While the engineering and technological aspect of our pioneering efforts has placed us as the only car brand across the globe to have a 5-star safety rating with several Top Safety Pick Plus awards too, safety and security has a specific meaning to the South African market because of what may happen to your car outside of your own control.
We are available to discuss your safety and vehicle tracking concerns with you. Use our store locator to find your nearest dealership, and if you would like to know more about the Subaru range, you can call us on +27 11 608 0116 or email info@subaru.co.za and a skilled member of our team will be happy to assist you.
If you would like to book a test drive of any of our remarkable Subaru models, please click here. And remember, there’s safe… and then there’s Subaru safe!
