fuenfer

My dealer is offering Lojack for my 997S -- what do you guys think about it? I'm not sure how effective it'll be and given Porsche's strict recommendations against aftermarket electronic devices, whether it'll be ok.

lmmotola

My mother's cadillac was once stolen and it was found somewhere in Brooklyn. No doors, no hood, no seats, no wheels or tires. Looked like a ghost. Consequently, if your dearly beloved sweet Porsche is stolen, do you really want it back? I'd prefer the check from the insurance company.

boolala

I don't know if Porsche has a similar service but with Teleaid in my Benz they can track the car via GPS without any other hardware. It's got a built in cellular connection that can transmit the GPS determined position to the response center who then relays it to the police. A local Benz dealer had an employee obscond with one of their new CLKs and was surprised when he was apprehended not understanding how they had located him so quickly.

OCBen

This has been discussed before. A simple search would have returned this thread:

https://rennlist.com/forums/997-forum/209442-anybody-here-get-lo-jack.html

THPorsche

I have Lojack installed in my cab. I have the latest one that came with the keyfob that would inform me by phone/ email whenever my car is moving without the keyfob. Do I want my car back after it has been stolen, NO! Not even for an hour. But it was cheap (under $1K) and it helps to reduce the insurance rate.

scycle2020

i once had a car returned after it was stolen..it was one day later and a car with 200k miles on it, and old acura coupe..it was still trashed, i wishthey never found it...no low jack for me...its just another money maker for a company....now if it came with a gap insurance to cover lost value from the car being trashed, then it might be worth it.........

tarpon1

i also have the "early warning" version of lojack which THPorsche referred to on 2 cars. this version was $995 installed when i bought the car. the standard version of lojack which does not include the early warning system is $695. from my point of view if i was going to install anything i would prefer to know as soon as the little bastards take the car as opposed to 8 hours later when i wake up in the morning and the car is stripped or on it's way to wherever. with the standard version you have to realize your car is missing first and then contact lojack who will then locate the car. with the early warning you know as soon as the car is moving without the sensor which attaches to your key ring. at least you have a chance to then get it back asap before it gets trashed, etc. as to the notion of lojack vs steal it, strip it and collect insurance; that is a different philosophical question....

JFScheck

I guess the question is, "Would you want your car back if it was stolen?"

For me, Yes, cause I can get everything fix but that VIN is special (Club Coupe 35 of 50)...

That being said, I still won't get LoJack!

PV

In Europe, at least in Holland, Lojack type alarms are not an option, the ensurance requires it. My US version had a level 1 alarm, and last week upgraded to a level 5, including tilt detection, GPS and automatic phone call in case somebody touches the car without my knowledge.......

MMD

If mine gets stolen I'm not going to notice/report it for as long as possible. Is there a legal requirement that you report such losses promptly?

tarpon1

i would exercise caution when putting anything in print that you wouldn't want to see on the front page of a newspaper...in other words; be careful about documenting your thoughts when you never know who's reading them...we are obviously all speaking in hypothetical terms here i'm sure...but i would say in your "hypothetical" scenario if an insurance agent were to ask you when you first noticed the vehicle missing, if you were not 100% truthful you could open yourself to a whole different set of problems...

boolala

I don't know about a legal requirement but you generally do have an obligation to your insurance company to mitigate any losses. E.g., if a storm tears a hole in your roof and you get a leak you have an obligation to try and make temporary repairs (if possible) and not just
wait for extensive water damage ensues and expect your insurance company to pay for the consequences of subsequent preventable damage.

Generally a newer vehicle that is unrecovered (whether reported in a timely fashion or not) is going to cost your insurer more money than repairing any damage done by a joyrider. Seems only logical to me that you have an obligation to report the loss as soon as possible.

brickster

After having installed lojack on several cars, i tried vipergps on my new 997s. You get an insruance discount. You can set it to call you and email you if the car is broken into or taken beyond a prescribed area. You can go on the internet and check it is current location -- yes it is still in the same parking lot that I left it. Pretty neat system but dpeends on cell phone service to locate.