What to Look For In A GPS Car Tracker

 Keeping track of your car if a thief steals it or someone else is driving it can be a major concern for some people. To ease the worry of not knowing where your car is, getting a car GPS tracker is a simple and easy way of achieving this. With a GPS car tracker, you will have additional security knowing that you can find your car where ever it is. Other benefits include:

• If a thief steals your car, you will receive a notification letting you know
• You can monitor the car’s location for fast recovery
• The ability to remotely disable your car so the thief cannot drive it anywhere
• 24/7 location monitoring

Types of GPS car trackers

There are two types of GPS tracker – Wired-in and plug-in. The difference is that a wired-in tracker is built into the car, is hidden from view and can connect to the alarm, ignition and other electronics in the car (Windows, door locks and such).

A plug-in device is good to keep track of the car but is not something used to prevent thief. Commonly the plug-in GPS track gets its power from a car’s cigarette light using 12-volt power. Newer cars can utilise a 5V USB socket. Another method of connecting a plug-in device is the vehicle’s diagnostic port, the OBD. Installation is easy, but the device can remain given thieves, and there is the ability just to remove the device.

Consider why you want a GPS tracker. For security, choose a wired-in tracker, for simple tracking a plug-in device is best.

What to look for in a GPS car tracker

An example of a high-quality GPS car tracker is the Gator GTrack4G. The device has the features you should look for in a GPS tracking system, such as:

• Built-in cellular antenna with 3G and 4G compatibility with a GPS antenna, using a mini SIM card
• The ability to keep track of your driving history and track your car in real-real time
• Lithium-ion rechargeable battery for backup power
• Motion sensor, shock, displacement, low battery, power off and over speed alerts
• Geo-fence capable and remote immobilisation

Geo-fence capabilities are important for a GPS tracker. What this feature does is sets up a perimeter around your car so that if it moves outside of that area, you will receive a notification. If your alarm goes off, then you will receive a notification. When the combination of geo-fencing and alarm notifications you will know if you need to contact the police straight away. The ability to immobilise your car in this situation will enhance your security.

Other considerations

Remember that the device should work on the same frequency as Australian mobile devices. Purchasing a GPS tracker from overseas might appear cheaper, but you might be unable to use the device in Australia due to different frequencies.

When considering purchasing a GPS car tracker, the costs are something to know. The initial cost is the device itself and installation if you are unable to do this yourself. For the device, the costs can be between $199 to $499AU You may need to pay for software and apps unless they come with the device and there will be the communication costs determined by your mobile carrier. The amount of data the device uses is low, so you do not need to get a heavy data plan.

A plus side of a GPS tracker is a decrease in insurance costs. For insurance companies, the ability to immobilise the car or find it easily is a positive that makes their job easier.

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