Cobra Track (Vodafone Protect & Connect 5)

[zaka7]

Does anyone have a cobra track fitted? would you recommend one, I am contemplating getting one for when my FL RS3 arrives.

There is the age old argument of 'I wouldn't want my car back' But I suppose if it is stolen to order you will get it back unharmed, and if it is taken for a joyride it will likely be ruined.

Any thoughts?

 

[dunes7]

But I suppose if it is stolen to order you will get it back unharmed

I don't see how stolen to order means you'd get it back unharmed?

Whatever toe rag took it from you ain't going to give two hoots about the car, if mine was stolen, I simply wouldn't want it back - period

 

[zaka7]

I don't see how stolen to order means you'd get it back unharmed?

Whatever toe rag took it from you ain't going to give two hoots about the car, if mine was stolen, I simply wouldn't want it back - period

Usually if it is to order they want it in good condition to sell on, so they nick it park it up somewhere quiet and wait a couple of days.

If it's nicked for a joyride I would assume it would end up totalled one way or another and you would get the payout. I really don't know, the cobra track is like £900 including 1st year subscription, and then £200+ a year.

I'm torn

 

[dunes7]

Please somebody correct me if I'm wrong - The real car thief pro's wouldn't bat an eye lid at any tracker and will know how to deal them all if they're after your motor.......

 

[Tristan2]

Better off getting Gap insurance

 

[zaka7]

Better off getting Gap insurance

Have that as well, Only issue is that with these cars being limited, you could end up unable to get another one until the next production run or new model...

 

[D0C]

They usually park them up and wait to see if it's picked up by a tracker, or put in lead lined containers.

Please somebody correct me if I'm wrong - The real car thief pro's wouldn't bat an eye lid at any tracker and will know how to deal them all if they're after your motor.......

 

[andyt99]

Some trackers allow you to track the car all the time from a website, not just when it gets nicked. That's kinda useful information to have when you leave a car with the dealers or with those airport parking crooks..

 

[royalsteve68]

You can track it on the Vodafone one. Not sure whether to get vodafone cat 5 or cat 6. Cat 5 only provides two extras, a card so alerts voda if car started without the card plus remote starter kill with police authorisation. Maybe cat 6 and autowatch ghost together is an option

 

[AudiNutta]

I have the Cat 5 and I have mixed reviews.

95% of the time they are good, you get a text within a mile and supposed to have a call within 2 minutes of that but usually 2-4 minutes from experience. But I forgot to take my fob carrier yesterday, I had a text within a minute or so but 20 minutes later no call! I called and she apologised that they were so busy dealing with repeat offenders of leaving wallets at home etc.

Worst experience? Well this one I still haven't gotten over and I don't think I would ever buy the Cobra 5 again for this reason. My car was recovered by Audi, it was driven 40 miles on a transporter and they didn't notice!!!! I called after 15 miles and asked for the status of the car, they told me it was on or near the "M4 Motorway" and was safe. I told him then that I saw the car on the transporter ahead with the ignition off being transported away. They were baffled and blamed it on a glitch, that glitch could have rendered the car useless and seen it in Dover :/ After that I was told they would be happy to test it again if I could arrange the transporter to test... useless people and not reassuring.

I understand they are busy but you pay £215 a year for the service, you don't expect 20+ minutes for an alert and then to have a 5 minute wait on the phone to say your car is stolen as the subscription isn't cheap.

I'm looking at other options, but am struggling.

 

[M4SK13]

I called Admin (my insurance and asked do they recommend "ANY" trackers and would it make a difference to my insurance premiums. They said they don't recommend any type and that it would make no difference to my premiums. I really like the MMI connect with the sim card in the car. tracks the car all the time. I've put some matt black tape over it and you cant see the wording and slot at all with out being up close to it. Cost of doing this £10 for a sim from Giff Gaff with a 2GB on it if it gets used so be it if not so be it...reading this I didn't realise leaving things behind mean no starting the car...I think the only thing I will invest in is the OBD lock since you can pretty much smash a windows and drive off in any Audi in 30 secs (two friends car was stolen with no keys this way). I hate GAP insurance it winds me up; if you paid a car regardless of what it cost your (irrelevant) they should pay for you to purchase another or they purchase one for you. if it costs less than what you paid they win; if it costs more than they have budgeted for then that's their own fault. Just for a A4 30K from dealer and insurance believe it is worth 25K yet I with out a doubt got a good deal compared with any other Audi dealer at the time...so that puts the car value at 30K. but like I said if its worth £20K doesn't matter. they should pay out to purchase another "similar not exact" car. Rant over...have a good evening...

 

[Enbarr]

I just contacted my insurance and they are now telling me I need a CAT 5 tracker fitted to my new RS3. They did not recommend one make either so now having to do my home work thesee things. Any advice is appreciated.

 

[dunes7]

I just contacted my insurance and they are now telling me I need a CAT 5 tracker fitted to my new RS3. They did not recommend one make either so now having to do my home work thesee things. Any advice is appreciated.

I don't like the sound of that!!! I'll bet if you did have to claim on it and then told them what tracker was fitted, they'd say that one doesn't meet with our approval. If they dictate ones got to be fitted, make them specify which makes and models meet their requirements - Just sayin

 

[RAF_S7]

I would recommend the original Tracker

They are the only Tracking solution approved by every police force in the UK, and their solution can be tracked by any police vehicle in the UK (if equipped with Tracker technology - which most of them are). Tracker Cat5 is their top product.

The problem with any other GSM (mobile network) tracking solution is that there are limitations on how good they are. Have you ever tried to make a telephone call while inside an underground garage, or in an area with poor mobile coverage?

You do pay for what you get, and all proper fitted and monitored tracker solutions have two costs. Equipment+Installation and an annual licence fee.

An alternative is of course to install your own tracking device with a SIM card, and monitor your own vehicle. Best on the market is probably the TK 104 although it can be a little tricky to set up. I do recommend you use a Tracker App to manage the solution. The best I have found is GPS Tracker SMS-Pro They have Android and iOS versions.

 

[teslaboy]

I would recommend the original Tracker

They are the only Tracking solution approved by every police force in the UK, and their solution can be tracked by any police vehicle in the UK (if equipped with Tracker technology - which most of them are). Tracker Cat5 is their top product.

The problem with any other GSM (mobile network) tracking solution is that there are limitations on how good they are. Have you ever tried to make a telephone call while inside an underground garage, or in an area with poor mobile coverage?

You do pay for what you get, and all proper fitted and monitored tracker solutions have two costs. Equipment+Installation and an annual licence fee.

An alternative is of course to install your own tracking device with a SIM card, and monitor your own vehicle. Best on the market is probably the TK 104 although it can be a little tricky to set up. I do recommend you use a Tracker App to manage the solution. The best I have found is GPS Tracker SMS-Pro They have Android and iOS versions.

This is good info! I like the idea of a DIY tracker, and the ODB lock....can anyone add a little more info on the ODB lock - this sounds like a great way to effectively stop anyone from moving your car?

 

[teslaboy]

Just found this on the web....anyone have any experience of this?
It looks like a decent solution to actual theft.

https://www.obdportector.com/portector/

 

[RAF_S7]

Just found this on the web....anyone have any experience of this?
It looks like a decent solution to actual theft.

https://www.obdportector.com/portector/

The OBD Protector is not an alarm system, nor does it prevent the car starting or being stolen - when you have the key.

It does a very specific job - it prevents someone using the OBD port on the car, from cloning the car key and using that key to start and make off with the car.

Id say its divided opinion on here 50/50 on whether it offers value for money, or if you can do the same job by disabling your port manually. I have it fitted, its very professional, and it confuses the hell out my dealer when my car is in for a service LoL

 

[teslaboy]

The OBD Protector is not an alarm system, nor does it prevent the car starting or being stolen - when you have the key.

It does a very specific job - it prevents someone using the OBD port on the car, from cloning the car key and using that key to start and make off with the car.

Id say its divided opinion on here 50/50 on whether it offers value for money, or if you can do the same job by disabling your port manually. I have it fitted, its very professional, and it confuses the hell out my dealer when my car is in for a service LoL

Cheers for feedback.
Yes I understand the port protector defends the car against only one of the main types of vehicle theft and as you describe it involves the thief NOT getting hold of the keys.
But this is exactly what I am looking for as I do not intend to have my keys stolen, I am simply looking for a decent (and Thatcham approved) way to stop the toe rags.
There are effectively three general ways to steal a car;
1) Keys are stolen or copied - i.e house break in or keys cloned.
If they get in the house and threaten me then they can have it !! but my keys are always in a safe place indoors.
I don't hand my keys to anyone except the Audi garage.
2) Thief breaks in to the car and uses OBD hardware/software to override alarm etc..
This is what the Port protector will stop.
3) You have Advanced key and the thief uses and RF extender / recorder to mimic your key.
But this is generally a one shot wonder used by joyriders - and I DO NOT have Advanced key for that very reason.

They could also (if they're really desperate) load the car on to a trailer ! but I can't see this happening for a 50K car.

 

[royalsteve68]

Cheers for feedback.
Yes I understand the port protector defends the car against only one of the main types of vehicle theft and as you describe it involves the thief NOT getting hold of the keys.
But this is exactly what I am looking for as I do not intend to have my keys stolen, I am simply looking for a decent (and Thatcham approved) way to stop the toe rags.
There are effectively three general ways to steal a car;
1) Keys are stolen or copied - i.e house break in or keys cloned.
If they get in the house and threaten me then they can have it !! but my keys are always in a safe place indoors.
I don't hand my keys to anyone except the Audi garage.
2) Thief breaks in to the car and uses OBD hardware/software to override alarm etc..
This is what the Port protector will stop.
3) You have Advanced key and the thief uses and RF extender / recorder to mimic your key.
But this is generally a one shot wonder used by joyriders - and I DO NOT have Advanced key for that very reason.

They could also (if they're really desperate) load the car on to a trailer ! but I can't see this happening for a 50K car.

In all scenarios autowatch ghost will stop them.

 

[AudiNutta]

In all scenarios autowatch ghost will stop them.

I spoke to a security company last week and they said the Ghost can cause issues with brand new cars. They said they have an A7 and every 6th/7th time it won’t work, so the customer had to pull the backup they put in place for it to run.. nightmare!

He was honest and rated it 9/10, because there is no guarantee you won’t get issues and it will potentially invalidate warranty.

The tracker this company use is SmarTrak? Unsure what to think about that, they want £800 for fitting and I’d never heard of them before but the company seem to offer really good workmanship.

 

[T-800]

I spoke to a security company last week and they said the Ghost can cause issues with brand new cars. They said they have an A7 and every 6th/7th time it won’t work, so the customer had to pull the backup they put in place for it to run.. nightmare!

He was honest and rated it 9/10, because there is no guarantee you won’t get issues and it will potentially invalidate warranty.

The tracker this company use is SmarTrak? Unsure what to think about that, they want £800 for fitting and I’d never heard of them before but the company seem to offer really good workmanship.

VW widely acknowledge auto watch Ghost and the error it throws in the canbus same with Audi.

Sooner have the Ghost to be honest

Every owner I’ve done coding for have agreed it’s a superb system.

 

[AudiNutta]

VW widely acknowledge auto watch Ghost and the error it throws in the canbus same with Audi.

Sooner have the Ghost to be honest

Every owner I’ve done coding for have agreed it’s a superb system.

That did put me off when he said about error codes it creates, I know it will never cause me an issue but it Audi plug it in then it will stand out a mile away. Warranty is a big thing for me, I need to make sure I look after it.

 

[royalsteve68]

Shouldnt affect the warranty. If car manufacturers improved their security then we wouldn't need extea security.

 

[Alex L]

Just found this on the web....anyone have any experience of this?
It looks like a decent solution to actual theft.

https://www.obdportector.com/portector/

I know the owner of this company and will be using them to install the OBD protector and tracker on our new RS3. They do quite a few car and personal security products so worth dropping them a line. They also have RFID blocking pouches to put the key in to stop thieves from amplifying the signal while it’s parked on my drive.

 

[Dan_DJT]

Very easy to disable the OBD port, only need to cut one wire ( either of the CAN wires ) and fit a hidden switch etc. I have a Arduino based RFID system that isolates the OBD port and prevent engine starts. Will be self installed when I get my RS3 sometime in Nov.