my vehicle was stolen
is it expensive to have to pay for the extra phone every month?
10-22-07, 09:07 PM
#18
Lexus Champion
Thread Starter
the phone has a standby battery life of about a week or two so i would have to recharge the phone for a couple of hours every ten days.
please see the link on how the gps feature on the phone works. the nav system in our 2is is not compatible and cannot be used to track the car. yes lojack is probably better overall but it has limitations as well.
i am almost sure the thief was armed, i heard with a sawed off shotgun. i was aware of this before i started out. i cannot say why it did not deter me but i can tell you this: the thief does not know me and has never seen me or my car before. the only time i was scared was when we specifically drove towards a known location to check to see if the thief and the car were actually there at the time according to one of his friends. as i said, we called the police to go with us or meet us there and they said call us when you see the car.
can't say more about how the car was stolen except the thief had the car key, he stole that too. i have recovered that key.
looking back, i say i would do it again, but i would be better prepared. and i know how to better deal with police. i learned some things on how to be more prepared and ready but i can't get into those details. bottom line is the police didn't appear to want to help much at first, they asked too many questions and hesitated. i was so afraid the car would leave the state or get destroyed and ditched that i had to do something immediately. i called the insurance company right away on saturday morning and they said call the adjuster with the details on monday. so that left me from saturday morning until monday morning to do my thing. i firmly believe the pressure we put on the thief forced him out in the open and kept him on the move (appears at least 100 miles extra on the car....and some gas was put in the tank) when he could have layed down until we were exhausted or gave up. that's the part i'm leaving out, the details on how we made it known to him that we were looking for him constantly. i'm pretty sure he heard.
i don't think i would be giving anything away by saying hide the cellphone so it cannot be readily found. if it can transmit for another hour or two, you'll find him if he's not moving too fast. my current setup has a 5-10 minute limitation meaning you can only get a single fix every 5 minutes. makes it way more difficult but by no means impossible. i realize you can go a long ways in 5 minutes.
please see the link on how the gps feature on the phone works. the nav system in our 2is is not compatible and cannot be used to track the car. yes lojack is probably better overall but it has limitations as well.
i am almost sure the thief was armed, i heard with a sawed off shotgun. i was aware of this before i started out. i cannot say why it did not deter me but i can tell you this: the thief does not know me and has never seen me or my car before. the only time i was scared was when we specifically drove towards a known location to check to see if the thief and the car were actually there at the time according to one of his friends. as i said, we called the police to go with us or meet us there and they said call us when you see the car.
can't say more about how the car was stolen except the thief had the car key, he stole that too. i have recovered that key.
looking back, i say i would do it again, but i would be better prepared. and i know how to better deal with police. i learned some things on how to be more prepared and ready but i can't get into those details. bottom line is the police didn't appear to want to help much at first, they asked too many questions and hesitated. i was so afraid the car would leave the state or get destroyed and ditched that i had to do something immediately. i called the insurance company right away on saturday morning and they said call the adjuster with the details on monday. so that left me from saturday morning until monday morning to do my thing. i firmly believe the pressure we put on the thief forced him out in the open and kept him on the move (appears at least 100 miles extra on the car....and some gas was put in the tank) when he could have layed down until we were exhausted or gave up. that's the part i'm leaving out, the details on how we made it known to him that we were looking for him constantly. i'm pretty sure he heard.
i don't think i would be giving anything away by saying hide the cellphone so it cannot be readily found. if it can transmit for another hour or two, you'll find him if he's not moving too fast. my current setup has a 5-10 minute limitation meaning you can only get a single fix every 5 minutes. makes it way more difficult but by no means impossible. i realize you can go a long ways in 5 minutes.
10-24-07, 06:49 PM
#19
Lexus Champion
Thread Starter
so i now have a hidden cellphone in my car that can't be found unless you strip search the car. i've also added my s/o phone to be located. just did a hit on both of those phones, you can see the green spot on the far right is her car parked in the parking lot, you can almost see what space the car is parked in, accuracy is down to 30 feet. in the middle of the picture, you can see where she is located inside the mall, not as accurate, about 100 yards. you get varying degrees of accuracy each time, based on the phone, conditions, etc. sometimes it is a few feet, other times less often several hundred yards. either way, i have a pretty good idea where she and the car are located, right from my home (or anywhere internet access) or using my own cellphone and it's built-in map software; 24/7 as long as those phones are transmitting.
there is a link in there explaining everything 
10-24-07, 10:48 PM
#24
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10-25-07, 11:42 AM
#26
I’m not sure that is true. The device is about the size of a pack of cigarettes and is placed in different places on each car. In fact, when the Lojack people install it, the owner is not allowed to observe. Also, with Lojack:
• The police are the ones who find your car, not you.
• The device never needs recharging.
• You don’t pay for idle cell phones; the Lojack cost is a one-time expense.
• The transmitter is well-hidden, so the thief never really knows the car is so equipped.
• Many insurance companies give you a discount on your premiums where it pays for itself.
I have Lojack in both my cars. The one for our IS cost $850. With our getting a $400 per year discount on insurance (USAA), it will pay for itself in about two years. And I don’t have to risk my life chasing after a car thief.
In fact the newer system I have on my G37 has a motion sensor (alerted if a little thing I attach to my fob is not present), so if the car is moved I will be called even though I don’t know the car has been stolen. If they confirm it wasn’t me they call the cops. So as soon as the car is even slightly moved the cops are on their way after a call to me. There would be no time for even a professional thief to find and disarm the two devices.
• The police are the ones who find your car, not you.
• The device never needs recharging.
• You don’t pay for idle cell phones; the Lojack cost is a one-time expense.
• The transmitter is well-hidden, so the thief never really knows the car is so equipped.
• Many insurance companies give you a discount on your premiums where it pays for itself.
I have Lojack in both my cars. The one for our IS cost $850. With our getting a $400 per year discount on insurance (USAA), it will pay for itself in about two years. And I don’t have to risk my life chasing after a car thief.
In fact the newer system I have on my G37 has a motion sensor (alerted if a little thing I attach to my fob is not present), so if the car is moved I will be called even though I don’t know the car has been stolen. If they confirm it wasn’t me they call the cops. So as soon as the car is even slightly moved the cops are on their way after a call to me. There would be no time for even a professional thief to find and disarm the two devices.
10-25-07, 04:14 PM
#30
Lexus Champion
Thread Starter