Anyone ever utilized this system ever? You think it's worth it? Has anyone done any research on how effective it is or is not?

I'm gonna look now, figured I'd ask in the meantime.

 

oosik,

It is a wise investment. The only thing you have to be aware of is how many law enforcement vehicles in your area have lojack hookups. A patrol car has to have a seperate monitor to be able to track the signal. Usually, if you see more than 3-4 antennas on a car, they will probably have lowjack. They are usually grouped in a set of 4-6, each being about 8 inches tall.

You MUST call the police or sheriff's office where you live immediately if your car is taken. This will improve your chances of locating it. Lojack does not have an extended range, so it is hit or miss on whether a patrol car will be in the same area and pickup on the signal. But it is alot better than nothing.

Basically, go for it. It's worth it.

(unless you live in BFE where you have a 1 cop town. I doubt they would have spent the money to equip their pickup truck...lol)

 

I have one installed on mine. The advantage was the insurance discount. I live in a high car theft area, and it drop my rates by $200. (Love North Jersey)

 

Where I live LoJack is not supported so I went with Guide Point instead. It uses a GPS to keep track of where the car is located and it can broadcast that info if the car is stolen.

The two systems are similar but there are a few noticeable differences:

• LoJack broadcasts its location like a homing beacon but it requires the cops to have special equipment to pick up the signal and as far as I know it is only supported in major metropolitan areas.
• GuidePoint uses the existing pager network to broadcast its last known location so it works in most areas but if the car is loaded into a sealed container (tractor trailer or cargo ship) and then moved it will not be able to broadcast the correct location (gps can not get a signal).
• Once LoJack is installed it is permanently assigned to that vehicle's VIN. Where as GuidePoint can be transferred to another vehicle but I'm not sure how many people would actually have it uninstalled and placed in their next car.

So both systems have their pros and cons. If you spend most of your time in big cities I'd go with LoJack because the system is harder to circumvent. If you spend more time in rural areas (yes, we have car theft too) then Guide Point makes more sense because LoJack is not supported in these areas.

There used to be a coverage map on the LoJack website that showed which cities are supported but I haven't been able to find it again.

 

My last car was stolen from my current job.
My last car had a alarm but nothing special.
my 8 came with lojack from dealer and then I had early warning added for 400 bucks. So now if my car moves without my lojack early warning remote I keep on my keychain they call me.