Thought would share this modification.
Been looking at a tracker for some time but considered initial cost and ongoing 'service' costs a bit high.

Found a unit from China for £22 and after looking at features thought it was worth a punt.
Unit arrived in a very professional box and instructions were not too Chinglish.

Sorted a PAYG SIM from Giffgaff with min £10 credit. One advantage of the Giffgaff SIM is that provided there is credit on the account it stays live, unlike other service providers.

Unit duly arrived and set up on desk to ensure all worked well before installing in the vehicle.
Once satisfied with functions and set-up installed in the car which took about half hour.

Used piggy-back fuse from FS26 (Diagnostic socket feed) in fuse box in passenger footwell so always live.
Consumption in milli-amps so no problems discharging car battery too much.
Hid unit in the same foot well area with the GPS and GSM antennas mounted under the speaker grill on the dash.
That was it, all covertly installed and working well.

All control is is SMS, to locate you just 'phone' the unit, call gives about 3 rings then hangs-up.
Within a minute or so you receive a text with full location information.
This is in a URL which opens google maps (from a smart phone) to show street level location of vehicle.

There are many other commands even one where you can 'kill' the vehicle when supplied relay is installed in appropriate vehicle circuit. I didn't install this as thought it could be dangerous if activated when vehicle was moving at speed, it would give the thief a shock though !!

Unit can be found on amazon at http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B003XDN...TE_3p_dp_1

Having 'lost' the vehicle in airport car parks on occasion would also assist location finding ! Freelander 2 XS+ TD4 Manual, Stornoway Grey
Freelander 2 GL Manual 2012,

There have been discussions and debates on this topic before and I thought that the general consensus was that trackers are not worth fitting even to expensive cars for reasons such as
-they usually end up in a freight container so that the signal can't get out.
-the police don't see it as their job to retrieve stolen vehicles any more
-you can buy a signal blocker on ebay
-unless the unit is self powered then they can remove the battery to deactivate it
-the thieves know all of the tracker hiding places on cars worth stealing anyway. 3 x FL1 2 manual + 1 auto
5 x FL2 4 manual + 1 auto
Now Discovery Sport P250 MHEV SE

Are Freelanders easier to steal than other Landrovers? Or are they usually taken after stealing the keys? Just wondering as I hope to buy one in the near future

Freelanders are harder to steal than most, because keys can't be programmed via the OBDC port. Really only two ways to steal an FL2 - steal the key first, or load the car onto the back of a truck.

Fully agree with Dorsetfreelander that there are negative aspects of trackers when a serious thief really wants the vehicle, whatever man can do .... man can undo !!

However for just a few quid I thought this unit was a worthwhile small investment as an extra piece of kit which may help should the vehicle be stolen by the perhaps not so professional.

Clearly all normal precautions should always be followed to prevent theft .... just something that could help when one perhaps has a senior moment and leaves an opportunity open !! Freelander 2 XS+ TD4 Manual, Stornoway Grey
Freelander 2 GL Manual 2012,

Of course the other thing can be make your car impossible to nick and they will just trash it for the hell of it or set it on fire after trying.

In GENERAL theives will steal a high value vehicle, usually with keys (as in the break into your house to get the keys) or through reprogramming another key that enables them to start yours. Once stolen they will usually park it up in a street where they can observe it for 48 hours to see if the Police find it as it has a tracking device fitted. If they dont find it then it is disposed of, either shipped abroad, broken for spares or cloned. It is a rarity these days that they are taken for a "joy ride" especially the high value vehicles.
If you fit the extra relay that shuts the car down you could activate it when you know through your gps data that it is stationary, based on 2 identical consecutive location returns in a small time period. I would then drive to within 1 mile of the car and then ring the police to meet you to enable you to recover your Freelander.
Regards
Andy

Just been talking to my son. He said that his Porsche has a tracker fitted but when he insured it the reduction offered for having a tracker was minimal and a lot less than the cost of the subscription to activate it. He also said that he knows a farmer who had trackers fitted to a lot of his gear and had a quad bike stolen. He found that the bike was located about a mile away at a "travellers" camp and phoned the police. Their response was that they were too busy and that he should just put in an insurance claim.
The reality therefore, is that there will always a more important job for the police (even more so with budget cut-backs) so don't rely on them for help. 3 x FL1 2 manual + 1 auto
5 x FL2 4 manual + 1 auto
Now Discovery Sport P250 MHEV SE

I've heard a few stories like that regarding travellers' camps. I suspect part of the problem is that the police would need to go in in force, possibly with dog handlers and armed backup, to many such locations. However it would be interesting to see what the insurers made of the story. Do the police have a duty to act? If so the insurers could sue them I suppose. Ex AA Series III LWB Safari - Gone
300TDi Disco (bought new - terrible car) sent back after 18 months
Freelander 1 Estate - leased, given back at end of lease
200TDi Disco (bought from a mate with 100,000 on the clock) - Gone
Disco 2 TD5 - sold and exported to France
FR2 TD4 GS - Gone
FR2 SD4 HSE - Now changed for a DS
New model ex-demo Evoque S 180 in white
Unable to order a new DS, so gave up. Now have a Volvo S90 Recharge.

You won't get much help from the police except to issue a crime number.

www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/cars/article-3...-cuts.html 3 x FL1 2 manual + 1 auto
5 x FL2 4 manual + 1 auto
Now Discovery Sport P250 MHEV SE

Past master wrote:

I've heard a few stories like that regarding travellers' camps.

There was a case where a Unimog fitted with a Hiab crane had been stolen from the owners yard up North, they had used to onboard crane to lifted out the main gate posts of the premises so they could drive it away, unfortunately for the thieves the owner had had one stolen before and his insurance insisted his new one had a tracker, hence they found this Unimog the next morning, it was parked up on a travellers site, they said, the travellers that is, that the vehicle had appeared during the night and the thieves had parked it there to make it look as though they had nicked it. LOL