Two-Two Posted March 21, 2017 Share Posted March 21, 2017 CarLock Review I recently fitted a CarLock GPS tracking device to the Supra and having had it for a few weeks thought it would be helpful to share a review with the forum. You can find full details of the unit at the website http://www.carlock.co/ What does it do? The CarLock title is a misnomer; do not expect this gadget to let you stop a felon as they speed off in your pride and joy. It is a GPS tracking device, it will alert you via a smartphone app if the car is tampered with or moved. In the event that the car is stolen you should be able to tell plod where it has been removed to. It also gives you a score out of 100 each month for how responsible your driving is, points are deducted for harsh cornering or excessive acceleration As the unit runs off the car battery it also gives you live update if the battery charge level, useful if the Supra is not your daily commute. The app logs each journey you take showing distance travelled, time taken and plots each journey on a map. It can also navigate you to your car if you are uncertain where you have left it. Fitting The unit is designed to plug into an OBD2 port. As the Supra does not have such a thing you also need to purchase the optional adaptor (£10) which can then be used to power the unit. As I was having my car serviced at the same time the installation was done by my garage. The unit sits behind one of the trim panels in the driver foot well and provides a good signal. You can move the unit between different vehicles or use multiple units to track more than one vehicle. Insurance The website indicates that insurers might offer discounts to you if you fit a CarLock. Admiral, my current insurer, does not. In fact, when I asked them about this they were insistent that you inform them if the unit is fitted as it counts as a modification under the policy. Cost The unit itself retails at £99 plus £8 delivery. Your first month’s subscription is included after which you can pay £5.95 a month or £69.95 per annum. Conclusion I have had a couple of “false positives” when the unit has decided that it needs to report the car is being moved even when I have scheduled it not to monitor but otherwise the experience has been good. You have the reassurance of knowing where the Supra is at all times plus its battery level. It would be nice to find an insurance company that offers a discount on its premium for having one fitted but that was never my main reason for buying. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dim Sum Posted March 21, 2017 Share Posted March 21, 2017 Does the driving score effect anything or is it just something for the owner to look at as data? If I were to drive the Supra I would let me hair down a little bit since my daily is a 1.25 zetec lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank Bullitt Posted March 21, 2017 Share Posted March 21, 2017 I love this idea, does anyone know how long this product/company has been active for? If it's all relatively new i'd be concerned that they drop all support 2 years down the road once they have made enough money. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Two-Two Posted March 21, 2017 Author Share Posted March 21, 2017 Does the driving score effect anything or is it just something for the owner to look at as data? If I were to drive the Supra I would let me hair down a little bit since my daily is a 1.25 zetec lol No effect on anything. The idea is that you can plug the device into your teenagers car and give them a bollocking if they go mad on the motorway [emoji2] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Two-Two Posted March 21, 2017 Author Share Posted March 21, 2017 I love this idea, does anyone know how long this product/company has been active for? If it's all relatively new i'd be concerned that they drop all support 2 years down the road once they have made enough money. Hi A quick Google search shows the company was founded in 2014 in Slovenia. Looks like they guys that invented the device got the capital to put it into production. With the number of countries they cover I would hope they will be in operation for a few years to come. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jellybean Posted March 22, 2017 Share Posted March 22, 2017 Only reservation I have about these units is if my car is stolen and hidden in an underground car park , container ; rendering the unit useless I presume you can use the unit to monitor your car if it was in for a service ? How easy is it for me to hack your account , for example if I acquired your gmail & password I am in ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dnk Posted March 22, 2017 Share Posted March 22, 2017 Also could its data be used against you say if you were being a tad naughty, back up evidence for a prosecution perhaps Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Two-Two Posted March 22, 2017 Author Share Posted March 22, 2017 Only reservation I have about these units is if my car is stolen and hidden in an underground car park , container ; rendering the unit useless I presume you can use the unit to monitor your car if it was in for a service ? How easy is it for me to hack your account , for example if I acquired your gmail & password I am in ? Lack of signal is the Achilles heal of all GPS devices. Each unit comes with a unique code number that enables you to log into the device using the mobile phone app or PC application, just getting gmail and password wouldn't be of any use to a would be thief. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Two-Two Posted March 22, 2017 Author Share Posted March 22, 2017 Also could its data be used against you say if you were being a tad naughty, back up evidence for a prosecution perhaps You can disable the recording of driving data on the phone app. I don't think the unit has any on board memory that stores this information independently. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dnk Posted March 22, 2017 Share Posted March 22, 2017 You can disable the recording of driving data on the phone app. I don't think the unit has any on board memory that stores this information independently. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jam127 Posted March 22, 2017 Share Posted March 22, 2017 If its plugged in to the obd port would the thief see this and simply unplug? Just a thought. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank Bullitt Posted March 22, 2017 Share Posted March 22, 2017 Only reservation I have about these units is if my car is stolen and hidden in an underground car park , container ; rendering the unit useless Are any GPS trackers able to get around this issue? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Two-Two Posted March 22, 2017 Author Share Posted March 22, 2017 If its plugged in to the obd port would the thief see this and simply unplug? Just a thought. Yes, but due to the age of the Supra it does not have an OBD2 port so the fact that you have to wire it up using an adaptor enables you to do as I did and hide it under the trim panels under the drivers foot-well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jellybean Posted March 23, 2017 Share Posted March 23, 2017 Are any GPS trackers able to get around this issue? Just VHF/UHF Tracker Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank Bullitt Posted March 23, 2017 Share Posted March 23, 2017 Like this? http://www.trackerdirect.co.uk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jellybean Posted March 23, 2017 Share Posted March 23, 2017 Yep that's the ones , you cannot get them in Ireland unfortunately Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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