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Mobile Guardian - Anyone have it/know if it's worth it?

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Main Forum' started by cg, Jun 29, 2005.

  1. cg

    cg New Member

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    Hi there, just picked up our Prius yesterday (*very* exciting!) and today am so glad we told the dealership we wouldn't decide on any of the extra offers just yet (thanks to this site and autoforumz, we now know that the $1995 extended warranty and $925 autocare quotes are not only above MSRP but just plain not competitive. We'll probably just get it through this site.)

    One other thing the dealership pitched was Mobile Guardian, which they said they just started to offer and enables you to track and/or immobilize the car in case of theft. At $999 for the installation of the device (which comes with 15 "free" locates, then you need to purchase any additional), we wondered it it's worth it. Data on Prius theft seems to be scarce at this point. Can it even be started without a key? Are there better prices out there for it?

    The technology is intriguing, but a thousand bucks is a lot. Anyone out there have experience with this one?

    Thanks!
     
    #1 cg, Jun 29, 2005
  2. onerpm

    onerpm New Member

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    not sure why you'd wanna spend a grand to gamble your car might get stolen...on the remote chance it is stolen, at that point just pay the deductible to your insurance company.

    rob
     
    #2 onerpm, Jun 29, 2005
  3. ceric

    ceric New Member

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    Three reasons someone wants to steal your Prius:
    - joyriders No sure a Prius is considered as "cool" in youngsters' eyes these days. Joyriders probably don't want to be caught in one. Bad for their reputation, so to speak.
    - chop shops: They usually go after vehicles with high presence in market such as Accord, Camry, Explorer, F-150, Civic, etc.
    - exporters: So far, those guys only interested in high-end vehicles.

    Anyway, IMHO, the risk of your Prius getting stolen is very low. Even if you don't lock it, the "thief" probably would not know how to drive it away. As 'onerpm' said, why do you want your stolen vehicle recovered? I have seen my friend's car recovered after being stolen. Not a pretty sight. I would rather they never find it provided that you carry comprehensive insurance.
     
    #3 ceric, Jun 29, 2005
  4. DanMan32

    DanMan32 Senior Member

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    Well, joyriders can forget it, even if they did find it cool to drive the Prius. Not having the key is like not having the computers installed.
    Not only is the keyfob checked to power up the car, it is again checked in order for the HV to go into READY mode. The HV has a shared secret link to the immobilizer, so they do become paired once installed. There's no way to hotwire the ICE, and even if you could get the ECM to run ICE, you need MG1 to move the car. I suppose you could mechanically jam MG1 and get some motion, but you wouldn't get reverse.
     
    #4 DanMan32, Jun 30, 2005
  5. cg

    cg New Member

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    Thanks for the replies, most appreciated. My car insurance company just informed me they don't offer any discount for vehicle tracking devices (which would have been the only thing that would make economic sense) so that clinches it!
     
    #5 cg, Jun 30, 2005
  6. jeromep

    jeromep Member

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    Even if your insurance carrier offered "discounts" (I use that term lightly) there wouldn't be enough discount offered per term for the length of your ownership, regardless of how long it is, for you to even break even on the purchase of that guardian product.
     
    #6 jeromep, Jun 30, 2005
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