Considering the amount of money you spent to buy your dream car, it makes perfect sense to buy the right tracking device for cars. However, it is not wise to go on a shopping spree and settle for the first device you see. There are many things that should be taken into consideration including security, device reliability, and compatibility before you place an order for a random device.
Below is a short checklist of crucial elements to look for when buying car tracking devices:
Table of Contents
Security
Tracking devices collect data about the location of your car together with the details of your daily trips. This, together with the personal data provided in the app, is extremely sensitive and requires complete privacy. This is why it is a must to check the security level that the application offers.
Information from your car flows from the tracking device, through servers, and into the car information app. Make sure you look into the level of data encryption that the vendor provides across the whole process. Is the device tamper-proof? Is your data secured while it flows from the servers to the app? Although apps and connected devices are always prone to vulnerability, you have to ensure that you settle for a tracking device for cars that adheres to the best practices in data security.
Compatibility
Something you should never forget checking when shopping for a tracking device is its compatibility with the model and make of your car. By doing so, you can be sure that your chosen device can collect all pieces of information as promised and use all its features without any issue. Checking the compatibility will also give you the peace of mind knowing that the device won’t compromise the overall performance of your car. It is especially important in the case of luxury cars that are often equipped with complex electronics. The manufacturer of the device must verify that they conducted thorough tests on using the device on the model of your vehicle.
User Experience
A tracking device for cars comes with an app that gives you all the details that the device collected. Location alerts and live maps can all be accessed using this app. It is ideal for the app to provide a smooth and intuitive user experience. It should also be easy for you to find any information you need and want without causing confusion. When purchasing a tracking device for cars at a store, you can ask the sales person to show a demo of the application and how this works. On the other hand, if you are getting the device online, check reviews about the app to get a good idea about its performance.
Reliability
There is nothing wrong about paying attention to quality and this also applies to tracking devices. There are a lot of cheaply priced tracking devices but their software and hardware might not follow the highest levels of quality standards. Vendors might also find it hard to replace or repair these devices. Check if the device is OEM grade to know if the device is meant to work seamlessly with every car model. See also if it is easy to contact the customer service team. The last thing you want is to have a faulty device that you cannot repair or replace.
Remember these key elements when buying a tracking device for cars.