5PTOHH

Is this an option that is installed at the dealership as opposed to the ford plant? Just curious because I looked up my window sticker online and it had everything but low jack on it.

pony racer

dealer installed option

edumspeed

It's installed separately. Also you'll be subscribed for 1 year. After that, you'll have to pay a monthly fee, pay it in four or six payments, or pay it in full. The longer the plan is, the more expensive it gets over time, as opposed to the full price. It's a really good system, and you get free inspections and tests during that time. I've had it in my Mazda since I got it, for about $700 back then (that was the total cost of the system installed with the one year subscription included) I paid afterwards $17 mo. for the service.

db2797

What do you need it for? This car is unstealable due to the PATS system unless you're foolish enough to leave the keys in the car.

NeverNZ

anything can and will be stolen

pony racer

saying the mustang is unstealable is like saying the Titanic is unsinkable..



..we all know how that ended up

Lancel

Security systems just tend to make it more inconvenient to steal your car. SecuriLock eliminates a basic hot wire job, and only a well-prepared thief is going to be able to defeat it, but that only assumes they intend to drive it off under its own power, and it may be time intensive (more risk of a cop getting suspicious or the owner coming out). The Active Security package is just an alarm, which would alert nearby cops (if there are any), you (if you hear it), or parking lot security (if it exists in that parking lot). All the above can be thwarted by the lack of human security and a tow truck. Lo Jack is just another measure to make it more impractical and riskier for a car thief.

I wouldn't call a car unstealable. That just makes them want to prove you wrong.

A smash and grab is probably more likely if they just want the money, but the best way to avoid any theft problems is just to play it smart. Lock the doors at all times, never leave your keys unattended, never leave the car running unattended, and don't leave valuables in plain view if at all possible (but if you must, use the console, glove box, or the trunk to put them in. Some thieves will want to check what you have hiding under that blanket and will assume that it's something valuable).

As for me, I got the Security Package partially for HIDs and largely because I don't own a garage, but I'll pretty definitely hear the alarm go off.

Five Oh Brian

I had LoJack installed in my '03 Mach 1. The allure of LoJack, IMO, is that a car thief would not know the car has LoJack, so they steal the car, then get caught red-handed by the police in less than an hour. This gets the thief arrested and off the street; justice served. Normal car alarms just scare off the thief. LoJack gets them caught.

db2797

And saying that Lowjack is going to "protect" you is like saying a rain coat will protect you from a bomb.

If a crook is smart enough to defeat the PATS system, you don't think they are going to be smart enough to defeat Lowjack? Jeez...give me a break. I meant as unstealable as a car can be. Obviously I didn't mean it literally. Of course a thief can jack up your car and destroy it by towing it, or they can sit out in the driveway for 20 minutes breaking into it first, and then reprogramming PATS. What I meant was that Lowjack isn't going to magically give you your car back if it's stolen.

99% of all cars are stolen because of opportunity. The keys left in the car. The vast majority of the rest are stolen by professionals that are good enough to hotwire it. Those guys won't be able to steal it with PATS.

And the final, most sophisticated few left, that would be smart enough to defeat PATS, will also be able to defeat the Lowjack system quite easily.

It's a waste of money. By the time you get your car back, after the thief has stripped it and destroyed it, you might as well have never gotten it back to begin with.

No thanks...I'm not going to waste my money on a raincoat that won't do "jack" but instead MAYBE giving me back a totaled car.

db2797

How many of those cars were stolen due to keys being left in the car though, or from an easy hotwire job though? And I think with the prevalence of knowledge of Lowjack, the smart thieves would assume a car has lowjack.

It's like those bait cars that cops use. Do you ever think they catch a professional thief? I highly doubt it. They're smart enough to realize what those cars are. But since 99% of all cars stolen are opportunistic, by scaring away all the amateurs, a police dept. can make their statistics look real good. At the end of the day, the very small percentage of professionals still exist and are still the same real problem and threat to those of us that aren't stupid enough to leave our doors wide open and keys in the car.

edumspeed

The effectiveness of Lojack is speed. The sooner you notice your car isn't there, the best probability to recover it intact. It's not a "useless coat". It's just another form of protection. If it was just ineffective, why so many companies with fleet vehicles have it? Of course, it's not 100% fault free, but what is in this world? Death only. And they provide an insurance plan if your car can't be recovered.