Imagine you buy a car. Since your car will be one of the most expensive assets in your life, you would be willing to ensure it receives the best possible care and service. So you will take it away for periodic servicing, embed the car with the latest technology, and stay up to date with all its general upkeeping activities. Is that all you need to be doing for your car? If your answer is yes, think again!
The pressure that comes with owning a car entails the fear of theft. And it is justified anxiety, given the times we live in. Moreover, all of us have the desire to enjoy the best driving experience possible. So while our cars may come with all the latest trimmings, it still would not be a complete package until it has a GPS vehicle tracker installed.
There are many benefits that come with a vehicle tracking system. From route planning, fuel monitoring, theft prevention to location tracking and remote locking/unlocking, the advantages are plenty. Apart from that, it also allows you to keep track of all the upcoming maintenance appointments, and stay informed about engine health. And when you venture into the market to buy a GPS-based vehicle tracking system, you will realize that there are many considerations that you need to keep in mind: device compatibility, reliability, cost, etc.
We understand that as a novice, this will be a lot to take in. That is why we have come up with a great catalog of features that you should look for while buying a GPS tracker for your car.
Table of Contents
Device Compatibility
This is a very crucial factor to understand when buying a tracking device for your car. The device must be compatible with your car model for it to function effectively. When you invest in a device, it must be able to deliver all the information and metrics that you may need by procuring it from the vehicle. There are many different makes and models of cars out there. And while the technology these days is such that it is a one-size-fits-all deal for GPS trackers for cars, you must confirm that the device does not expend any negative impact on your vehicle’s performance.
There may be certain devices that only work with particular makes and models of cars. Verify that the GPS tracker you go for supports your specific car. Moreover, you must also ensure that the device has been extensively tested on the model of your car.
Quality
When investing in any electronic item, you must make sure that you end up with a reliable product. Buying a device that may be cheap in price but does not match up to quality standards in terms of hardware as well as software turns out to be a big disappointment as a consumer.
Moreover, when you skim over quality, you put your vehicle at risk. The vehicle tracker is wired within your car and so, poor quality can hamper the working and efficiency of your vehicle significantly. It also turns out to be problematic when, due to cheap quality, these trackers end up crashing sooner than expected. In such cases, it gets difficult to find a replacement in the market.
A measure of the quality of the brand you are purchasing also comes from the kind of service and customer support they offer. Verified and established brands will be happy to lend out a helping hand to you, should your device turn out to be faulty.
User-friendly
In order to access the data that is driven by the vehicle tracker, you will require a certain platform and app. Your main interaction is going to be with the app, and not directly with the vehicle tracking system. And a good VTS comes with an interactive and useful platform for you to manage your vehicle remotely.
In this era, time is money. So a GPS tracker that takes up too much of your time and effort in finding and comprehending relevant information would prove to be a bad investment. The user experience of the app must be smooth and easy to approach. In this way, you would be able to save time on locating details related to your vehicle.
Also, a car tracker that gives out detailed reports about all the parameters and metrics you have established is the one you should go for. When you go out to buy a GPS tracking device, ensure that you receive a proper tutorial about the functionalities and operation of the app.
Data Backup
It is true that there may be times when you have to take your vehicle in the hinterlands. In such places, there is limited to no connectivity. When that happens, you may be forced to believe that a GPS tracker is of no use in remote locations. However, that cannot be farther from the truth.
In reality, a good vehicle tracking system comes with memory cards and has ample data backed up. So if you are out on the road, and the internet connectivity goes haywire, rest assured, the information gathered by the VTS so far will stay intact. When you get back to a better network area, you can regain the data stored previously.
For your personal vehicle, this comes in handy when either you decide to loan out your car to someone or have to check the daily activities of your driver. So the entire trip data is logged into the device and is then subsequently transmitted to the servers as soon as there is connectivity.
Safe Network
There is a lot of exchange of data that takes place when you deploy a vehicle tracker. The device accumulates a good amount of data regarding the current location, distance traveled, etc. This data is then passed onto servers that relay the information to the platform (app) you use. Although the flow of data is unilateral, it is still prone to security breaches and interception.
Moreover, the data that is supplied into the servers demands encryption, since it contains all vehicle-related details, as well as certain personal information. It is important that the best possible data security features are present in the device that you choose to buy. It is also necessary to buy a GPS vehicle tracker that is tamper-proof to the highest degree.
These are the qualities that your vehicle tracking system must have in order to prove the most effective and to serve your purpose. Now when you will go out into the market to hunt for a good GPS tracker for a car, remember to go through this guide before you zero in on a device and a provider.
