Alarms and Immobilisers
Alarm systems can make a difference to what you have
to pay. On a UK Spec 2003 Boxster S, a factory fit immobiliser and
alarm system is expected, and fortunately Porsche provide an excellent
one as standard – but be wary of import models that don’t have
this feature.
Trackers
You may also get a small reduction from many
insurers if you fit a tracker device. In fact, in our trials the best
insurance deal we could get didn’t give a discount for a tracker but
it was still considerably cheaper than the next best deal; We still
recommend a tracker though – even if your pride and joy is well
insured, you don’t want to lose it, and for a car like this the
extra cost of a tracker (about £500 fitted) is a small price to pay.
Typically Tracker systems come in three versions –
standard, alert and GPS. The basic models will start working once you
discover that your vehicle is missing.
The Tracker alert models will detect a movement of the car
without its keys being used; this can be a major benefit if you leave
your car out of site for any period of time. But beware, if you
don’t take good care of your keys, including spare ones, you could
lose the car all too easily despite your expensive tracking system.
And you won’t even bother to check whether your car’s still there
because you’ll be convinced that you’d have been alerted had
anything happened. Alert models cost only slightly more than the
standard systems and, if you take appropriate precautions, offer
considerably more protection.
The most sophisticated systems offer all the
benefits of the Alert models, and use GPS technology for even
more accurate location of the vehicle. These cost a few hundred pounds
more than the Alert systems, a premium that might be slightly more
than you want to pay.