Security
Thatcham S5 trackers
£549
Vehicle security
Thatcham S7 trackers
A Thatcham S7 tracker is monitored GPS tracking, certified by Thatcham to Category S7, and it is what most insurers mean when they ask you to fit a tracker. Check your policy for the category yours wants.
Price £449
What an S7 tracker is
S7 is one of Thatcham's security categories. Thatcham tests and certifies the equipment itself, and Category S7 covers what it calls asset location systems: a concealed unit that reports the vehicle's position to a monitoring centre, so the car can be found if it is taken.
The category matters more than the brand. When an insurer asks for a tracker, it almost always names a Thatcham category rather than a product, because the category is the thing that has been independently tested. Anything sold as a tracker without that certification is a different product answering a different question.
S7 has no driver tag. The system tracks the vehicle, and there is nothing to carry, clip to your keys or remember. If you want the car to know whether it is you driving it, that is Category S5, and it sits one step up.
When you need one
Most people fitting an S7 are doing it because an insurer or a finance company asked them to, usually after a renewal, a change of car, or a quote that came back higher than expected. If you have a letter or a policy document naming a category, bring it. It tells us in one line which product you actually need.
Plenty of people fit one without being asked, on a car that is desirable enough to be targeted. Recovery is not the only value here; the monitoring centre knowing where the car is within minutes is what makes it recoverable at all.
If your policy specifically names S5, an S7 will not satisfy it. We would rather tell you that before you buy than after.
How we fit it
The unit goes in concealed, wired into the vehicle's own loom rather than hung off a socket. Where it goes is deliberately not something we publish. A tracker anyone can find in the first place they look is not doing its job.
Once it is in, we test it with the monitoring centre before you leave, so you know the system reports properly on your own car rather than just that a box has been screwed in somewhere.
The work is done by an IMI-approved technician trained by The OBD Company, on dealer-level tools rather than a generic cable.
Your certificate is emailed to you by the monitoring platform once the system is fitted and tested. Your insurer wants that document, and the platform issues it rather than us, so it arrives by email rather than over the counter.
What's included
- Thatcham-certified (Category S7) tracking unit
- Concealed installation into the vehicle's own wiring
- Live test with the monitoring centre before you leave
- First year's monitoring subscription
- Certificate emailed to you once the system is fitted and tested
- The app set up on your phone before you go
Why us for this
We fit ScorpionTrack, made by Scorpion Automotive in Chorley, and Gecko Track. We are an authorised installer for both. Which one goes in depends on your car and what your policy asks for, and we will tell you which we are proposing before you commit.
Fitting happens at our own unit at 85 Bogmoor Road in Glasgow, directly across from the Shieldhall test centre, not at the kerbside outside your house. A tracker install involves getting into a car's wiring properly, and that is workshop work.
The monitoring subscription has to stay live for the cover to mean anything. The first year is included in the price, and after that it renews annually. We say this up front because a lapsed subscription is a tracker that has stopped being a tracker, and insurers do check.
What you pay
£449 fitted, including the first year's monitoring.
What moves it is the car rather than the day. Some vehicles take longer to get into properly, and a few need a different unit entirely. If yours is one of them we will say so when you send the registration, not once it is on the ramp.
Common questions
Will this satisfy my insurer?
It meets the tracker requirement set by most insurers, but check your policy. The requirement is set per insurer and some name Category S5 specifically. Send us what your insurer wrote and we will tell you whether S7 covers it.
What is the difference between S5 and S7?
S7 tracks the vehicle. S5 does that and adds driver recognition tags, so if the car moves without a tag present the monitoring centre treats it as a theft in progress and calls you. S5 is what insurers tend to ask for on higher-value cars.
Do I have to keep paying after the first year?
Yes. Monitoring is a subscription and it has to stay live for your insurance requirement to keep being met. The first year is in the price and it renews annually after that.
Where does the tracker go?
Concealed, and wired into the car's own loom. We do not publish the locations we use, for the obvious reason.
Will fitting it affect my warranty?
The unit wires into the vehicle's existing circuits rather than replacing anything, and nothing is cut that cannot be put back. If your car is under a manufacturer warranty with specific conditions, tell us and we will work to them.
Can you move it to my next car?
Usually yes. It is a fit and a re-registration with the monitoring platform rather than a new system, so it costs less than starting again. Ask when you change the car.
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Next step
Let's get you a price
Tell us what you drive and what you want done to it. We will come back with a price for your car, not a range off a chart.