I just had Lojack installed recently on our brand new vehicle after researching and considering benefits versus costs associated.

Lojack is a stolen vehicle police recovery system. It's important to remember that this is different from a vehicle alarm system.

Lojack works AFTER the fact, i.e., the system gets activated after the occurrence and reporting of a theft. Traditional alarm systems tend to act before/during the occurrence of a theft. Most folks sometimes tend to confuse between the two systems and think that they are the same.

What does Lojack involve?

The Lojack unit(transmitter) is a randomly hidden unit in your vehicle. It's a small device, about the size of a chalkboard eraser that can be hidden in several different places in your vehicle. During the installation, the VIN (vehicle ID number) is registered with Lojack and the police. The lojack unit is always in the receiving mode, ready to be activated. If your vehicle is stolen, be sure to report the theft first to the police and inform Lojack as well. After reporting of the theft, a signal from a radio tower activates the Lojack in your vehicle. The Lojack unit randomly hidden in your vehicle broadcasts a silent, coded signal to police vehicles equipped with Lojack police tracking computers. The Lojack police tracking computer receives the Lojack signal, identifies your vehicle and leads police directly to the stolen vehicle!

The Lojack unit has been successful even in tracking stolen vehicles transported to Mexico and comes highly recommended by the police department as well. The nice thing is that most insurance companies offer a discount on the comprehensive insurance that can vary from 10 to 35% which helps pay for the cost of the Lojack unit.

I wondered why Lojack does not display a sticker on the vehicle. Lojack seems to believe that the major benefit of the system is that the presence of the Lojack unit is not disclosed to the thief which means a greater likelihood of rapid recovery and minimal damage. Go figure :-)

You can have Lojack installed by your dealer or get a discount like I did by going through an auto broker. Check out http://www.lojack.com for more information.



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