HISTORY
The Vanquish I (One) was originally fitted with a Tracker horizon tracking device, from the factory (UK registered cars only), this was followed by the early DB9’s, the first cars to come from the Gaydon factory. When Vantage was launched, Aston abandoned the Horizon system and went with a tracking company called Autotxt. This was quite unique at the time as it connected to the vehicle’s data bus or CAN system and allowed the CAN system to inhibit the starting of the car when it was put into alert mode by the tracker alarm response centre. It was also clever in the respect that you could use the Bluetooth connection on your phone rather than carrying around the rather bulky driver tags. However, they are now beginning to give problems which we’ve explained further here. These were fitted up to the middle of 2013. From there Vodafone devices were production line fitted up to the end of 2016. As of January 1st 2017 they were then a cost option; however, quite a number of the limited edition cars never had the option of a tracker being fitted.
REGULATION CHANGES
Thatcham changed the regulations on stolen vehicle tracking in January 2019. Gone are the Category 5 and 6 systems, although they are still running and approved, the new categories are S5 and S7. The S5 roughly replaces the Category 5 albeit with one difference, there is no longer a requirement for starter inhibit. You still have ADR tags (automated driver recognition), that will alert to the alarm response centre should you happen to forget to take the tag with you on a drive, or should an undesirable steal your car! The S7 differs in the fact that it doesn’t have the ADR tags with it, so it acts as a reactive tracker. What I mean by this is that you as the vehicle owner have to inform the Police and then advise the tracking company that your car has gone missing, something that may be more difficult if you don’t notice the car has disappeared, if you’re on holiday etc. For that reason we always recommend our customers to have the S5 for that added security.
OPTIONS
Whether you need to have a new tracker fitted or replace one that has gone faulty, we can help. As well as the news post here, I have detailed some different options below. Please use our contact us page for more information.
We offer two different manufacturers to our Aston Martin clients, the first from Trackstar who offer both the S5 and S7 in their portfolio. With these we can transfer any existing subscription from the old Autotxt system that was factory fitted from 2005-2013 to the new Trackstar system. We have also now partnered with Scorpion Automotive to offer their class leading security products.
As part of the installation service, we also ensure that the old Autotxt (Eurowatch) or Tracker Horizon is disconnected completely so as not to cause any ongoing battery drain or non starting issues.
COSTS
The costs for the trackers, including installation, are as follows;
Scorpion S5+ (includes immobilisation*) – £749 inc VAT and 1 year subscription
(* This can either be tracker tag not present in the car = no start. Or, tracker tag not present in the car = starts, but immediately alerts of theft)
Trackstar S5 – £699 inc VAT and 1 year subscription
Trackstar S7 – £499 inc VAT and 1 year subscription
Subscription options:
Annual subscription £149 (Scorpion S5+)
Annual Subscription £168 (Trackstar S5 and S7) – If moving over from the Aston Martin Eurowatch system then any existing subscription may be able to be transferred across to the Trackstar system.