It seems like almost every form of device or tech you buy today comes with an obligation to sign up for a regular subscription. Most GPS car trackers are no exception, but it is perfectly possible to get a GPS tracking device up and running on your vehicle without committing to a regular monthly payment contract. FitMyTracker.com discusses more GPS car trackers without a subscription.
Why Do I Need A Gps Tracker In The First Place?
Car theft is sadly on the rise again and unlikely to ever go away. Thieves are utilizing ever more ingenious and sometimes violent methods to steal your pride and joy, so you have to fight back using the best technology in the business. A GPS car tracker is by far the best deterrent there is against theft and the best way of protecting your vehicle.
Many motor insurers now require policyholders to fit a tracking device, particularly for high-value vehicles. Indeed some insurers won’t consider insuring you without one, but the good news is that when you fit an insurance approved vehicle tracker, you can be rewarded with lower insurance premiums. The best ones are those who have been independently tested and approved by Thatcham, widely regarded by insurers as the flagship industry standard for security device approval.
So once you have decided on a suitable GPS tracker for your car, how do you decide whether to sign up to a subscription contract or not.
Monthly Fee or Not?
There are so many different types of GPS car tracker on the market today and equally as many ways to fund them. Some of them require you to sign up to a regular monthly subscription contract, and others don’t. Some require activation fees, some don’t. Whether or not a device comes with a subscription contract can sometimes be reflected either in the initial cost of the device or in the features you get as standard, and sometimes both.
You can often be talked into committing to a regular subscription by hearing scary stories about how your device may stop working after a short time or how you may not have the full advantage of the latest features. Whilst it is the case that a regular subscription can give you access to certain extras, including tech support, you can find many excellent GPS car trackers available that come without this requirement.
Some GPS trackers are perfectly usable and effective even if you don’t require unlimited SMS and email alerts or unlimited GPS location updates. Most car owners can get by perfectly well without knowing exactly where their vehicle is every minute of the day, particularly those who are likely to leave their car at home or parked in a place where they can constantly see the vehicle and so don’t need to be constantly updated.
How Does It Work?
Ongoing subscription fees are generally used by GPS tracker companies to help pay for the continuous advances in tracking and information-sharing technology that allows the devices to work efficiently including the software required for a device to connect to your phone, tablet, computer or indeed third-party security personnel.
However, you can get trackers which access the mobile network in order to connect to your personal devices. The only disadvantage in this comes where you are in an area with a poor or non-existent mobile signal or regular outages. This can mean that in some rural areas, for instance, you may struggle to get a connection.
Other than this, there’s no reason why you shouldn’t invest in a GPS tracker without the expense of a subscription.
Kim Marks 
Nicola Holder