Electronic Tracking Devices

An electronic transmitter hidden in the vehicle which emits a signal that is picked up by the police or a monitoring station. Alpine's Mobile Mayday, ForceTracker, Ford's Rescu, GM's OnStar, LoJack, BlackJax, and PageTrack2 from Motorola start at $300, plus any monthly subscription charges. There are a variety of services offered by each company, such as mapping services and vehicle-location if your car is stolen.

• Costs: $300 to $1,500
• Benefits: Very effective in helping authorities recover vehicles before they can be stripped or chopped up.
• Drawbacks: In addition to the high initial cost, a subscription charge ($15-$40) must be paid each month.
• Effectiveness: LoJack has been around the longest and has some statistical evidence to back up their claims. Aside from the 95 percent recovery rate claimed by Lo-Jack, a National Bureau of Research study found that if an area has Lo-Jack installed in 2 percent of cars, theft losses can be reduced by 40 percent in central cities and 13 percent in Lo-Jack's entire range. Lo-Jack is currently available for use in 15 states and 20 major cities. Because frequent thefts (5 or more per day) are a characteristic of the professional auto thief, apprehending a few key players can significantly reduce an area's theft statistics.