Porsche Vehicle Tracking System (VTS)

Fat_Man · 25 Jul 2012

Just a quick question about the VTS on the 991, sorry if its already been asked, i couldn't find anything on the matter.

Waiting on collection of a carrera 3.4 and after numerous delays (mainly transportation related - unavoidable) the car finally arrived at the garage this morning. Having been promised it last Friday i was hoping for a quick turnaround and collection this afternoon. However, the dealership is now saying that they need the car for at least 6 hours (4 hours to install the cat 5 tracker and 2 hours to vallet it) and that it wont be ready until 12 tomorrow at the earliest. Having been misinformed by them on a couple of occasions before accidentally or otherwise (standard paints for the 991 and other models - guards red, white etc not being lacquered and easily damaged with your fingernail??? and voided warranty if you had a punctured tyre repaired without buying GAP & tyre cover from them) im wondering whether this is the full story.

Is it because the uk is a different region that a different tracker needs installing? Or are european/US specs not shipped with a tracker as standard? I would have thought that with it being a "standard" option on all 911s as far as i can tell that it would be a factory fitted job. Just with them needing to be in a not so easily accessible location for obvious reasons, plus the dealer never once mentioned this before. I was told 2 hours for valeting when they were expecting it on Monday, then Tuesday and now today.

Any info would be greatly appreciated,

Thanks

chimp911 · 25 Jul 2012

:welcome:

The VTS on a 997 is a cobra system and I suspect the same is true for the 991. It is entirely plausible that these are fitted post production at the dealership? As for the other issues, some (most?) cars arrive at dealerships with one problem or another and typically they then need a bit of time to prep the car so it is fit to leave the showroom.

You should expect nothing less than perfection for such a high value car, so check very carefully before you drive off the forecourt... and then enjoy :thumb:

mark pearce · 25 Jul 2012

The VTS will take a good couple of hours to install,
The aerials have to be installed as well as the unit and that involes removing some body panels ( i wont mention why for security reasons)

In my opinion it takes longer than 2 hours to valet a car, i ve recently sold a almost new 991 and had it Zymoled detailed and it took the detailer 8 hours.

GAP And Tyre Insurance are not Porsche products and lack of them has no effect on the Porsche warranty

Fat_Man · 25 Jul 2012

Thanks for the replies guys. I did think that would have been the case, just wanted to double check. Have been told just to turn up tomorrow at the OPC at 12, however will be ringing beforehand so as not to leave anything to chance. If the technicians share the competence of the sales staff there will be a 991 spare parts bin strewn down the A1M. Lets hope thats not the case and everything will be flawless. :thumbs:

911BlackEd · 26 Jul 2012

Just for your info the VTS is a factory fitted module, so not normally any set up other than activation. But, there is an issue with the VTS at the moment, see http://911uk.com/viewtopic.php?t=74148 and I have heard yesterday that there may be a fix for it just released.

I am waiting for mine to be fixed!

Good luck, and remember... Pictures :thumbs:

Red993C4 · 26 Jul 2012

911BlackEd said:
Just for your info the VTS is a factory fitted module, so not normally any set up other than activation. But, there is an issue with the VTS at the moment, see http://911uk.com/viewtopic.php?t=74148 and I have heard yesterday that there may be a fix for it just released.

I am waiting for mine to be fixed!

Good luck, and remember... Pictures :thumbs:

I don't know if things have changed for the 991, but VTS was not factory fitted for the 997.

Porsche only offered a "preparation kit" for VTS as a factory option, consisting of a bracket for holding the VTS transmitter and the necessary additional wiring harness already "plumbed in" to the car's harness.

PCGB chose to have this optional kit fitted as standard for all cars imported into the UK, presumably due to so many UK insurers insisting on them being fitted with a tracker. The tracker receiver is supplied by the service provider, and has to be installed by the dealer, explaining part of the delay experienced by the OP.

The "valeting" will probably include removing the protection films from the car's body and thoroughly cleaning it afterwards.

Fat_Man · 27 Jul 2012

Well, i picked it up yesterday and it was ready when they had said. One or two smudges that needed to be rubbed off but thats expected. You think you've got a car clean then under a different light you notice a couple of bits have been missed. Anyway that was easily sorted on the spot. The tracking system fitted is by Cobra. Have the two cards and one always needs to always be on your person/in the vehicle etc when driving. Also was told to notify the tracking company if the car was going abroad (it wont be anyway) so as not to trigger a false alarm when the vehicle is turned off but moving on a train/ferry. Going to be weird having to remember the card mind. The Insurance did insist upon having the tracker fitted, although any savings are basically offset by the subscription fee if you find a company who will do with or without. But hopefully any issues they had with the VTS have been sorted. I assume it wont be much of an issue with the coupe if they have kept the original routing of the antenna, so fingers crossed there! Hope your car gets fixed swiftly and without further nuisance blackEd. I know after waiting for this how frustrating it is to be without it for any length of time!

chimp911 · 27 Jul 2012

I think the VTS issues are with convertibles only. It's not that hard to remember to take your fob with you, and cobra alllow a certain number of false alarms before they start charging you anyway...

With respect to travelling aboad, if you are using the tunnel then your keys and card will be in the car anyway so there's no need to notify cobra, but going by ferry or having your car on a transporter are a different matter and you will need to let them know.

Pics please... :thumb:

Fat_Man · 27 Jul 2012

chimp911 said:
I think the VTS issues are with convertibles only. It's not that hard to remember to take your fob with you, and cobra alllow a certain number of false alarms before they start charging you anyway...

With respect to travelling aboad, if you are using the tunnel then your keys and card will be in the car anyway so there's no need to notify cobra, but going by ferry or having your car on a transporter are a different matter and you will need to let them know.

Pics please... :thumb:

Yeah, hopefully the case (although also hopefully not as that means cab owners get all the hastle). Unless of course they have been fitting units that are inherently faulty/not fit for purpose....Anyway been out again this afternoon in it and remembered to take the fob. Although don't think it matters just yet as it takes them a day or two to activate the service. Still carrying it though for good practice/ incase activated whilst out and about. Not worth the risk. Preliminary pictures and spec are up here: http://911uk.com/viewtopic.php?t=75775

Lagoutte · 22 Nov 2012

Porsche VTSystem

Porsche UK fits the VTS without consulting owners and with (in my experience) little or no Insurance benefit. On one occasion, in the presence of the dealer principal, I rang my Insurance company and was quoted a saving of £12 for a one year policy! I have purchased a few new Porsches in the last 5 years and each time I have refused to pay for the VTS and have insisted that it be disconnected. In practice it is a very expensive nuisance. I suspect that Porsche UK earns a tidy sum from each unit it installs. Frankly I think it is a questionable practice, and the more of us who say so (and refuse to pay this particular line on the invoice) the better. It is not something which is done in other markets, as far as I know.

Lagoutte

mottle · 23 Nov 2012

The tracker on my 991 is a cobra and works very well (forgot the fob on 2nd day of ownership) 100 yards down the road got a call from Cobra alerting me the car was in motion and "was everyting ok?" Good service i think. One thing to mention though. Ive had several "false" calls from them telling me the car is in motion etc etc and the fob is not recognised. On all 3 accounts the fob was with me in my pocket. However it seems the fobs dont like mobile phones (i have iphone 4s) Each time they called me my phone was in the same pocket as my fob. There is a problem with phones screwing up the signals. Easy fix is just make sure you keep your phone in another pocket. Simples!! Oh yeah, i LOVE MY CAR :cloud9:

mottle · 23 Nov 2012

The tracker on my 991 is a cobra and works very well (forgot the fob on 2nd day of ownership) 100 yards down the road got a call from Cobra alerting me the car was in motion and "was everyting ok?" Good service i think. One thing to mention though. Ive had several "false" calls from them telling me the car is in motion etc etc and the fob is not recognised. On all 3 accounts the fob was with me in my pocket. However it seems the fobs dont like mobile phones (i have iphone 4s) Each time they called me my phone was in the same pocket as my fob. There is a problem with phones screwing up the signals. Easy fix is just make sure you keep your phone in another pocket. Simples!! Oh yeah, i LOVE MY CAR :cloud9:

Porsche Vehicle Tracking System (VTS)

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