Warning-in Car Gps Owners!

[Poodroo]

Thanks again for all the replies. After my misfortune it is good to know that I have at least reached a few of you in this thread. This morning was the morning after and after a bad night sleep due to going over it all and having the whole thing play back in my mind I got up this morning and visited the Second Hand Dealers like Cash Converters. I firstly checked to see if a GPS was sold or offered and when they said no I gave them the situation and all of the details including serial number. Now if the thief tries selling my GPS to any of the second hand dealers around here they will notify the police immediately. it's a long shot but might happen.

Poodroo

[Scalem]

Huh.......?

Sorry mate,

It's a brain teaser which means I understand. Just my warped sense of humour

Scalem

[PinHead]

another bit of bad luck Poodroo..not good..I live in the stone age..I have no need for a GPS..can find my way around with just a street directory without any problems.
A mate had an incident with one last week..mounted on the windscreen..centre of it..got booked for it blocking his vision.

I cannot talk on the mobile phone when driving yet drivers can look at a GPS when driving..I wonder when they will get the attention of the authorities.

As ofr insurance companies..with everything..use a broker..get them to red all the fine print and tell themwhat you want..amazing how much they can save you.

[choppa]

insurance companies and claims,,,, they never seem to be a happy pair,,,, but in reality,,, most of the blame can fall back on the individual who takes out the insurance,,,,,

sorry to hear about your loss andrew,,,, and the above what not a dig at you,,, but reading a reply above where its the "dishonest" people who rort the system by making illegal claims is where most of the fault lays,,,

everytime you take out a policy,,, your asked a series of questions,,, number of claims is the best 1

if you've had 5,,,6,,,7,,,or more claims in the past 5 years,,,, your a higher risk than that of someone who has had none,,,, and hence your excess is higher,,

but lets say that you have ""honestly"" forgotten about 1 or 2,,, and only state that you've made 2 or 3,,,

make a claim and whammo,,,, no cover is what the insurer will call for non disclosure,,,,,,

a true story,,,, a buyer of a new xr6 turbo ute took out a new policy with a highly well known insurer,,,, 6 weeks later the car is legitamtely stolen,,,,, made all the correct calls,,, contacted insurer who immediately passed on info to assessors,,, and they discover that he had breached his notice of disclosure by not reporting traffic and loss of licence fines,,,,, insurance was canned and no payment

the ""moral"" of this reply is simple,,,, with EVERY type of insurance purchased now,,, by law you must receive a series of information booklets/pamphlets,,,,

the most important 1 is called your FSG,,,, followed by benefits,,, what is covered,,,whats not,,, these 2 items show where your money goes,,, and what you get for your hard earned dollar,,

with transportable items,, such as GPS's,, most insurers will only pay up to a certain value to stop the amount of fraud claims,,,, (hence in your case mate),,, otherwise that birthday pressie that you hated will in some cases become a claim and vanish to the next garage sale,,,,,

it does sometimes pay also,, to look at a broker who knows what companies pay for items that you need coverage for,,,, you may not want some of the standard trimmings that most companies offer,,, so don't accept them,,, just be aware of what your policy is,,,,, and what rights you have

choppa

[Poodroo]

another bit of bad luck Poodroo..not good..I live in the stone age..I have no need for a GPS..can find my way around with just a street directory without any problems.
A mate had an incident with one last week..mounted on the windscreen..centre of it..got booked for it blocking his vision.

I cannot talk on the mobile phone when driving yet drivers can look at a GPS when driving..I wonder when they will get the attention of the authorities.

As ofr insurance companies..with everything..use a broker..get them to red all the fine print and tell themwhat you want..amazing how much they can save you.

With the job that I do I found the GPS a very handy tool to have indeed because I often get calls to go to a customer's place in areas I am very unfamiliar with. The GPS always takes you there in the quickest way possible. As far as being a distraction in the car it is no worse than taking your eyes off the road briefly to look at your speedometer. It never occupies either of my hands because I programmed where I was going before I even started the motor. People who use mobile phones whilst driving and without a hands free device are always driving distracted with one hand. I use a Supertooth Blue Tooth device clipped to my sun visor. It's great, clear and totally hands free. I am lucky the thief didn't see it as well because they are about $160 and very easy to remove.

Poodroo

[Poodroo]

insurance companies and claims,,,, they never seem to be a happy pair,,,, but in reality,,, most of the blame can fall back on the individual who takes out the insurance,,,,,

sorry to hear about your loss andrew,,,, and the above what not a dig at you,,, but reading a reply above where its the "dishonest" people who rort the system by making illegal claims is where most of the fault lays,,,

everytime you take out a policy,,, your asked a series of questions,,, number of claims is the best 1

if you've had 5,,,6,,,7,,,or more claims in the past 5 years,,,, your a higher risk than that of someone who has had none,,,, and hence your excess is higher,,

but lets say that you have ""honestly"" forgotten about 1 or 2,,, and only state that you've made 2 or 3,,,

make a claim and whammo,,,, no cover is what the insurer will call for non disclosure,,,,,,

a true story,,,, a buyer of a new xr6 turbo ute took out a new policy with a highly well known insurer,,,, 6 weeks later the car is legitamtely stolen,,,,, made all the correct calls,,, contacted insurer who immediately passed on info to assessors,,, and they discover that he had breached his notice of disclosure by not reporting traffic and loss of licence fines,,,,, insurance was canned and no payment

the ""moral"" of this reply is simple,,,, with EVERY type of insurance purchased now,,, by law you must receive a series of information booklets/pamphlets,,,,

the most important 1 is called your FSG,,,, followed by benefits,,, what is covered,,,whats not,,, these 2 items show where your money goes,,, and what you get for your hard earned dollar,,

with transportable items,, such as GPS's,, most insurers will only pay up to a certain value to stop the amount of fraud claims,,,, (hence in your case mate),,, otherwise that birthday pressie that you hated will in some cases become a claim and vanish to the next garage sale,,,,,

it does sometimes pay also,, to look at a broker who knows what companies pay for items that you need coverage for,,,, you may not want some of the standard trimmings that most companies offer,,, so don't accept them,,, just be aware of what your policy is,,,,, and what rights you have

choppa

All good advice Choppa and thanks for sharing. You're a wealth of info on this type of topic. Suncorp are very familiar with my history because I have been with them for most of my driving life and up until last year never had a prang of any discription in any of the cars I have driven including an extremely powerful beast that I owned. Just uncanny how an insurer can have someone like me with an impeccable driving record with no accidents and no claims ever and then suddenly put me in the "high risk" category all because I took out a glass cover on the vehicle which entitles me to claim one windscreen per annum and I actually have had to use that facility a few times. What choice do I have? It is illegal to drive with a whopping crack in front of your face is it not? Now going back to the policy. I have been an insured driver since I was 17 years of age and I am now turning 45. This is where I am at a quandary because compared to when I originally took out my policy with them if you compare the it between now and all those years back the policy rules etc are nothing alike. The policy has changed dramatically over the years but have they adviced me of all these changes? No.
I will give an example. One day my wife parked her car at a railway station. She came back in the afternoon to find the passenger door had been forced open by a crowbar or something similar and thieves had gone through her car and took anything of value. Back then there were no CD players yet but all her cassette tapes were gone, change in the ashtray was taken and a pair of sunglasses. Filed a report to the police and advised the Insurer (Same company I have) and they accepted the claim no worries(didn't even ask for us to produce receipts for the stolen goods, an estimate value was all that was required) and also paid for all the tapes and the sunglasses that were stolen and fixed the damaged door. My question is this. If they covered cassette tapes and sunglasses which were in the car but not on the policy then how come they will not cover a GPS now? Seems the rules change to suit themselves obviously. At no stage have they ever advised me to add a GPS to the policy although that is going to change if and when I get another one.

Cheers,

Poodroo

[PinHead]

just a question on the GPS..do they show you the shortest way in klms..or the quickest way ????

[Poodroo]

just a question on the GPS..do they show you the shortest way in klms..or the quickest way ????

You have the choice with GPS systems of either Quickest route, Shortest Route in KLMS, Scenic Route(Normally the slowest) and even a route to avoid toll roads.

Poodroo

[BILLY THE KID]

i agree with the set the HOME address somewhere else in the GPS

Mine is set for the other end of the street . if ya dont know ya way home in your own street then maybe its time to hand the license in

[Poodroo]

i agree with the set the HOME address somewhere else in the GPS

Mine is set for the other end of the street . if ya dont know ya way home in your own street then maybe its time to hand the license in

Okay before there is too much more speculation as to why I would key in my own home address I will clarify the reasons behind it. Yes I know my way home from any direction and do not use the GPS to get home however my wife's uncle is from America and wants badly to go fishing with me in the new boat however he is one who probably would have trouble finding his own place let alone mine.(Hopeless with directions). The plan was that I would lend him my GPS when I dropped my kids off there to be baby sat and the following morning when he meets me at my place driving all the way from Spring Mountain to Mount Warren Park he will have no chances of getting lost with my GPS telling him NICELY where to go. Now it wouldn't help his cause if I keyed in a street near where I live would it?

Poodroo

[kevinnugent@westnet.]

The last time I heard the ridiculous restriction on insurance company policies was from a mate who lost his GPS worth about $450.00.

Of course, he then claimed for the sunglasses at $90, the CD's worth $230, the cash taken from the centre console $35, the camera and case in the glove box $340.

He got his $450.00 from them.

Kevin

[Poodroo]

The last time I heard the ridiculous restriction on insurance company policies was from a mate who lost his GPS worth about $450.00.

Of course, he then claimed for the sunglasses at $90, the CD's worth $230, the cash taken from the centre console $35, the camera and case in the glove box $340.

He got his $450.00 from them.

Kevin

Well he did very well out of it. Now I wonder why our premiums are so high?
I am too honest for my own good. If everyone ripped off the system like that none of us could afford to be insured. Whilst your mate did well and was happy realistically he is only shooting himself and everyone else in the foot. Honesty is the best policy. If only we all used that philosophy.

Poodroo

[joeT]

If you keep any valuables in the car, its worth investing in a quality alarm system. Sure, its only a deterrent, but it does make them think twice before breaking a window. My car alarm is equiped with extra screamers inside the cabin, so its quite painful to be inside when it goes off.

Only a few hundred bucks and worth the investment IMO.

[Scalem]

Well he did very well out of it. Now I wonder why our premiums are so high?
I am too honest for my own good. If everyone ripped off the system like that none of us could afford to be insured. Whilst your mate did well and was happy realistically he is only shooting himself and everyone else in the foot. Honesty is the best policy. If only we all used that philosophy.

Poodroo

Yep! Exhibit A. But in the long run, who outsmarted who??!

Scalem

[coelacanth]

I had mine stolen from the hospital car park where I work , the problem with the stick on wscreen ones is that to hide completely you have to remove all the components from view. As if you have time to do that!!,I left the cradle on the screen and they searched the car and found the gps under my seat. Insurance did not cover as not "fixed" to the car.Police could not get prints ,very clever little druggies(ASSUMPTION ON MY PART), if I had known it was stolen I probably could have bought it back at the hotel down the road for 50 dollars. lesson learnt.Same thing goes for rods , don't leave them in your car either.IAN