Vehicle Tracing System

[Rouse]

I was just wondering if anyone else has noticed this feature on their car. Supposedly with all new GM cars they have a serial number etched on all the windows so that if you car gets stolen the thief would have to replace all the windows in the car which is very expensive.My brother in-laws Vibe still has the stickers for this feature on his windows and the etching is clearly visible on all the windows usually the bottom left hand corner of the window. On the windshield it's by the VIN number.I can't see any etching on my windows but I have the brochure that says the car has the feature and my salesman even told me it did. Could my possibly have been missed when they were doing the etchings. Are the etchings done by Protector Plus or by GM at the plant? I checked some other Vibes on the lot where I bought my car and I could find the etchings on all the Vibes I looked at?

[meathead333]

whered you get the pamplet at?? sounds like a good deal for the consumer/

[Rouse]

quote:whered you get the pamplet at?? sounds like a good deal for the consumer/It came with the car. And I guess after calling the the number on the front of it, they do the windows etching at the dealership. When I bought my car the dealership they didn't even have it entered into stock, So I think that they forgot to etch the windows. The service department says that this is an extra feature that costs more money, But I will have to talk to my salesman because he told me that the car had the feature and it doesn't. I'm sure it was overlooked and they will do it for nothing because I think they do it to all their cars regardless.

[Herb]

I just looked at my Vibe and didn't see any etching on any of the glass. The pamphlet also doesn't look familiar.

[Lorin]

Etching is a classic dealer add-on to up the price of the car. They charge like $300 for something that costs them maybe $25. The classic car buying book "Don't get taken every time" goes into this in more detail. I fell for this on the first car I bought from a dealer. (It was also the LAST car I bought from that dealer!) I did notice a number on the rear side window of the Vibe, but I didn't pay for it.

[Fast Eddie]

I have it on my Vibe. It was provided free by the dealership, or so I was told. I know it's on the bottom right of my driver's side window just below the round Protect Plus decal. It's somewhat subtlely etched by the dealership as part of the car prep.

[MrRich]

I have it too,and it was free for me.And it is not only on the windows,it is all over in the body too.Or maybe is it just mine?

[coratz]

the only thing that etching does is make your vehicle glass less desirable to theives. replacement glass is very expensive. to replace all the glass on the vibe it will cost aprox 3000$cdn est. if a thief wants your car it is probably just to be chopped up and for parts. if i wanted to steal a vibe it would be extremly easy. the door panels are very high and can conceal tampering and punching the ingntion. the power locks are easy popped with a coat hanger put through the top of the window. the vibes with non power door locks can be popped with a putty knife and door wedge at the bottom lip of the window. Alarms are useless nose makers unless they are installed by theives themselves. once a theif gains access to a door, he opens it slowly to check for a door/interior light alarm trip. if an alarm goes off the thief pops the hood and cuts a battery cable. if the alarm does not stop(99% of them do) then theres a backup battery. installers are really lazy and alarm kits come with limited amounts of wire so, you know that that back up is close to the main battery. all this takes about 10 seconds. planes going by, ambulances and fire trucks driving by, setting off a decoy car alarm close by all diguise the noise of a possible alarm that might go off on a car that a thief wants. if you want to stop a theif you got to beat them at their game. watch where you park, park where it is well lit and lots of traffic. use a club steering wheel lock. most thieves dont carry hacksaws. if you get an alarm installed, let a profesional do it and you must have a back up battery installed. have the installed wire the back up to somewhere in the interior of the car. alarms with pagers are useless, what are you gonna do when it goes off? run out and get yourself killed or seriously hurt? the boomerang tracking system is a system to be feared. do not keep valubles out in the open. do not blast your subs where you intend to park your car. dont tint your windows super dark.i dont steal cars. i have a buddy who is now in jail for grand theft auto. he says the rush was worth it. what a dumbass

[coratz]

i think the actual charge is "theft over 5000$"

[Rouse]

I went back to the dealership tonight and the guy that usually does it wasn't there, but my salesman had the guy show him how to do it before he went home, so that I could go after 6:00pm. It was the simplest thing that I have ever seen. The serial numbers come on a sheet of 12 and they are blue rectangles that you peal off and stick to the window. Then you go over them with a squeeze bottle with some kind of chemical in it that reacts with the blue paper and burns or "etches" the serial number on the window. Then you peal the Blue paper off and the number stays on the window. Voila!

[Lorin]

I just checked my windows - the numbers etched on all of them. I didn't pay (extra) for it, so hey, I'll take it. I've seen so many shows like dateline, "repo-men", cops, etc. that I'm convinced there isn't any alarm that can't be defeated by the right thief. But on the other hand, there's a lot of amateurs out there who might be discouraged by one method or another.

[Sub-Vibe-R]

My dealer "gave" me this as well. I have 2 "Ameri Guard" sticker in front wondows. According to my salesman, I'll get $3000 if someone steal my Vibe and they don't fint it.So if someone steal my Vibe, my insurance will give me a the value of a new Vibe plus this compagny will give me $3000. If a thief pick up my Vibe, it'S $3k in my pocket.And Salsa!, I didn't pay administration fees, only transport

[Rouse]

quote:However did you pay "administration fees" when you purchased the car?I'm not sure? That is pretty bad, and when I look at my bill of sale I don't see any listed. I'm not sure, would it be on the bill of sale?I guess I'm trying to say, No I don't think I payed any administaration fee.

[Rouse]

Here's what it gets you:

[Lorin]

No - I refused to pay any admin fees. When I fist walked in the salesman said it was $300 before I even looked at the car to "soften me up" for later - they even had it hanging on the rear view mirrors of the cars. This is additional profit to the dealer that you don't have to pay.I paid only the legit PA state license transfer fee. I verified the cost on the PennDot web site in advance. I think it was like $12. They didn't even try to put the $300 "Docking fees" into the sales order, because I had already "walked out" three different times and kept talking about the really slick Abyss Vibe another dealer had, how much i liked the car I was trading in, how I was only there because of the rebates / 0% blah blah blah. PLUS, it was snowing like H*LL that night and they all just wanted to wrap the deal and get home. For once I feel like I won. LOL!