GPS Trackers: The Last Line of Theft Defense

BY CHRIS STARK / ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED JULY 31, 2026

A total of 659,880 vehicles were reported stolen nationwide last year. Most of those are used cars like Hyundai Elantras and Honda Accords, which are easy to part out. But classic cars are hardly immune. In 2025, 207 total loss theft claims were received by Hagerty. And skilled, organized crime groups are increasingly targeting high-value, special-interest cars.

There’s a lot of low-hanging fruit when it comes to making your car harder to steal. Park in well-lit areas, roll up your windows, lock your doors, don’t leave your vehicle running unattended, and always take your keys with you.

A GPS tracker can provide a last line of defense from your car getting shipped off to a foreign country or chopped up and sold for parts. “If you don’t have one, you don’t have a snowball’s chance of recovering your car,” said Lee Meeler, head of Hagerty’s claims department.

What To Buy

There are two trains of thought when it comes to trackers. The first is to use commodity trackers that you would normally stick to your keys or wallet, like an Apple AirTag. These devices do not use GPS to track location but rather a wireless Bluetooth signal to communicate with cell phones and other devices that are connected to GPS. They’re cheap and easy to install—and certainly better than nothing—but they usually die within a year or two, so you have to remember to change the batteries.

More sophisticated trackers use GPS and transmit location data with a cell service. They’ll track location and speed, and deluxe units can even remotely kill the engine. No surprise, they’re more expensive than simple tags and also require a subscription (a popular brand, Bouncie, charges $90 plus a $9.65 monthly fee). A kill switch would need to be hardwired into your car.

Additionally, Loren Milbrath, who works in Hagerty’s special investigative unit, recommends that if you decide to put trackers in your car, get two or three. If one gets disabled or if the thieves find and disable one, you have backups. These costs can all add up.

Some states have programs that provide free trackers as part of an effort to reduce auto theft. Hagerty offers a discount for professionally and permanently installed tracking devices (applicability varies by state).

No matter, it’s probably worth it. “If you’ve got a million-dollar car, it’s probably worth it to spend a few hundred bucks and get a decent tracking system put into it,” noted Robert Cherry, another member of Hagerty’s special investigative unit. And for those of us with five- or four-figure cars that are nonetheless near and dear to our hearts, some form of tracking is still worth considering.

What To Do

Time is of the essence when a vehicle has disappeared. The sooner you notify police and get location info to them, the better chance you have of recovering your car. Also, notify Hagerty, which has partnerships with law enforcement. We can contact your local Auto Fraud Task Force directly, which will get the right people on the case quicker.

What Not To Do

Do not try to recover your car on your own. “It’s not like the movies—you don’t show up, knock on the door, and the thieves confess and start crying,” says Milbrath. It’s dangerous, and it will tip the criminals off.

This article has been reproduced with the permission of the copyright holder, Hagerty. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Click here for more automotive tips and stories, or here for more information on the next Pomona Swap Meet & Classic Car Show.