Ghost III vs Pandora Microbot: which immobiliser?

Most people who ring us about an immobiliser ask for a Ghost by name, because it is the one they have heard of. Since Pandora brought out the Microbot, we have a second answer, and it is fair to ask which one you should actually have.

We fit both, so we have no reason to push you towards either. Here is how they compare.

The short answer

They set out to do the same thing. Both stop the car being driven by anybody who has not authorised it, both are silent, and both hide inside the car with nothing for a thief to find. On a lot of cars, either would do the job well.

The differences that tend to decide it are these. The Pandora Microbot holds a Thatcham approval and can block more than the engine on cars that allow it. The Autowatch Ghost III is the established name, and it is designed so your car manufacturer’s own app keeps working. Which matters more depends on your car, your insurer and how you want to live with it.

What they have in common

Neither cares about your key. Relay theft, cloned keys and a genuine key lifted from the kitchen all produce something that looks to the car like a valid key. Both systems ignore that, and ask for something only you have. That is why both of them answer relay theft properly where the car’s own security does not.

Both work digitally. Each one talks to the car over its own data networks rather than relying on an obvious cut wire, so there is no lump of hardware to trace and pull out. Both support CAN FD, the faster network newer cars are moving to.

Both let you use the car’s own buttons. You can authorise either one with a PIN entered on buttons the car already has, usually on the steering wheel, with nothing added to the dashboard.

Neither is an alarm. No siren, no sensors, no alerts on your phone. They stop the car leaving, and that is all. If you are also worried about wheels, catalytic converters or things taken from inside, that is a different job, which we set out side by side here.

Where they differ

	Autowatch Ghost III	Pandora Microbot
How you unlock it	Button code, an authorised key-tag, or your phone	Bluetooth tag, PIN on the steering wheel buttons, or the app
What it can block	The engine	Engine, engine start, automatic gearbox and keyless system, depending on the car
Thatcham approval	None stated by Autowatch for the Ghost III unit	Thatcham CAT 2e, certificate TSC741
Your car’s own app	Designed to keep it working, for things like remote heating	Ask us for your car
Extras	Can be paired with an anti-tamper siren and Autowatch’s CANBOT locator	Anti-HiJack built in
Track record	The long established name in hidden immobilisers	New to the Pandora range

Which one we would fit

Your insurer has asked for a Thatcham approved immobiliser. Look at the Microbot first. Autowatch do not state a Thatcham category for the Ghost III, so it will not satisfy a policy that names one. Send us the exact wording before anything is ordered, because insurers phrase these things differently and some of them mean a tracker when they say Thatcham. We have written up how insurers treat the Ghost in more detail.

You want the gearbox and the keyless system blocked as well. That is the Microbot, provided your car exposes them. We confirm which of its four blocks apply to your vehicle before you book, rather than promising all four.

You use your car manufacturer’s app for remote heating or cooling. Autowatch designed the Ghost III so that keeps working, through apps like JLR InControl or the Ford app. Tell us if you rely on it, whichever system you are leaning towards, so we can check it on your car.

You want the system most people have heard of. That is the Ghost. It is worth something when you sell the car, too, because a buyer who knows what a Ghost is understands what they are getting.

You would rather carry nothing extra. Either. Both work on a PIN entered on the buttons the car already has.

What about the price?

We do not publish prices for either, and it is not to be awkward. The cost is mostly in the fitting, and that depends on the car: how much has to come apart, and where the unit can be hidden properly. A headline figure would be wrong for most cars. We have explained what moves the cost separately.

Send us the make, model and year and we will tell you what each one would cost on your car, so you can compare them properly.

If you want more than an immobiliser

An immobiliser keeps the car on the drive. It will not tell you somebody is trying, and it will not notice a smashed window. If you want to know when something is happening, a Pandora alarm adds the siren, the sensors and alerts on your phone, and our Synergy packages put an alarm and a tracker together.

Getting a straight answer for your car

Tell us the make, model and year, and whether your insurer has asked for anything specific. We will tell you which of the two suits it, or whether either one does, and we will tell you if the cheaper answer is the right one.