How to choose a car security installer

Short answer: check who will actually fit it, whether the installer is accredited (TASSA is the scheme for installers) and whether the product carries the Thatcham approval your insurer asks for. Then check that they ask about your car and your policy before giving a price, that they will hide the unit properly, and that you get paperwork your insurer can use. A good installer will answer all of that without hesitating.

The box is the same wherever you buy it. What changes is where it ends up in the car and how cleanly it is wired in, and that is the part a thief has to beat. So choosing the installer matters at least as much as choosing the product. Here is what to look at, whoever you end up using.

Who will actually fit it

Ask the question directly. Some firms take the booking and pass the job to whoever is free, sometimes a subcontractor you never hear about. That is not automatically bad, but you should know before the day, not when a stranger turns up.

Why it matters. The person fitting it decides where the unit goes. If something needs looking at later, you want to deal with the person who did the work, not a call centre trying to find out who it was.

For what it is worth, at Securacar Ray fits everything himself, and we do not use subcontractors. You can read more on our about page.

Accreditation: TASSA for the installer, Thatcham for the product

These two get muddled all the time, and they answer different questions.

TASSA approves installers, not equipment. It is a check on the people doing the work. It exists because the same system fitted well and fitted badly are not the same thing, and before it there was no easy way for a customer to tell the difference.

Thatcham approves products. Thatcham Research test and categorise security products for the insurance industry, and insurers use those categories in policy wording. Approval is per product, so one system in a range can be approved and the next one down not. We have written up what Thatcham approved actually means.

What to ask. Is the installer accredited, and with which scheme? Does the specific product hold the Thatcham category your insurer has named? Some products do not have one at all. Autowatch do not state a Thatcham category for the Ghost III, for example, while the Pandora Microbot holds CAT 2e. Neither fact makes one better than the other, but it matters if your policy names a category. Our guide on whether insurers recognise the Ghost goes into that.

Securacar are TASSA approved installers.

Official dealer status

Why it matters. An official dealer gets genuine stock from the manufacturer, can register the system properly, and has a route back to the manufacturer for support if something needs sorting. Kit bought elsewhere and fitted by whoever is cheapest may not have any of that behind it.

What to ask. Are you an authorised dealer for this brand? Will the system be registered in my name?

We are an official Pandora Platinum dealer, so the Pandora systems we fit are registered properly and supported by the manufacturer.

Mobile fitting or a fitting centre

Both can be done well. A fitting centre has a ramp and a roof. A mobile installer saves you the trip, the waiting room and the day off work.

What to ask a mobile installer. Do you cover my postcode? Do you charge more for the distance? Can you fit at my workplace if the car is there during the day?

Almost all of our work is mobile. We fit at your home or your workplace across the North West, and we do not charge more for a longer drive within our patch.

Do they ask about your car and your insurer first

This is the clearest sign of a careful installer. Two cars can take very different amounts of work for the same system, and some systems are not right for some cars at all. An installer who quotes before knowing the make, model and year is guessing.

The insurer matters too. If your policy names a Thatcham category, the installer should ask to see the exact wording before anything is ordered. Fitting the wrong thing is worse than fitting nothing, because you believe you are covered.

We ask for the make, model and year, confirm the system suits the car before anything is booked, and price the job for your car rather than reading a figure off a list. More on why prices differ is in what affects the cost of vehicle security.

How they hide the unit

The first thing a thief does is look for the box. A unit cable tied under the dashboard, where the first person to look will find it, is not security.

What to ask. Where would you put it on my car? Does it go in the same place on every car of this model? A good answer is that it is decided on your car, on the day, rather than copied from a diagram that thieves may have seen too.

Paperwork for your insurer

If an insurer asks what is fitted, you want to answer quickly and precisely. “A Pandora” is not enough; the model matters, and for approved products so does the certificate number.

What to ask. What will I get once the job is done? An invoice that names the exact product? An installation certificate? The certificate number for a Thatcham approved product? Keep whatever you are given somewhere you can find it.

Warranty and aftercare

Ask these of any installer, and get the answers in writing:

• How long is the product covered, and who by: the installer or the manufacturer?
• Is the workmanship covered separately, and for how long?
• If something goes wrong, do you come back out, and is there a charge?
• Who do I ring with a question in a year’s time?
• Will this affect my car’s manufacturer warranty? A fair answer is that it should not if it is fitted properly, but that manufacturers word their warranties differently, so it is worth a quick check with your dealer.

Before we leave, we set the system up and watch you use it yourself, and questions a week or a year later get answered by the person who fitted it.

Red flags

None of these prove a firm is bad. Each is a reason to ask more questions.

• A price before they know the car. A firm figure for “a Ghost fitted” without the make, model and year.
• “Unbeatable” or “unbypassable” claims. No security product is impossible to beat. Honest installers talk about making your car harder to take than the next one.
• No address. You should be able to find where a business is based.
• Cash only, or pressure to pay up front. Ask how payment works and when it is due.
• A flat yes on insurance. Anyone promising your premium will drop without seeing your policy is telling you what you want to hear.
• Pushing the biggest system. If a smaller system will do the job, a good installer will say so.
• Vague about who fits it or which scheme they are accredited with.

Finding someone near you

Start with whether they cover your area at all, then work through the questions above. Reviews help, especially ones that mention how the installer dealt with a problem, not just that the job was quick. You can read what our customers say.

We are based in Knowsley and fit across the North West, including Liverpool, Manchester, the Wirral, Cheshire, Warrington, St Helens, Wigan, Bolton and up to Preston. The full list, with the towns and villages around each, is on our areas page. If you are not sure whether we reach you, ask.

Ask us the same questions

Tell us the make, model and year of your car, and what your insurer has said if anything. We will tell you what we would fit, why, and what it costs for your car. If you do not need us at all, we will say that too.