YOUR CAR
CAN BE STOLEN
in under 60 seconds with no alarm triggered
Autowatch Ghost installers near me: your options in 2026
If you are searching for a Ghost fitter, you already know what you want: a CAN bus immobiliser that makes a stolen key useless. This page explains how Ghost installation works, what each variant costs, and where our own LockCar CAN-IMMO fits in from £199, so you can pick the system that suits your car and your budget.
On this page
- What “near me” really means for CAN bus fitting
- Why owners choose LockCar CAN-IMMO
- Which Ghost does your car need?
- Ghost 2 and LockCar CAN-IMMO side by side
- What happens on the day
- Which one suits you
- Questions worth asking before you book
- LockCar CAN-IMMO
- Frequently asked questions
- Book an installation
What “near me” really means for CAN bus fitting
Most people search for a local fitter because they assume distance drives cost or convenience. With a CAN bus immobiliser it largely does not, and knowing that saves you a lot of comparison shopping.
Autowatch sells the Ghost through a network of approved installers, with the supply-and-fit price set centrally rather than by each company. A Ghost 2 is £499 fitted whether the engineer travels ten miles or a hundred. We work the same way with LockCar CAN-IMMO: one price, mobile travel included, no regional call-out fees. So a firm two counties away is not automatically dearer than the one down the road.
What actually matters is that the car never has to move. A mobile engineer fits the system on your driveway or in your workplace car park while you carry on with your day, which is why “near me” in 2026 usually means “comes to me” rather than “has a unit near me”. Give us a postcode and a registration and we will tell you what is available in your area and which configuration your vehicle takes.
Why owners choose LockCar CAN-IMMO
The Ghost is an excellent immobiliser and a deserved market leader. If you came here for one, you will not be talked out of it. But a good number of people who start out searching for a Ghost end up choosing LockCar CAN-IMMO once they see how the two compare, and these are the reasons they give.
From £199, supplied and fitted
The same CAN bus principle at a lower entry point. For a lot of owners that difference is the gap between protecting one car and protecting two, or between an immobiliser alone and an immobiliser paired with a tracker for genuine layered cover.
Code or Bluetooth, your choice
Disarm with a sequence through the controls your car already has, or use Bluetooth control if you would rather not press anything at all. Some drivers love a code and some find it a chore, so you pick the one you will still be happy with in a year.
No subscription, ever
One payment, then nothing. There is no annual fee, no renewal date and no control room contract to lapse. Trackers earn their subscriptions because someone answers the phone at 3am; an immobiliser simply works, so we do not charge for it twice.
Fitted without cutting factory wiring
Installation runs through the CAN bus itself, so the vehicle’s own loom stays intact. That is the standard that keeps a manufacturer warranty comfortable, and it is how every LockCar install is carried out.
Nothing visible to find
No key fob, no flashing LED, no aerial. The unit sits hidden inside the loom and gives off nothing for a scanner to detect. Cloning your key, swapping the ECU or injecting the CAN bus still leaves a thief with a car that will not start.
Matched to your vehicle first
Every model in the range is built on the same CAN-IMMO core, but the right configuration depends on your car. Send the registration before you book and we will confirm the correct setup and the exact price, so nothing changes on the day.
Which Ghost does your car need?
If you are going down the Ghost route, it helps to know there is no single Ghost. The correct unit depends on your vehicle’s CAN architecture, which is why any installer will ask for your registration before quoting.
| Variant | Fits vehicles with | Typical fitted price |
|---|---|---|
| Ghost 2 | Standard single CAN bus, the large majority of cars on UK roads | £499 fixed |
| Ghost Pro | Dual CAN architecture, required by certain makes and model years | £599 |
| Ghost 3 Pro FD | Newer CAN FD protocol, increasingly common on recent premium models | Quoted per vehicle |
Autowatch fixes the supply-and-fit price across its whole approved network, so a Ghost 2 costs the same wherever in the country you have it fitted. That is genuinely useful to know, because it means there is nothing to gain from ringing round for a better Ghost quote. If price is what you are weighing up, the comparison worth making is between systems rather than between fitters.
Ghost 2 and LockCar CAN-IMMO
Both are CAN bus immobilisers and both do the same core job: no authorisation, no engine start. Here is where they differ in practice.
| Autowatch Ghost 2 | LockCar CAN-IMMO | |
|---|---|---|
| Supplied and fitted | £499, fixed nationally | From £199 |
| Ongoing subscription | None | None |
| How you disarm it | Code sequence through existing vehicle controls | Code sequence through existing controls, or Bluetooth |
| Visible hardware | None: no fob, no LED | None: no fob, no LED |
| Installation method | Through the CAN bus, factory wiring left intact | Through the CAN bus, factory wiring left intact |
| Certification | TASSA verified, no Thatcham rating | Ask us about your policy requirement |
| Typical fitting time | Around two hours | Around two hours |
What happens on the day
A mobile installation takes around two hours on most vehicles, and the car does not need to leave your driveway or your workplace car park. The engineer works through the CAN bus without cutting factory wiring, which is the standard that keeps your manufacturer warranty comfortable, and conceals the unit deep inside the loom where there is nothing visible to find.
You then set your own disarm method. If you go with a code, you choose the sequence yourself using buttons the car already has: steering wheel controls, window switches, climate keys. The engineer walks you through entering it, changing it later, and putting the car into service mode before a garage visit, which is the part most owners forget and then ring about eight months later, so ask for it in writing. Before leaving, they hand over your documentation and explain the recovery procedure in case you ever blank on your own code.
Nationwide mobile installation across England through our network of authorised installers. Tell us your postcode and vehicle registration, and we’ll confirm availability in your area, arrange an authorised installer near you, and recommend the correct configuration for your vehicle before you commit to anything.
Which one suits you
Go with the Ghost if your insurance schedule names it, or names TASSA verification, or if you simply want the system with the longest track record and the widest name recognition in the UK. It is a strong product, it is transferable to your next car, and paying £499 for something you have complete confidence in is a perfectly good reason to do it.
Go with LockCar CAN-IMMO if you want the same CAN bus protection at a lower cost, if you like the option of Bluetooth as well as a code, or if the money you save is better spent on a second layer. That last point is worth sitting with: for less than the price of one Ghost you can have an immobiliser fitted and a tracker alongside it, and a car with both is a genuinely harder target than a car with either one.
Ring your insurer and ask them to confirm in writing what they require: a TASSA-approved immobiliser, a Thatcham S5 or S7 tracker, or a combination of the two. Once you have that email, the right choice usually picks itself, and we are happy to talk it through with you either way. Tell us what your policy says and we will tell you honestly whether we are the right fit.
Questions worth asking before you book
Ask us these, and ask anyone else you are considering. Clear answers up front make for an easy appointment and no surprises afterwards.
Which system suits my specific vehicle?
Send your registration and you should get a straight answer naming the configuration and the reason for it. CAN architecture varies between makes and even between model years, so this is the question that settles both the product and the final price.
What exactly does the price include?
Ask whether mobile travel, the demonstration and the documentation are all inside the quoted figure. With us they are, and the number we give you before the appointment is the number you pay on the day.
How long will it take, and where can it be done?
Around two hours on most vehicles, at your home, your workplace, or the dealership forecourt before you take delivery of a new car. That last option is worth considering, because it means the vehicle is protected from the moment it leaves the showroom.
What do I get at handover?
You should leave the appointment able to disarm the system, change your code, and set service mode without help, plus documentation covering your emergency recovery procedure and your warranty. Ask for the service mode instructions in writing, since that is the one everyone needs eight months later.
Does my insurer need to know?
Yes, an immobiliser is a declarable modification, so tell them once it is fitted and ask for the policy to be updated. In most cases it works in your favour on the premium. Ask us before booking if you are unsure what your policy requires and we will help you read it.
LockCar CAN-IMMO
- Fitted through the CAN bus, factory wiring left intact
- Disarm by code through your existing controls, or by Bluetooth
- No subscription and no ongoing cost, ever
- Every model built on the same CAN-IMMO core
- Speak to an installer for the right fit
Frequently asked questions
Is the Ghost Thatcham approved?
The Ghost 2 is TASSA verified rather than Thatcham approved, because TASSA was set up specifically to cover digital CAN bus immobilisers, a category Thatcham’s older criteria did not address. Most UK insurers now recognise TASSA verification. If your policy names Thatcham S5 explicitly, that points to a tracker rather than an immobiliser, so it is worth reading the wording carefully before you choose.
Why is LockCar CAN-IMMO less expensive than a Ghost?
Different route to market. The Ghost is sold through a national dealer network with a centrally fixed retail price, and that structure carries a cost. We supply and fit our own system directly, which takes a layer out of the middle. The technology is the same CAN bus approach in both cases.
Will fitting an immobiliser affect my manufacturer warranty?
Not when it is fitted through the CAN bus with the factory wiring left intact, which is how every LockCar installation is carried out. Nothing in the vehicle’s own loom is altered. If you have a specific concern on a car still inside its warranty period, mention it when you book and we will talk it through.
What if I forget my code?
There is a documented emergency recovery procedure, and the engineer explains it before leaving. Keep the details somewhere you will find them again, ideally a password manager rather than the glovebox, and make sure anyone else who drives the car knows the sequence too.
Do I need a tracker as well?
They do different jobs. An immobiliser prevents the theft; a tracker recovers the car if it is winched onto a flatbed, or if your insurer requires one. On a high-value vehicle the sensible answer is both, and fitting a CAN-IMMO leaves room in most budgets to add a tracker alongside it.
Send us your postcode and registration
We will confirm which system suits your vehicle, what it costs, and when we can get to you. No deposit until you know exactly what you are getting.
