If you've been researching the Autowatch Ghost II, it's a genuinely good system — and it's the same device as the AUTHOR IGLA 200 and 231, sold under a different name. So the useful question was never which one to buy. It's how it gets set up for your car, and what you can add to it later.
This isn't a marketing angle and it isn't a criticism. It's stated plainly by IGLA Australia, the authorised AUTHOR distributor here: AUTHOR manufactures the units, and Autowatch relabels and sells them under the Ghost name.
Which means if you already have a Ghost II in your car, you have good hardware in your car. Fitted the same way, running the same vehicle firmware, the two are the same system doing the same job. We're not going to pretend otherwise, and we'd rather you heard that from us than found it out later.
What does vary is the installation itself — a technician decision made car by car — and where the system can go afterwards.
IGLA Australia sets this out in their FAQ, under the question about how the Ghost 2 differs. Read it on igla.com.au.
Almost everything that protects your car is the same in both, because it's the same unit. The rows that differ aren't about one being better — they're about which range the system sits in, and therefore what you can add to it down the track.
| Autowatch Ghost II | AUTHOR IGLA 200 / 231 | |
|---|---|---|
| Hardware | Same unit | Same unit |
| How it works | Digital CAN-bus blocking, disarmed by a secret sequence on factory buttons | Digital CAN-bus blocking, disarmed by a secret sequence on factory buttons |
| Visible hardware | None — no LED, no keypad, no aftermarket fob | None — no LED, no keypad, no aftermarket fob |
| Defeats | Relay attacks, key cloning, OBD key programming | Relay attacks, key cloning, OBD key programming |
| Vehicle firmware | Loaded at installation for your specific vehicle | Loaded at installation for your specific vehicle |
| Bluetooth key fobs | Available | Included with IGLA 231 |
| Phone as key fob | Autowatch app | AUTHOR ID app |
| GPS tracking | Add-on tracker | AUTHOR Tele Compass 2, through the AUTHOR Connect 2.0 app |
| If you want a full alarm too | A different device — not an upgrade to this one | A different device — the AUTHOR Alarm, adding motion, tilt and knock sensing |
| Fitted by | Autowatch installer network | Authorised AUTHOR IGLA installers |
Both networks load vehicle firmware at installation and work from largely the same library, so on most cars either can put an equivalent release on your vehicle. Occasionally a new release doesn't reach both brands at the same moment.
Autowatch and Ghost are trade marks of their respective owners. This comparison is provided for the benefit of buyers researching both names and reflects publicly available information from the manufacturers and the Australian AUTHOR distributor.
These units arrive generic. The vehicle-specific firmware is loaded when the system is fitted, and which release goes on your car is a technician's decision on the day. Both networks work from largely the same library, so on most vehicles either can load an equivalent release.
Firmware enhancements are developed by AUTHOR alongside its installer network, and they don't always land with both brands at the same moment. It's a timing thing rather than a quality one — and if your car is running an older release, it can generally be brought up to date without replacing anything.
A CAN-bus immobiliser can block the engine digitally, or through an analog method wired into the vehicle. Neither is universally right. On some cars the digital shutdown is clean and correct. On others an analog shutdown behaves far better. And on certain models an analog shutdown isn't possible at all.
It's genuinely vehicle-specific, which is why we won't tell you which one your car needs without knowing what it is. It's also why this is worth a phone call rather than a form — five minutes on the phone and we can usually tell you what's involved.
If there's already a Ghost II in your car, you own the same hardware an AUTHOR IGLA customer owns — so nothing needs ripping out. In most cases it can be brought up to a current firmware release, reconfigured where the setup would benefit from it, and have modules added on top of what's already there.
Both of these work on the unit you already have. Neither requires buying a new immobiliser.
Real-time location, trip history and push alerts through the AUTHOR Connect 2.0 app — covert, and talking to the immobiliser you've already got. Tele Compass 2 pairs with these units. It's a supported combination, not an experiment, and we've fitted it to a car that came to us as a Ghost II.
If your car is running an older release, updating it unlocks the current feature set on hardware you already own. Where the configuration would benefit from a change as well, we'll talk you through what's involved and why before touching anything.
Pairing isn't the hard part. What decides the value is whether your immobiliser is configured for engine shutdown, because remote engine block is a headline feature of Tele Compass 2 and it needs something to act on. If your car isn't set up for shutdown, the tracker still tracks — but you'd be paying for a capability you can't use.
Not every installation is configured that way, and there are good reasons for that: some owners ask for it, and on some vehicles the shutdown method is a bigger job than on others. It's the first thing we check, and if it needs changing we'd do it at the same time so the tracker earns its keep.
You've done the research and landed on a covert CAN-bus immobiliser. That's the right conclusion — it's the category that actually defeats relay theft, key cloning and OBD attacks, and it's what we fit every week.
Since the hardware is the same either way, the badge isn't the decision. Who configures it for your particular car is one half of it. The other half is a question most people don't get asked before they buy, and it's the one that's expensive to get wrong.
The Ghost II and the AUTHOR IGLA 200/231 are immobilisers. They stop the car being driven away, and they do that very well. Your factory alarm, meanwhile, watches the doors. Between the two there's a gap, and it's the gap most modern thefts go through.
A car being winched onto a tilt tray, or jacked up for its wheels, hasn't had a door opened and hasn't been started. Nothing has been breached, so nothing makes a sound. The AUTHOR Alarm closes that with its own motion, tilt and knock sensors — the car reacts to being lifted, moved or struck, not just to being opened.
The second gap is the one that matters even when a door does get opened. If a thief disables the factory alarm first, everything after that is silent — including opening the car and going through it at leisure. The AUTHOR Alarm runs independently of the factory system, so taking out one doesn't take out the other.
The important part is this: it's a different device, not an upgrade path. You can't start with an immobiliser and convert it to an alarm later — with either brand. Choosing the immobiliser tier is choosing it for the life of the car, unless you're willing to pay twice.
So it's worth five minutes of thought now rather than a swap in two years. If immobilisation is all you want, buy the immobiliser with confidence — it's a strong system. If you'd want the car to make a noise as well, decide that before the first one goes in.
In hardware terms, yes. IGLA Australia — the authorised AUTHOR distributor here — states that the Autowatch Ghost, Ghost II and Ghost 2 are the same devices as the AUTHOR IGLA 200 and 231, rebranded and sold under the Ghost name.
That's not a knock on the Ghost II. It's a good system, and fitted the same way it does the same job. What varies is the installation and which range the unit sits in for future upgrades — not the circuit board inside.
Usually not. Because it's the same hardware, an existing Ghost II can generally be updated to current AUTHOR firmware and reconfigured rather than replaced. That often unlocks functionality the unit was always capable of but was never running.
We'd want to see the vehicle before committing to anything — start with a phone call and tell us what you're driving.
Yes. Tele Compass 2 pairs with these units — it's a supported combination rather than a workaround, and we've fitted it to a car that came to us as a Ghost II. It adds real-time location, trip history and push alerts through the AUTHOR Connect 2.0 app.
The question worth asking first isn't whether it will pair, it's whether your immobiliser is configured for engine shutdown. Remote engine block is a big part of what you're paying for, and it needs something to act on. If yours isn't set up that way, we'd sort that at the same time rather than sell you a tracker that can't do half its job.
No — and the same is true of the AUTHOR IGLA 200 and 231. An immobiliser and an alarm are different devices, not different settings on the same device, so there's no conversion path from one to the other with either brand.
It's worth knowing what the AUTHOR Alarm actually adds, because most cars already have a factory alarm covering the doors. The AUTHOR Alarm brings its own motion, tilt and knock sensors, so the car reacts to being towed, jacked up or struck even when nothing has been opened — and it runs independently, so it still works if the factory alarm has been disabled.
That capability means a different unit. It's the main reason we suggest deciding between the two before the first system goes in rather than after.
There are several legitimate reasons. Some owners specifically ask not to have anti-hijack shutdown enabled. On some vehicles the shutdown is straightforward digitally; on others it needs an analog method to work cleanly, which is a longer job. And on certain models an analog shutdown isn't possible at all and digital is the correct answer.
It genuinely depends on the car, so it isn't something we can tell you without knowing what you drive.
It varies too much to publish a flat price honestly. The unit was hidden by whoever installed it, and a well-hidden unit is exactly what you paid for — so how long it takes to locate is the main variable, along with whether the shutdown method needs changing.
We quote it per vehicle after we've had a look, and we'll talk through the options before anything is committed.
You're buying the same device either way, so the honest answer isn't about the box. It's the range it sits in — AUTHOR Tele Compass 2 GPS, the AUTHOR Alarm if you want motion, tilt and knock sensing as well as immobilisation, AUTHOR Siren BT, the AUTHOR Connect 2.0 app and the AUTHOR ID phone-as-key-fob app — and it's who configures the shutdown for your particular car.
If none of that matters to you, a well-installed Ghost II is a well-installed IGLA. We'd rather say that plainly than pretend there's a difference in the hardware.
Everything is fitted at our Kellyville or Wilberforce workshop in north-west Sydney. We don't do mobile work and we don't subcontract — this kind of job needs a hoist, time and proper testing before the car leaves.
Whether you already have a Ghost II fitted or you're deciding what to buy, the useful conversation starts with the vehicle. Give us a call and we'll tell you what's actually involved for your car.