Originally Posted by The_Jazz

OK, this make things much easier. You want LoJack, not VIN etching. VIN etching is for getting the PARTS of your car back, not the whole thing. It's a way to defeat chopshops. LoJack is for recovering the entire car quickly.

Springing for both would indeed be downright silly unless this is a collectible car that's in bad shape. If it's an old Corvette or MG, that changes the playing field, but if it's 1980 Ford Escort....

I think the most likely theft scenario here is kids out joyriding or a neighborhood person that needs to go from point A to B and doesn't want to take the bus. Those are the cases that LoJack was designed for.