Any recommendations for airtag to put into car being transported cross country? TIA

Your options are ios based or android based. I have apple air tags that work well and are easy to use with my iphone

like most apple devices it works seamlessly with the apple environment

I have an airtag in my mom's car because she goes to places i tell her that aren't safe. She doesn't listen so I airtagged it and it is spotty. I live in a congested area but she goes to places were an apple device isn't so it doesn't always pick up her location so its not exactly real time but close.

Airtags are always exact either. I put one in my friend's luggage and it has yet to give the correct address. It's close but always a street over or several houses away. Yet when I travel, my luggage airtag is in the same terminal as me.

>> but she goes to places were an apple device isn't
I don't understand that.

I gather that both airtags are Apple.

in order to work, the air tags need to be nearby a cell phone - any cell phone that tells Apple its location ( for Apple branded air tags) or an Android phone for tags that are Android compatible.

the tags themselves don’t connect to the cell network. So if the tag in the car isnt “seen” by a passing Apple phone, then it’s simply a little brick.

Same is true on the Android network.

For an elderly relative “mom” any tag on her car should be compatible with her phone, otherwise you’re at the mercy of passersby. If she has an iphone, then it will be her own phone that transmits the location. One can also share an iphone location directly and track that on another ipad or phone. Doing that requires setting location sharing permissions with you from the settings in her phone, whereas an airtag does not require special permission to be useful.

in my own experience there are enough iphone usees out there that my tags are rarely invisible to me.

My mom doesn't have a compatible phone not that she keeps it with her all the time. I just didn't want some thing that I pay an additional monthly feee on. I think its same with my friend whose luggage air tag is always in her garage and never gives the exact location. I knew this when buying them.

>> in order to work, the air tags need to be nearby a cell phone

J62, got a question and I assume the answer is "yes" but have to ask just in case the answer is "no":
Does the nearby cell phone (iPhone) need to be powered on for the air tag to work?

Yes, the nearby cellphone (iPhone) needs to be both on, and connected to the cell network.

If it's on, it will sense the Airtag nearby, but in order to tell Apple HQ (and thus you) where it is, it needs to be able to transmit it's location.
So a cell phone that's on but in the middle of the wilderness won't do anybody any good....

Some newer model iPhones can transmit their location via satellite when they are off the cell grid, but most only connect to nearby cell towers. So if you get zero bars in that area on a phone, the airtag won't be of use.

Here's it explained well thanks to Gemini AI.

Overview
Apple AirTags transmit their location, but indirectly by using the Find My network of nearby iPhones and other Apple devices to report their location to iCloud. The AirTag itself does not have a GPS chip but instead emits a secure Bluetooth signal that those devices detect. The location is then relayed anonymously and encrypted to your Find My app, where you can see the AirTag's position on a map.

How the Find My Network Works

Bluetooth Signal:
An AirTag sends out a secure, anonymous Bluetooth signal.

Nearby Devices:
Any iPhone, iPad, or Mac within Bluetooth range of the AirTag can detect this signal. [j62 note: bluetooth range is only very nearby - maybe 10-20 feet for a good signal - ...]

Relaying Location:
The detecting device then sends the AirTag's location information to iCloud.

AirTag is good. Put it under the trunk liner or inside the spare tire compartment. Harder to find and still tracks.

Thanks to all who replied. I ultimately did nothing to track my vehicle, and trusted the transporter. It all went very well. My original contact was with Montway, and I would use them again.

I see the original poster has made a decision. We use AirTags and for the most part they work very well. The last time we use them, we were flying from Chicago to Puerto Rico and at one point the app on the phone showed that one of the bags was in North Carolina . As it turned out, sometimes there’s a delay in connectivity. The bag was in the plane with us all along, and a friend of mine told me that it may have been stored in a part of the storage hold in the plane that was a bit too far from where I was sitting to connect with it.

The friend who told me this uses AirTags and he was able to see that one of his bags from Germany to Hawaii was not with him. They got it all straightened out eventually, but it’s useful as you can see.

You should be able to track your car across the nation using an AirTag. Just make sure it's concealed somewhere it can't be removed or tampered with, like under the seat or within the glove compartment. Remember that for tracking to work, the vehicle must be within range of Apple devices.