Troy

I recently had my audio system stolen out of my car (93 accord), now with that said i want to buy a new car.

I never had an alarm system on the old car, which is obviously my fault, but i drove a real box lol. Now i see alot of people on here talking about their sound systems being stolen, but they have much nicer cars.

My point is, did any of you have an alarm system on your cars (i ask because no one has really mentioned it). When i buy a new car, i do plan to put another sound system in, but i dont wanna invest the money in an alarm system, if it has done diddly for all of you. I know "better safe than sorry", but nonetheless.

Ive been told the pager alarms are much better, but in the end i just want to know if its worth it. Im sure the people who still have there systems would say yes, but im slightly more interested in the opinion of those who have had there stuff stolen before.
Thx

Rogue

The truth is, if someone wants your car or what's in it badly enough they will get it. No matter what protection you have, or think of getting.

An alarm is a deterrent to the opportunists or would be smash and grab type thief.

That being said- it's highly recommmended that you have some sort of deterrent. (Like a pitbull chained to your bumper... j/k.)

That little flashing light that signals you have an alarm- and that chirp if a would be thief smacks your car to trigger the warn away; is enough to scare away the blackgard.

The pager unit is a good thing. But be careful not to go running out and beating on the perpetrator trying to break into your vehicle... you could be charged with assault.

Besides the insurance companies might see their way to giving you a discount on your car insurance if have a passive alarm system installed. (Ask your insurance agent.)

hi..i'm new

if you're not gonna protect your investment then the least you could just get a $5 blinking led from an electronics store and mount it on your dash..

MR2NR

iTrader: (66)

Bit once and you are not sure if a preventative measure is worth the investment? Penny saved = pound foolish. Yes a alarm system, properly installed will help you out. Will it stop a die hard, no, do you stand a chance of at least catching the die hard, yes. Will it save your vehilce 99 / 100, more than likely. Put yourself in the theifs shoes, now they know that you have gear, they will be back and no alarm? Or will there be an alarm and will they move onto a easier target. Chances are better than the average bear that no alarm = break in.

Big Tom

Story goes as this, we moved into a new place and were in the middle of getting a new garage built so I had to park my car on the street. My car is a bit done up nothing to flashy but it's fairly obvious I would have a stereo. One night 8 cars on our street got hit including my moms which was parked directly in front of me, and funny thing is that night for some stupid reason I forgot to take in my faceplate, and my back seat was folded down showing my amps and sub box for anyone to see.

So, my alarm saved me that night and I'm sure alot of other times I don't know about. I've had a stereo in my car for over 7yrs now and never had a break in (knock on wood) I always tint my cars, install alarms, and never park in a shady area and if I do will move the car every so often and try to park under street lights.

So my advice is to get an alarm, it's paid for itself in my life. Plus as an added bonus it's really nice being able to add power trunk/doors off my alarm since my car didn't have either at first

Troy

Well i definetly plan to put an alarm in my next car, i was young and foolish with my first beater! I just wanted to know (before i get my next car, and do all the fun stuff with it) weather an alarm is usefull or not. What you guys have said makes sense though.

With that out the way, because i know i will be getting one on my next car, im curious about how ppl feel about the different styles of alarms ..

Pager or Normal?
Which brands are known as the best or worst

MR2NR

iTrader: (66)

What I get a kick out of is all the different stores that sell DEI manufactured products under different brand names and each store is claiming that theirs is the best. There are alot of good alarms on the market today, what really makes them work is the quality of the install. Give yourself a budget for a alarm + install. Think about the options that the alarm should have. Personally I would short list a pager type alarm over a non pager alarm any day of the week. Does it need to have remote start, what kind of warranty does it and the install carry...lots of questions that you need to figure out before you choose.

Number 2

iTrader: (1)

I woulnd't ever go without an alarm on my cars. The second day i drove my Eclipse i got a basic viper 1 way alarm with a prox installed.
The installation is so imortant. I'd rather use a Black Widow Cheapy alarm installed by my install manager, Ryan White, then a Viper 5000 installed by myself or someone who isn't properly experienced

PT-Chris

iTrader: (1)

Very well put.

The reality of it is that a good thief will not break a window to gain entry but will be more tactful in his approach. If I were the one breaking into a car with an alarm I would slim jim the door open and if the alarm went off (some installers dont connect to door pins so it may not set the alarm off) I would go right under the dash, feel for the brain and rip it out. Alarm dissabeled!! Easy as that. Or once in the car pop the hood and tear the siren out then deal with the parking lights flashing.

A couple of kids that are out to steal some stuff will be more likely to break the window and do the old smash and grab.

The secret to making an alarm effective is the install. Running wires for the alarm with factory harnesses, completely taping the wires for the alarm so that they are not so easy to spot, getting the brain into a place that is not easy to access without removing panels, and many other tricks.

I recommend a pager alarm forsure, because lets face it who pays attention to an alarm going off these days?? The other component I would suggest is to add a glass break sensor to the system. The reason for this is that a standard shock sensor will not detect a window being broken in most cases. The glass break sensor picks up the infrasonic frequencies when a window is broken and triggers the alarm.

All in all the alarm is really only as good as the install.

molo

Hey, good thoughts, here's some extra input from a guy who's had his no-alarm car stolen and is now in the middle of putting in an alarm:

Yeah, the way to avoid this is 1) with a good install, as you mention, and secondly with a well-designed alarm. I believe my alarm works like this (I'll know for sure tomorrow when I hook it up):

There is a signal wire from the alarm brain that keeps a relay closed as long as the brain has power. The relay is put inline between the ignition switch and the engine ignition (run) wire. That way if the brain ever loses power (i.e. gets ripped out), the relay goes open and there's no way to turn the car on anymore (and if it's already on, it goes off). This also normally acts as an engine cut-off loop, where if you push a button on the remote, the brain cuts power to the signal wire and the car shuts off.

Pretty good trick, but may cause some headaches troubleshooting if it ever loses contact and you keep looking for why your car won't start (i.e. looking at battery, alternator, fuel, etc, but forgetting that the alarm has to work too).

Yeah, a pager is better, but I gotta disagree about the shock sensor. Most, if not all, will detect a window breaking, depending on the sensitivity setting. Mine has a **** that sets how sensitive it is. If I set it at the highest sensitivity, it can pick up my (motorized) garage door opening.

True that, double true.

Hope this helps,
molo