Alarm - do i need one ?

Anchises

Hi,

I had an alarm on my old car.
Now that i have a newer one with an imobiliser + remote central locking,
I wonder if an alarm is any addition, considering the cost of fitting .

If it's not possible to drive away 'cos the immobiliser is on, then a thief would only get into the car, but could not start it . right ?
And if nothing is left in the car, why would he do it ?

Or is the immobiliser thing a con. Can they be got around anyway by hot-wiring ?

Oh ! by the way , my last car was stolen, even with the alarm set

bazz26

I have always had an alarm in my cars. Just peace of mind I guess. It is more of a deterant than anything else. A professsional thief will find a way to take your car if they want it bad enough. But an alarm may put the standard scumbag off and he will probably move on to the next car (the one with no alarm). Personnelly I consider it more of deterant against mindless damage than thieft.

Saying that scumbags tried to take my alloy wheels once. When they tried to jack the car up, the alarm went off and they took off. Alarm paid for itself on that occasion.

Capt'n Midnight

Those yellow steering wheel locks should also slow down scummers a little, and would be essential on older cars that don't use code-keys cos they're too easy to hotwire.

but in any case don't leave your keys on the hall table - locks and alarms are no use if they fish for the keys through the letter box :mad:

I've heard of a porche stolen from a area with a 12 foot high wall, they used a crane.

Kersh

Get the alarm. All my cars are protected with alarm/immobilisers, and a steering lock. One of the cars has motion sensors on it too.
I have had 2 of my cars broken into in 18 months. They broke the steering wheel off both of them trying to break the steering lock. Everything helps deter these scumbags. They wont try take your car if a sensor goes off when they go near it, and it has a big steering lock covering the wheel. I woyuld get it if I were you.

Peace

I'd get both alarm and immobiliser..

I skanger breaks into the car and theres no alarm he/she will feel comfortable in spending more time inside the car ripping you off than if a siren was blaring...

Immobiliser i would defo have. As said before if someone really wants you car then they'll take it. But often they'll go for the easy/quick choice with less probablity of being caught..

Dades

Kersh wrote:

One of the cars has motion sensors on it too.

Can you fit those yourself? Any idea where you'd pick one up?
Cheers!

unkel

Alarm + immobiliser. Not expensive, will bring your insurance quote down and gives piece of mind

Just ask yourself: what kind of car do you see burnt out at the side of the road? Precisely, an older car probably without alarm & immobiliser and hotwired by the local scrotes who just look for the first car without above they can find. Your insurance is rarely FC, so your money gone

Professional thieves can take your car if they want, no need to worry about it. They will most likely break into your house and steal the keys with you there or not. Applies only to valuable cars really

Kersh

The athiest,
I dont know about fitting them , they are on my 300zx, it has a clifford and a toad alarm, got fitted in UK.
That said, my mate got a clifford w/sensors etc fitted to his rx7 in November. If you want I can find out who did it.

Dades

Thanks Kerch
If you don't know off-hand no worries.
That's what the 'net is for!

fletch

I got an alarm fitted by these guys. Very professional job, took about 1.5hrs & they will come out to your workplace & install it.
My car already had an immobiliser and a horn that would go off if you tried to start the car if the doors had been locked from the outside and not opened. The alarm they fit has interior motion sensors so even if someone managed to get in the back boot, they would set the alarm off.....well they would have set it off already once they lifted the boot.
IMO get an alarm installed

fletch

Even if you can't afford an alarm, get a little flashing LED from Maplins(only a few quid) and hook it up to the battery.
My car has 3 flashing LEDs one for the alarm, one for the immobiliser and once when I remove the fascia for the radio.

Kersh

My Z has sensors on the outside and at the wheels, so if someone goes up to it it beeps, and if he spends 10 secs looking in the window the the alarm goes off, and the sensors on the wheels stop them robbing them, they have locking nuts too, I would be just a bit paranoid you know....

fletch

Kersh wrote:

My Z has sensors on the outside and at the wheels, so if someone goes up to it it beeps, and if he spends 10 secs looking in the window the the alarm goes off, and the sensors on the wheels stop them robbing them, they have locking nuts too, I would be just a bit paranoid you know....

Personally I don't think they are such a good idea. I would imagine kids would have great fun trying to set off the sensors. Like the idea of sensors on the wheels though. Just got me a nice set of locking wheel nuts last weekend. Worthwhile investment when you consider the cost of replacing new alloys & tyres & how easy it is to remove wheels without locking wheel nuts

ambro25

Got Toad alarm/immob + Skorpion immob on the Scoob (Skorp' is a redundant fit, kicks in if Toad dies/not 'properly' disarmed).

Double immob' is a bit of an overkill for a £3k car, but then again it's a Scoob.

Toad has multiple tri-sensors [volume (displacement), heat (IR) and ultrasound (windows)], anti-carjack (locks doors automatically 5 secs after starting engine) and loads of weird & wonderful configs (each nearly as complicated as the other, bit like setting you house alarm downstairs while you're upstairs etc :rolleyes: ) etc.

Toad are one of the best-rated alarm system manufacturers by UK insurers, but should be fitted professionally.

...just so scrotes reading this Forum & getting ideas are aware

Kersh

Sounds like the toad on mine. And a Clifford virtual key. Still doesnt stop the ****s from damaging it. So far the only one to set it off is my gf walking by it at 6am, and hitting off it. nice wake up call for the neighbours

Anchises

Thanks guys.
so I'm geting an alarm fitted

Saruman

friend of mine got one fit in his celica yesterday.. they came and fit ti. He has a keyring thing with an LCD display of a car and it shows up on that what part of the car is being tampered with etc etc.. even if someone bangs on a window it shows up..

BaZmO*

fletch wrote:

Even if you can't afford an alarm, get a little flashing LED from Maplins(only a few quid) and hook it up to the battery.

I found that works too. For about 2 years I had no alarm on my car with no problems. But the stereo that came with the car (an old cheapy one) had a little red LED that used to flash on and off. I changed the stereo to a fairly decent Pioneer with a removable cover and low and behold about 2 weeks later my car was broken into outside my house along with every other car that had no alarm fitted. Luckily enough I got all my stuff back.

I should of learned my lesson but oh no, I had to wait until my car got broken into another 2 times for before I finally took the hint a got an alarm fitted!! That was about 2 years ago and so far so good! touch wood!

unkel wrote:

Alarm + immobiliser. Not expensive, will bring your insurance quote down and gives piece of mind

When I rang Quinn Direct to tell them that I got an alarm fitted and would it make a difference to my policy have guess what they said? Yeah that's right, not one iota of a difference. Bastids!!!!

B.

Saruman

My mothers car was broken into once.. My car was in the driveway but its newer and has flashing red lights.. i did not have an alarm then but the flashing red light put them off i guess. They could not steal her car in the end as the muppets broke the steering shaft or something like that. We all got alarms after that

fletch

BaZmO* wrote:

When I rang Quinn Direct to tell them that I got an alarm fitted and would it make a difference to my policy have guess what they said? Yeah that's right, not one iota of a difference. Bastids!!!!
B.

Yeh I rang my insurance company today to tell em I got an alarm fitted...asked me the make, model, who fitted etc....then came back n told me that it would have no effect on my policy. You would imagine they would try give some discount by way of an incentive for people to make their cars safer & less likely to be broken into & thus less likely to make a claim

BaZmO*

I'd say they just reckon that you've already taken out the policy with them so your stuck with it until your policy is up and then if you shopped around, other companies might take an alarm into account when quoting. But then again who knows what mad crazy way they calculate policies?

B.