Got broken into. (pic's inside) Can you suggest a good alarm?

[ChosenWon]

So I was walking out to my car to do some of my mesh work, (2:30am) and I find my car door open dome light on. They took a ton of stuff, and screwed up all my locks, scratched the hell out of my windows, and messed up my trunk and door handles.

So....With the insurance money, can you suggest a good alarm?

[ivbdn]

Oh man! That totally sucks ass! I'm sorry to hear about it. As far as an alarm goes, I don't know. I've got the factory one. BTW, the kit came today. Thanks!

[ChosenWon]

Cool, enjoy your kit. Can I get that alarm that shoots flames out the sides?

[alexs001]

f-in ********. I can't stand theives. They are so lazy. Now I'm all riled up!!

Salesman Mode:
As for alarms, we have a new brand called Predator available. The systems are basically all the old (reliable) Avital gear under a new name. There is a lifetime warranty on everything including the REMOTES! Most decent shops also guarantee their install for as long as you have the vehicle.

End Salesman Mode.

Thanks
Sorry to hear of your loss, I've been there.

[Hyperdash]

chosen I was going to suggest the alarm that shoots flames outta the side too, does anyone here actually have/know someone who has that?

[Geek Guy]

... don't think they're legal in the U.S. Only places like Hong Kong, I think. Somone correct me if I'm wrong.

[nikkicalves]

Get a Clifford/Avatal - same thing. Just make sure it is sensative enough that it will not ignore taps to the body. I don't care what anyone says...it might get a little annoying but at least you won't have stupid kids fing with your car. I had my wing stolen and since then I have installed my Cifford and people stay away from my car cause they don't want to set off the alarm. Let's just say I have all of the bells and whisles and I am happy when it chirps to let people know that this ain't no factory crap!

Nick.

BTW I spent $600 CDN to get mine installed. At least you know only the best of thives can take your goods.

[phatride01]

as this weekend, someone shattered the rear quarter glass on the wagon.

IT SUCKS! even more because there was NOTHING in the car that was "valuable." The person(s) just broke the glass to get kicks, I guess.

Whatta PITA.

again, sorry to hear of your loss.

phat.

[Subie Gal]

awww Chosen... that sucks!!!

I am so sorry...

any alarm is better than no alarm... be sure it's wired into your trunk as well as the doors....

i had a Clifford on my last car... it did the job...

i have the factory alarm on this one and i garage it...

hang in there!!!! i feel for ya...

theives are the worst kind of scum.

j.
www.subiegal.com

[9]

What you should do, is hook up some nerve gas to some intercooler spray nozzles or fuel injectors on the outside of the car and have those spray out nerve gas whenever your car is messed with! just think, i'll never get towed either!

later gators,
courtney

[ColinL]

1: if you park outdoors or in an otherwise unsecure place (say public parking garage) at home or work then your car won't be very safe no matter what. especially at home, since these punks have hit you once already.

2: be discreet in every way, if you show nothing worthy of theft they are less likely to break in. minimal visual modifications, detachable face (or otherwise obscured) head unit, nothing accessible and visible in the car (radar detector, GPS, cell phone, wife's purse).

3: get a competent alarm appropriate to the level of threat, but don't spend crazy amounts on it because everything can be defeated in one way or another. I like DEI alarms, something like a Viper 550+ would work great. Since you've been broken into once already, be sure to have hood and trunk triggers installed and I would recommend a hood lock and interior piezo sirens. They used to be called 'pain generators', but I believe they just call it a piezoelectric siren now... tiny little buggers that you mount in the car somewhere (dash vents are popular) and it's not humanly possible to be in the car when they are going off. This helps against the thieves that don't care if your alarm goes off because they're just going to dismember your dash with a crowbar and take what they can in under a minute or so.

[cvalle-sd]

The alarm is only good if it can

1. Alert someone willing to help you
2. Make life difficult for the thief

basically, nothing short of the threat or reality of physical violence will keep someone out of your car (or house, or pocket) if they want in. No alarm can do more than scream help. point is - they'll wait 'til your car is isolated. I say buy your stereos at costco, and try not to leave anything in the car you can't afford to replace with the next paycheck. As far as I'm concerned, nothing in the interior of my car is going to cost more than $150 from now on. Don't buy some HAL9000 alarm. Just something with ignition kill, unless your're going for hardcore, remote 2nd-battery kind of stuff. Car thieves are bums who have that much less to lose than you - just don't show 'em anything. Be careful where you leave your car, and hope for the best.

[joe z]

second the dei line of viper alarms yoiu should get a prox sensor with it too

[Keith]

wow man I'm sorry to see that smae thing happend to a friend of mine 2 weeks ago, they took EVERyTHIng...lewzers!!
ahh neways, to answer ur qestion. I have clifford Solaris...here are the pluses
1. auto car start (with a stick, and its safe )
2. very sentisive (also "learns". So it doesn't go off in a lightening storm, but if someone touches it it will go off.
3. you can add all kinds of things to it. Like an module that can tell if your car is being lifted (to protect rims), wireless sirnen (so they can't cut any wires), and many other things
4. you can program all the buttons to do what you want them to do.
5. instead of a dumb vallet switch (that anyone can hit), it has a little code pannel (consiting of 2 buttons). If you open your car and u don't have the remote, you put the key in and put the code in. I like having that.
6. it has a car jacking thing, I don't use it, but its cool to have.
7. it has a carbon fiber remote..it saves weight
www.clifford.com. Everyone has vipers, they all sound the same, and most ppl just ignore them.
Its cool to have something that sounds different + has auto-car start
let me know if u ahve any questions man..sorry to hear of ur loss. Kick some ass if u find out who did it
Keith

also, see if you can have a siren INSIDE ur car also, that would really anoy the robbers, and tehy might not bother with ur car. I want to get one of those soon

[skyhigh420]

sucks dude, go with whatever alam you like, they are all the same..beatable. also get a Lojack, cause maybe next time the whole thing will be gone. Also a club is a nice deterrant, but nothing will stop a real theif. As i live in NJ, all to close to Newark, your only sure bet is to live, yes LIVE, in your car with Smith and Wesson riding shotgun! Anyway, point is that without you there with some force to back up your ass, kiss your **** goodbye if someone wants it. Key is to not attract attention, but that sure is hard with all the **** out there to get.

[MagicMT]

Sorry to hear about that. I think I'm going to need a better alarm too since I'm going to be moving to an apt with outdoor parking... I have the factory one and it's crap. It never goes off. I can bang on my own car, sit on it, and it doesn't chirp or anything. At least I have an autolock. Could I put 2 alarms in my car?

Mike

[bratmantlz]

hmm get a 12gauge and prop it up so if anyone walks through the garage door the bell answers them or a glock of any cal.
not sure on the car alarm issue though

[STiShawn]

Factory alarm saved my car. My GF's Corolla was broken into, and the stereo was stolen right next to my car,my car was fine, right outside my bedroom window! These guys were good, no damage to the car, but no stereo in the car either....funny thing is, the stereo didnt work anyways....jokes on them..a$$holes...

[scoobagenie]

i feel your pain.

my last car had its window shattered - i guess my stupidity was leaving a briefcase on the back seat. i'm assuming the thieves thought a laptop might be in there, but imagine when their "loot" turned out to be only my Bible! hope the little dirt bags felt guilty

[Keiho]

Sucks to hear that man.

Sorta OT, but does anyone know whether or not I can retrofit a sensor or something to my trunk? I just found out my alarm doesn't go off when the trunk is opened. What the crap! Piece of junk alarm. Heh.

[8Complex]

Damn, sorry to hear, man. Hope they didn't get anything but the stereo and cause a little damage (damage can be fixed and the stereo can be replaced, but other things are just too valuable to replace).

I had a car that was broken into once... the broke the pass. window and tore apart the entire interior trying to get the radio out (it was bolted to the frame, hehe, I love my Volvo - I'm still using this radio too, just got a new faceplate & remote). Then the morons decided that the trunk opened from the sides and pried with a big screwdriver on either side of the trunk causing massive damage to the fenders and trunk lid, then managed to finally pry up the trunk lid where the lock was, and stole my box & a bag of clothes (idiots), and all my tools. They managed to ring up a bill of around $2500 - which my insurance company then screwed me out of... needless to say, we switched insurance companies very soon thereafter - and I just junked the car because it wasn't worth it to fix.

[Idjiit]

Happy with my Clifford. The fact that it's sensitive enough for door taps so that it'll "chirp" at someone to let someone know what's up, but smart enough to know what's a tap and what's not is pretty cool.

I also got the tilt-sensor which I haven't tried yet, but is pretty crucial since I live in SF.

Of course, in my new apartment I've got a garage, so... Not too big of a deal anymore.

[Darwin]

I got smash and grabbed earlier this year. losers took a case with about 6 crappy casette tapes in it. busted my driver side rear to do it, putting a ding in the metal and a couple of bad chips int he paint. =( must have been wearing a belt.
I keep nothing of value visible in the car now..as far as stereos go, I'm gonna installa stock WRX unit.

[dandbest]

Like everyone else said already, sorry to hear about your loss...
Here is an idea that I've had for a while: put a snake in the car when youre not in it! Believe me, no one will touch it. The only problem I can forsee is getting the snake out of the car when you gotta use it... See, if I had this part, I'd be a millionaire.

Danny

[rogue]

The flamethrower out the side is only being used, afaik, in South Africa. It's not an alarm system, it has to be triggered by the driver. The system is meant to "disuade" carjackers, and is said to be *drumroll* NON-LETHAL.

The company that makes it does allow, however, that the assailant will most likely be blinded for life. You know. Because of the fire burning his face and eyes.

I've always wanted to rig up something that "chirps" when the car is touched, then arcs a nice blue bolt of electricity across the body of the car. Somehow I think that'd keep the thieves at bay.