My first question is, in general, how safe is the DC Metro area? Have any members had their S stolen? Have many members had seats/wheels/etc. stolen?

My next question is, what does everyone think is the best alarm/alarm set-up? I know some people have the opinion that if their car was stolen, they wouldn't want it back but I am the opposite and would definitely want it back.

Any stories/advice/opinions would be greatly appreciated.

I live in the Rockville/Gaithersburg area by the way.

 

To be honest alarms are not really going to help. 99.9999% of the people ignore them. I would 100% recommend LoJack, that will get your car back for you.

 

 

Any opinions on the higher end viper or clifford alarms with gps tracking? They notify you directly to your phone and e-mail not only when your vehicle is moving like lojack does but also when the battery is disconnected or when your alarm is set off. I've also heard that some police departments aren't equipped with lojack's tracking technology so they can't use lojack to track a stolen vehicle.

 

Viper and Clifford are owned by the same company, Directed Electronics. The systems seem to work ok and require cellular service to function so that would require wireless service to function in the area your car is in, that could be an issue. Looks like the alarm plus the gps module are around $1000 plus install.

Pretty much all of the metro area departments have Lojack tracking, I wouldnt see it as an issue. Also found this,

Does my car need to be running for LoJack to work?
No. The LoJack unit constantly draws a very small amount of power from your vehicle's battery. Should your battery be disconnected, LoJack's back up battery will provide power.

 

Helpful information.

 

As far as I've heard, VA is a little worse for vandalism than MD. I haven't heard of many thefts in this area at all. It's not nearly as bad as Miami... ask them about their thefts. Then again, Dom just had his wheels jacked and his car left on blocks... even though he had wheel locks. Ish happens wherever you go.

Welcome to the rockville/gburg area! I used to live in Gaithersburg and Germantown... now I'm up a little farther in Damascus. Where you at?

 

 

yeah an alarm wont do you any good here. only way to keep your car safe is a garage. Dom's pic above is a perfect example of what goes on in the area. i had my wheels stolen in Arlington about 2 yrs ago and my S was broken into about 2 weeks ago. about 2 months ago my house was broken into also. shit happens alot around here so be ready.

not to scare you or anything

 

That picture of Dom's makes me feel like puking. I can't imagine how it makes Dom feel. The least they could have done was leave it on 4 blocks. Lazy bastards.

I know no alarm is a guarantee. I think an alarm that texts you when it is going off could improve your odds though. If the same alarm provided gps tracking, better yet. With my luck, though, my phone wouldn't get the message.