rukawa88

I'm on my way to getting my '02 S2k but I wanted to know if it's worth it to purchase the OEM alarm as an option.

I'm curious as to how much dealerships would charge for labor to install the factory alarm. The alarm from H and A is only 270 so I wonder if i got it installed at the dealership, the price would still be cheaper.

Any help is appreciated.

jeffbrig

Check out the instructions, it's a pretty straightforward install. You may want to think about doing it yourself. With all of the sockets provided, it doesn't look any harder than a stereo/amp install.

My 2

Lightning

for the money you pay for the factory alarm, which is severly limited in its capabilities, you could spring for an aftermarket alarm from a variety of manufacturers which will do a better job. easily.

jeffbrig

However, the difference is that the aftermarket alarm involves lots of cutting and splicing of wires. The OEM alarm comes with a wiring harness that plugs right into the vehicle wiring. Also, I've had bad experiences before over the long term with aftermarket alarms. They work great for a few years, then start randomly falsing (bad proximity sensors, alarm brain goes haywire, etc). On the other hand I've never had problems with an OEM alarm.

Besides, alarms are merely deterrents to petty thieves. Any alarm can be sufficient for that purpose. Pagers - what's the point, you're going to run out and take the law into your own hands? Proximity sensors - great, now it goes off when someone walks too close to the car. All you really need is something that locks the doors for you and sounds an audible alarm when someone gains entry or smashes the glass.

If you're worried about your car getting stolen, look into the LoJack vehicle recovery system. It's a hidden radio beacon, activated when you report the car stolen, that lets to police quickly find and recover the vehicle.

Jeff

JetBlackS2000

buy aftermarket...i just had installed the Alpine SEC-150...works great...paid about $215 CAD for the install...front hood pin...trunk hood pin...power door locks...shock sensor...proximaty sensor and alarm will sound when armed with roof top down and you try to put your hand in the car...cool blue light mounted in car and on remotes...all of the adjustments are made via the remotes...it's got a nice quiet chirp too (hate that horn)

the unit is about $300 CAD (Canadian Dollars)