All of a sudden there has been lots of crime in my neighborhood.(vandalism, break ins, etc.) So I am now in the market for a car alarm. I don't have any experience or knowledge with car alarms, so I need alittle help choosing a reliable one. Price isn't a really big deal to me so the sky is the limit. Any one that could help me would be appreciated!!

Greg

 

Posts here favor these companies:

Laurent and his "almost drop in" DEI-based alarm
Viper alarms (DEI-based)
Alpine SEC-150R (I have this one)
Clifford (DEI-based)

All these alarms should have the dual-zone microwave sensor (option on Viper and Clifford, standard on Laurent and Alpine 150R) to detect movement in the car when the alarm is set.

This are roughly in the order of popularity based on posts I have read. If planning on doing it yourself, the Laurent alarm is probably the best. If having a shop do it, my rule is the quality of the install is much more important than any of the differences in any of the above brands.

 

Here is the big old: * to the above message...

Look for a pager alarm. It costs more, but KNOWING that your alarm is going off is EXTREMELY nice in terms of piece of mind.

I did some fairly heavy research on this issue before I got mine. I would look for the Viper ES550 two-way pager system (Made by DEI) Note that the Python is the EXACT same alarm and is usually $100 cheaper. The other option is CompuStar. I went for the CompuStar as it offers a MUCH longer range for the remote. They have various models, but the one I went with is the alarm only (no remote start or turbo timer module) with the Spread Spectrum technology.

I had to e-mail CompuStar to find shops in my area, the DEI line is MUCH more popular.

Overall I am very happy with the CompuStar. I really like the range, but I think the remote is a little bulky and with the buttons on the side, I am afraid I will bump them accidently. I think from a user interface standpoint I would like the features and functionality of the Viper, but from a security standpoint I wanted the extra range from the CompuStar.

It ran me about $500 installed with an additional proximity sensor.

 

Ditto on the Compustar, I had the remote ignition put on mine.

Ron Smith

 

I installed the Laurent alarm a couple of weeks ago. I wanted to use the remotes that came with the car. I am very pleased with it and William is very responsive. But, you'd better like to solder while standing on your head!

 

i also have William's alarm, and outside of being to lazy to make a couple sensitivity increases, i love it... reasonably easy to get in, well laid out, reasonably priced, and good support from William...

but some of those solder points are tricky to get to... i'd advise pulling the driver front seat out before doing this one...