ive been worried about people might break in to my car. i need help choosing a alarm for myself, and how much would an alarm be around? do you guys get your alarms from the internet or locally? which would be cheaper??

 

An alarm is only as good as the installer. It is always cheaper to buy it over the internet, but if you are not an expert installer, then I would hire someone to do it. (I did my whole audio system, but paid someone else to do my alarm.)

I went for the Compustar two-way pager alarm. When the alarm goes off, it pages me. Most pager alarms have a range of only about 1/4 of a mile. The Compustar spread spectrum pager has a range of 1 and 1/4 mile!

I think the Viper is a little more user-friendly, and the remote seems to be a little nicer to use on a daily basis, but I wanted the extra range.

Either way, consider adding a proximity sensor. My alarm was $500 installed with the prox sensor. I mounted mine in the secret compartment, but if I had it to do over, I would mount it under the arm rest. it is easy to take up, and there is a TON of room under there,. It would offer the best protection in the cabin. My prox sensor falses from tree branches overhead, rain, and even me walking across my bedroom which is directly above my garage. Keep it as low as possible.

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by ruexp67
[B]An alarm is only as good as the installer. It is always cheaper to buy it over the internet, but if you are not an expert installer, then I would hire someone to do it.

Exactly. I've been in the stereo/alarm business for 14 years now and I've seen all the brands and their flaws. Clifford was the best alarm out there for awhile but they were absorbed by DEI (viper). But within the last 3 years, Crimestopper has pulled away from the pack. Superior features and reliability. From my experiences, that is my opinion. Hope it helps.

 

I just had my alarm installed (after someone cut my top to break into the car). I got the Viper alarm and added the dual proximity sensor. I opted not to get the pager alarm because it added a bunch of money to the alarm's price and I didn't find that necessary for my needs.

I mounted the sensor in the armrest like it was suggested above. This way you have to reach into the car for the alarm to go off (depending on the sensivity that you set the alarm).

The cost: $345 installed. If you have any other questions send me a PM. The options on most of the alarms I reviewed (Clifford, DEI, Viper, Alpine) where just about the same and all the alarms used the same proximity sensor. A lot of the price came down to the cost of shop labor but like it was said above, you want to make sure the shop does a good install so the alarm can not be easily deactivated.

 

while not as comprehensive as some of the others, WLaurent offers a nice setup for $175 that you install yourself that includes a proximity detector. if you're reasonably handy with a soldering iron and such, it might be an option to explore as well....

 

Clifford, DEI and Viper are all the same company (Hornet too.)

 

yup... William's alarm is a Hornet using DEI accessories btw.

 

Yeah that was my point. (Same 'brains' to the alarm)

 

the compustar alarm sounds good to me w/the prox sensor. Where did u get it at, i would like that extra distance for the pager thing thats why. and can anyone post tips,comments about compustar. thanks

 

I had it done at a local audio shop. (Not really going to help you in HI )

I did have to "hunt" down someone that sold these alarms though. Check out the compustar website, and then contact them for dealers in your area. They sent me back one name. It sounded like a guy working out of his basement. So I e-mailed them back and they sent me to a place that was going out of business. I e-mailed AGAIN and asked for everyone in my area (and shop with a local area code.) They did send me that, and I called a few shops off that list until I found one that I felt knew what they were talking about when it came to an S2000.

Questions for shops should be:
Have you ever done an S2000? How many, and what did you do to them?
Where did you mount the amps/controller/crossovers or whatever they installed? The idea with this question is to see if they are blowing smoke up your a$$.
How much to install?
What kind of warrentee on the work?
How do you make up your connections? (Solder vs. Crimp.)

Here is the compustar website. Notice that's it .org

http://www.compustar.org/products/index.html