I'm going to be buying a 2006 and would like an alarm system. I would appreciate your thoughts on whether it's better to get the alarm from the dealership (at a higher cost), or from somewhere else, and what alarm systems people trust. Thanks....

 

Stay away from the CompuStar 2WSS.

Although it's 2-way range is far superior to other 2-way alarms on the market, it drains your battery by drawing nearly 2 times the power that most other alarms draw.

If you drive your car everyday, it's not a problem, leave it sit for a week and your battery will be dead.

 

I believe most people would say go aftermarket (2 way for sure). The two that I think are most popular are the Compustar 2WSS and the Viper 771XV. Compustar I believe has a farther range. Also, Lojack is also a good option if available in your area. I would probably layer Lojack with an alarm though.

 

What do you want an alarm for? Once you know why you want an alarm, you'll know what to look for.

 

Well, basically, I think a theft-deterrent system is appropriate, I just don't know which brands/models people have liked with the S2000....

 

what does the lojack sysem usually cost? Are there monthly fees?

i have been considering this for my S.

 

Well, the first thing I did after buying a new S2000 last year was to install my alarm. I always think after market alarm is better than factory installed, especially true for Honda cars.

The one I got is Clifford Matrix 2-way alarm, $380 installed, the pager alarm has a LCD display with backlight and vibration build in.

 

I have a basic Compustar - all I want is a non factory, not so common noise maker in case people mess with the car, but some people want two-way communiction, remote start, etc. Added to my basic alarm are shock, motion and hood sensors. Factory is pretty worthless imo.

 

i would definetly go with an after market system, since the factory system is more expensive and pretty easy to bypass. stay with viper/python or clifford and two way paging systems are great.

 

lojack is like 700 for the basic, one time fee, the upgraded version is like a couple hundred more, (messages you via email, phone, pager, etc if window, door, trunk, car starts)