Car Alarms

Okay im kinda curious, i'm a newbie to car security my self and really dont know much about it. But say i was to invest in a car alarm, how exactly does it go off and when does it go off? basically what im tryin to say is what would ignitaite the car alarm to set off? Like would it go off if i took a glass cutter and carefully cut out the glass? or what if i used a dremel tool and cut open part of the hood to disconnect the battery or do they have like back up batteries? would the car alarm still work or?eh i dunno... yea... sorry for my newbness but yea, any one know, just curious, not going to do it my self ( dont want to go to jail!)

Ok, I will keep this very basic and then you can shoot me with questions later. No alarm is actually complete, even the $500 Viper systems. Yes, they'll go off if the supplied shock sensor is tripped by the glass breaking or some sort of "beating" it can pick up. But if someone uses glass cutters, it won't go off. So if they cut glass, reach in and pop the hood, chances are that it won't go off unless you have a pin switch in the hood. So, if that's true, they can cut either the main battery cable or just the siren's.

This is why I strongly suggest using mercury tilt switches anywhere you can, backup battery sirens, prox. sensors, and maybe even a back up battery for the system too. This way, no matter how carefull or quick they are it will go off and virtually never shut up until you show up with your key.

The best 2 car alarms that I know are Viper and Code Alarm.

The top of the line Viper Alarm is one of the best because you can track your car through Viper's website and check the status of the car. It also has all the features you want in a car alarm system.

Code Alarm is somewhat hard to find and does not have a website to track your car. But it does have a two way alarm system and remote start along with most of the security features the Viper has.

Both use sensors on a car and if those sensors are triggered then the alarm will be set off. Also both alarms have ignition kill which disables the ignition.

But a savvy car thief can always hotwire a car if they know how but today's vehicles are more complex and it can be tricky. Exceptions to this of course are Honda Civics and Honda Accords which are pretty easy to steal since you can just reach underneath the fender and disable the alarm, at least that's what I've heard.

Also even if the thief does disconnect the battery, they would need a tow truck to get the car out of wherever it is parked.

It's usually too big of a hassle considering that you are facing a federal offence of Grand Theft Auto and you will probably serve several years in prison. Besides stolen cars can be tricky to keep since they aren't under a clean title if you know what I mean.

Poncho is on the money except he left out something very important. If they want it they are going to get it. An alarm is only going to slow down a skilled thief and or deter the pain in the ass thief. Pain in the ass I mean by the kid that does 1k worth of damage to your car to get your 150 radio. Today the best you can hope for is to deter the problems. Another thing the worlds "best" alarm is not worth diddly if it is not installed correctly. Not to mention the 500 and up alarms ( I have installed dozens that cost in 2k and up range) do not have hardly any more security than the entry level ones. Especially when you deal with Viper. When you start paying for higher end alarms you are paying mostly for convience features. Like remote start, window control, extra channels and so on. The security portion is the same with only a few minor items that can be had on a lower level alarm.

Nexagen...what are you talking about reaching under the fender and disable the alarm on a Accord or Civic? I have never heard of such stuff nor see how it is possible especially since I have owned 2 Accords and a Civic. Another thing...cars are rarely stolen for the car. The parts are worth the money. Most stolen cars are parted out. Others are shipped out of the country where there is no need for a clean title. Last...it is not a federal offense to steal a car.

i got a quick question. jus b/c this happened to my friend about 2 years ago. how many of u look when u hear an alarm go off in the parking lot anyways??? his went off n nobody did anything cause they got the car, took the radio some cds his speakers n some stuff from the glove box.

SickVette since you probably drive a 1999 Corvette this probably rarely happens to you since Vette's are hard to steal and not to mention HARD TO SELL. Reason? They are worth alot of money and since they are worth alot of money they are very hard to sell on the black market.


Now regarding Civics, Accords and Camry's...
Which are cheap cars that most families would buy and would purchase unknowingly on the black market, ARE EASY TO SELL because they are so cheap you can buy them for under $4000 and they are EASY TO STEAL. These car model's are basic and it's likely your family has one and that's enough for a thief to figure out how the security systems work. Believe me...

I've had one coworker tell me of how he lost his 2001 Honda Accord and how some guy stole it. Now that same dude is driving a Geo Metro. Another guy who told me about Code Alarms even mentioned that Honda's are really easy to steal...

And you know what? HE SELLS HONDAS AT A HONDA DEALERSHIP!

This lady that works with me claims that her Nissan Sentra which she purchased for $4000 had title issues. She cant get insurance because her car is stolen. And just yesterday she got pulled over by a cop and the cop looked it up on his computer as stolen. Now she's in court trying to settle the case.

I can pretty much tell you that if you drive one of these cars to the projects and leave it parked in places like the sidewalk or a vacant parking lot near Downtown Long Beach or LA or even Compton... and say leave it there for less than a day...

You wont see your car again...

And especially if you DONT have an alarm system although not that it matters for these cars.

Kiss that civic, accord and camry goodbye!

Dont believe me?

Read for yourself
http://www.askmen.com/toys/cars_60/83_car_review.html <-- Most Stolen Cars Report

Ever wonder why the price for these cars on the recycler are so cheap? Now you know why... Some of them aren't clean!

So pretty much the only thing that I do agree with you is that the parts are one of the best reasons to steal it. Since those cars parts dont differ that much from year to year, it's one way to make a profit. That way it destroys the evidence and you can keep the car as junk for parts.

-Nexagen

Oh yeah if you go to the next page of that same article you can see that if you live in Los Angeles, California and you drive either a Civic, Accord or Camry...

You are more at risk than anywhere else to get your car stolen.
"
state stealers
http://www.askmen.com/images/test/spacer.gif
It's interesting to note that states with large metropolitan areas like California and New York see more of their imported cars stolen than other states. Trucks top the list in southern and rural states. Los Angeles is by far the city where the most cars are stolen -- over 71,000 in 2002, according to the NICB. The nearest contenders are Chicago, Illinois, with 43,000, Phoenix, Arizona with 40,000, Washington, D.C., with 33,000, and Atlanta, GA, with 28,000."

Now....

If they are only rarely stolen for the car only...

Why did we have more than 200 Thousand cars stolen in all those cities?

Just for the parts? I seriously doubt it...
-Nexagen

Sick, I am all on that one about if they want it, they'll get it! I usually say that but for some reason didn't in my reply. Of course you know I will side with you on the real expensive alarm features and such being really just a waste of money.

Besides, nothing will keep someone from doing the reach in and grab theft either. That seems to be the most common problem in my area.

I also agree that you dont need to spend half a thousand dollars for an alarm system. For $100 you can get an alarm and have it installed with features such as Keyless Entry, Power Trunk, Panic Button and Engine Kill as well as much as 4 Sensors and Automatic Door Lock.

It pays to shop around always.

Nexagen...you have a valid arguement there excpet there is some info missing. The number of returned or recovered stolen autos in relation to the the number of autos stolen. Also check to see how many of those recovered vehicles were intact. I gaurantee when you find those numbers your thoughts will change. Without those numbers you have no basis for saying that cars are not stolen for their parts. Second paragraph of that article mentions car parts. I don't know how many chop shops have been busted buy you but here there have been plenty.Do a little more research.

Back to the Honda being stolen easily. I did not say they were not easy to steal I said that there is nothing in the fender to disarm the alarm.