What Alarm/Security?

Hi all,
After spending a lot of hard earned cash on my pride and joy i want to make the car as difficult as possible to be stolen.All the locks have been removed from the doors and boot,and the standard factory alarm is still being used
Can anyone recommend a good alarm/security system which they have or know of,i heard Clifford and thatch.... something are the best but which type? and what alarm features would you recommend are important?

any advise is appreciated


Jason

[Bashy]

Hi Jason

As far as i was aware the standard alarm/immobiliser setup on the Volvos were meant to be pretty good! Your next step would prob be a Tracker and the subscription that informs the feds as soon as its half hinched. Me, i just use the standard that comes with my car. I will prob look into the tracker myself some day.

I am sure others would differ or even aggree :P

As to what features well that is down to each individuals preference.
There are some alarm systems on eBay that are full of features of which include a diagramed pager in the fob so if anything is amiss with the car you will know straight away.. 2 secs will look for the link...right im back heres a few to be looking into...

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.d...&category=1498 You might like this 1 remote starter lol

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.d...category=15329

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.d...category=15329

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.d...category=15329

Anyway enough plugging a certain auction site lol
Laters

Martin Chadwick
Bashy
98 C70 GT T5

http://www.credit-busters.co.uk/C7TEA_small.jpg

[cootuk]

I guess it depends how far you want to go and where the vehicle will be kept.
The major alarm manufacturers all supply alarms and immobilisers, but that might still not stop some toerag from smashing your windows or trashing your paintwork if they can't get in.

You can get window film that stops toerags smashing a window in, thus denying them access.

There are also products designed to help stop carjacking if you feel at risk stopping at lights etc.

Many thieves now break into homes just to steal car keys..if they have the keys, most of your defenses are down.

Even with alarms etc they could still get a towtruck and have it away.

So you really need to decide just how much you want to secure against each risk....personally I would ask whether you current alarm/immobiliser is Thatcham approved, and then decide whether an upgrade is cost effective.
Then I would get a Tracker so the vehicle location could be traced.

But most importantly I wouldn't leave anything on show inside the car that someone might want to try nicking.

If all else fails, then there's a good range of armoured Range Rovers.

[Simon J]

I concluded that the standard Volvo alarm and security system was sufficient but opted for a Tracker to be installed as Volvo insurance were offering a 15% discount which paid for a lifetime's subscription for the Tracker in three years. However I should warn you that Volvo Insurance tried to wriggle out of the 15% discount on the grounds that the car already had a Thatcham 1 system as standard, and it was only when I pointed out that their quotation was quite explicit with a specific 15% discount for Tracker that they relented. But they have now changed their quotations to make only a reference to possible further discounts or some such.

So far, thankfully, neither has been tested!

[Pedro Fandango]

i splashed out & got about £500 of cobra CAT1 alarm with every sensor they could fit & the insurance only went down by £20, so i guess the standard alarm is classed as high quality by insurance companies.

The thing to remember about allarms / immobalisers are:

Modern car theives will break into your home (as someone here has said) to get your keys, this happened to a friend of mine. Thankfully the keys to his car (Lotus Esprit) were upstairs so they nicked his company Golf instead.

And, when I was younger and working for a certain supermarket chain to get through Uni I was offered *many* top of the line alarms dirt cheap by some of the night staff. Why were they dirt cheap? 'Cause they had been half inched off the cars they were supposed to be protecting. I turned then all down (one who wants a nicked alarm, two how good can it be if *it* was nicked from the car). The alarms in question were all Thatcham Approved Piranas or Cliffords.

I think the anti carjacking idea's are the best, and I think I'm going to go for one when I get the Spit back on the road. You get in and start the car and then have x seconds to enter a code on a hidden key pad. If you don't the brake lights come on and the car stops. If your driving and get car jacked the system senses the door has been opened and you again have x seconds to enter the code otherwise the brake lights come on and the car stops. Neat.

Stu

Another nice touch to some of these anti car jacking systems is the option of having smoke canisters installed. If the device is triggered the engine waits until the car is stopped and then cuts out. The lights flash and alarm sounds. The the car fills with a harmless thick white smoke. Fantastic.

People often ignore car alarms and some theives may be brash enough to pretend it's their car and they are having problems with the alarm. However, smoke pouring from a car can't fail to attract attention annd the theif will run.

Of course, the best system is that used in South Africa. It prevents the car jacking BEFORE it takes place by emitting a 6ft jet of flame from under the vehicle when the system is activated by a button near the accelerator. I can't stand theives and wish that was legal here! Hell, I'd invite them to steal my car so I could fry the dirty little gits!

[cootuk]

Can the Tracker signal be blocked?
I would have thought a container shrouded in something to block the signal could work?

[Simon J]

They (Tracker) claim that they can track a vehicle anywhere, including inside a steel container or underground. Have a look at www.tracker.co.uk for more info.

[Simon Linton]

Frankly I wouldn't go to great lengths to protect your car apart from a visible deterrent like good steering lock (car mags will help you sort the best ones out.)

The car's best defence against wholesale theft is the fact that it's a Volvo - we know how good they are, but since he vogue for T5 estates used as ram-raiders has passed, the Volvo is no longer a high risk car, unliike Scoobys or Mini Cooper Ss.

Just stick a "used" folded-up disposable nappy (clean inside, but the thief won't know that) and an apparently sick-stained cloth on the back seat to add even more lack of cred...