Car alarms

christineka · 10-13-2009, 10:11 PM

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We have a problem with people stealing parts off of our van. We've had a hubcap taken and recently a smallish triangular piece of panel near the side mirror. It's really annoying. If we get one of those alarms that senses motion nearby, will thieves get scared and quit stealing parts from our van?

Anyone know how much it might cost to install such an alarm?

Do you think car alarms are a good idea?

rodentranger · 10-14-2009, 12:01 AM

I had an alarm with a proximity sensor on my Jeep Wrangler after someone did $1500 worth of damage and stole $40 worth of stuff out of it. (Side rant: The windows of the soft tops zip off from teh outside people! You don't need to pry the door locks out of the door!) It was about $500 installed without power door locks.
Anyway, it was kind of annoying because it would go off if the wind was blowing hard. Or a cat walked by it. Or a bird landed on it. Or someone bumped it. Or you looked at it cross-eyed.
I quit setting it during the day because running outside at work to turn it off every 20 minutes got old. If it went off 4 times, it turned completely off.

Kaede's_Mom · 10-14-2009, 12:34 PM

A good alarm with a proxy sensor is going to run you about 500 all the way up to thousands. And most places you buy from will install for free. The problem with sensors like that are just as PP said, high winds thunder and hail will set it off in a heatbeat. I had a sports car for a while and had a Vipper alarm with proxy sensors that my DH installed himself, he put three sensors in and once we got the sensitivity set it worked well. However you had to bump the car pretty hard for it to go off. If you live by a police or fire station or a small airport, then don't bother with a sensor at all, the radio and FCC waves will set off the proxy sensors constantly. We ended up taking all my proxy sensors out since we lived by a small airport and the neighbors hated the alarm lol.

Now if you can get the alarm to go off just one time or so while someone is messing with it then it may be worth a cheeper less complicated alarm. It would deter them in the future.

Judi's DH · 10-19-2009, 01:08 AM

I have no reasonable solution for your cars exterior but I'm a fan of this anti-theft device :-)

YouTube - Protect your car with the Auto Taser - 1998

Judi · 10-19-2009, 01:18 AM

Leave it to my DH, lol.

10-14-2009, 12:01 AM	#2
rodentranger CPS Technician Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Snohomish, WA Posts: 855	Re: Car alarms I had an alarm with a proximity sensor on my Jeep Wrangler after someone did $1500 worth of damage and stole $40 worth of stuff out of it. (Side rant: The windows of the soft tops zip off from teh outside people! You don't need to pry the door locks out of the door!) It was about $500 installed without power door locks. Anyway, it was kind of annoying because it would go off if the wind was blowing hard. Or a cat walked by it. Or a bird landed on it. Or someone bumped it. Or you looked at it cross-eyed. I quit setting it during the day because running outside at work to turn it off every 20 minutes got old. If it went off 4 times, it turned completely off. __________________ Jessi, CPST T 12/12/06 42" 40 lbs D 1/8/09 35 lbs, 36" SR22, SR35, (2) 33lb MA's, (2) 50 lb CA's, (3) XTSL's, GN, FR80, Regent, HB TB PetBuckle Review Here

10-14-2009, 12:34 PM	#3
Kaede's_Mom Carseat Crazy Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Oklahoma Posts: 296	Re: Car alarms A good alarm with a proxy sensor is going to run you about 500 all the way up to thousands. And most places you buy from will install for free. The problem with sensors like that are just as PP said, high winds thunder and hail will set it off in a heatbeat. I had a sports car for a while and had a Vipper alarm with proxy sensors that my DH installed himself, he put three sensors in and once we got the sensitivity set it worked well. However you had to bump the car pretty hard for it to go off. If you live by a police or fire station or a small airport, then don't bother with a sensor at all, the radio and FCC waves will set off the proxy sensors constantly. We ended up taking all my proxy sensors out since we lived by a small airport and the neighbors hated the alarm lol. Now if you can get the alarm to go off just one time or so while someone is messing with it then it may be worth a cheeper less complicated alarm. It would deter them in the future. __________________ Kelsey, mom to... Kaede 9-29-06 Ridding in: Marathon, Frontier 80, and Nautilus Raiden (my tube fed, fundo, refuxer, with SVT) 2-6-10 ridding in a TFP

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Car alarms

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