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Hi all, I need to upgrade my car alarm/car security features. Long story short, I go to school in Newark NJ, which has a very high crime rate (auto theft being one of the biggest crimes in the city), and having a civic doesn't help any less. If anything, civics attract car thieves.

So, I need a good car alarm. I don't need LoJack or All star...the car is worth 4 grand and to buy a security system that's 1/5 of it's value makes no sense to me. I need a car alarm that will notify me by the remote, because I always have my keys on me/next to me, whether I'm sleeping, drunk, or slamming *****, or any combination of the three. But, here's the thing, I need a car alarm remote that has a vibrate (preferred) or silent (not so preferred) feature, in case I am in class or in an important meeting. I want the car alarm to have sensors for window breakage and lock shimmying.

I don't need shock sensors because how is someone going to physically move my car out of a parking deck without driving it? If I'm not parked in a parking deck, then I'm out at Walmart picking up food for my room, or I'm at my Fraternity house which has street parking (literally next to a school building with a police booth within sight from the house). I will park outside the parking deck rarely, but I do park my car on the street (during the day of course) once in a while if I'm out and about. But, I can never be too safe in that city, which is why I need a good alarm system that can notify me asap.

Along side the electrical alarm system, I was thinking of having a physical mechanism on the car, like a wheel lock. The car will not be a daily driver so a wheel lock wouldn't bother me.

 
Rep Power: 192

If i lived in Newark i would buy one of those meter maid boots lol

But seriously i think this is your best bet-
http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_...-RS915LCD.html

Its got a 1 mile range so you'll never be out of range, 2 way paging (not sure if it vibrates), its pretty cheap, and some extra stuff like remote start (the glass break sensor is another 35$)

As for the wheel lock, the thieves will just cut the steering wheel, pedal locks would probably be more effective

I would also buy a battery back up and install it underneath the center console to beat professional thieves

 
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I meant a rim lock, idk the right name for it, but it locks onto the rim. What would a battery back up do?

 
Rep Power: 811

alarms really dont do much. having seen most of the tricks that locksmiths and tow companies have, almost any car (alarm or not) can be "taken" in 1-2 mins with no damage. i can easily open a car door in 20 secs max, and have the alarm siren cut in another 10 secs and im just an average guy no special training. stealing is also easy and can be done well under 5 mins for amateurs. all it takes is one wire to bypass the entire alarm system with starter kill. trust me they are useless and a scam. the best bet for not getting your car broken into is dont make it look valuable. if they peek in and see empty seats and no radio, they wont even bother to steal it. and unless you have a 99-00 civic SI, i doubt they would care about the whole car.

 
Rep Power: 192

Have you ever seen Jacked?? haha
http://www.aetv.com/videos/classic/?...tid=1791006525

But i bet if you had more than 1 siren, a battery backup and tucked all the wires in hard to reach/find locations an alarm could stay active long enough to at least alert you

 
Rep Power: 811

that raises my next point, do you really want to come running up to your car as its being stolen or broken into? i sure wouldnt. no car is worth getting shot, beat up, or killed over.

 
Rep Power: 203

^ LOL. No doubt, I like my 13 year old Civic but not that much.

I've got a couple kill switches in mine for a total cost of like $50. I know, not going to stop a 'pro' but probably stop some know nothing punk with a set of jiggle keys.

EDIT: ...and WTF kind of pro steals 13 years old Civics?

 
Rep Power: 811

if its worth parts, they will steal it. usually older cars are more valuable that newer, esp for civics pre 2001. i dont like punk thieves because they end up trashing the car costing thousands for broken windows and locks. if you get a pro nothing will be broken but you prolly wont have the car back either.

 
Rep Power: 0

Yeah, I probably won't install some fancy alarm. Maybe something simple like a LoJack sticker on the window just to scare the wannabe's away. The 'pros' won't care if my car alarm talks to them, they'd just disable it in a matter of seconds anyway. I might instead just put some sort of physical lock on the car, just to make it look unappealing.

 
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Indeed my alarm short circuited itself and was installed by "Pros". Fake breathalyzer anyone lol

 
Rep Power: 203

The only time I ever seen a sticker scare people away was on a Harley Davidson. It said 'Support your local red and white'.

I thought 'the club' was stupid for a long time but I guess statistically it's pretty effective. Again keeping in mind were talking about 13 year old Civics not Porsche.

.. been there.

it does suck.

LOL

 
Rep Power: 811

ah yes the club. unfortunately the steering wheel is nowhere near as tough and can be cut with a hacksaw like a knife thru butter in a few seconds. then off goes the club lol. if you do too much security stuff like put a boot on the tire, this will also attract attention because they will want to know what is so valuable that requires so much protection. there is really no winning unless you gut the car or all valuables. i have no radio (blank cover plate), no speakers, empty glove box and coin tray, empty trunk (not even a spare or tools), and a few papers in the rear seat like reg and ins. there is literally nothing that can be stolen from inside unless maybe you like old stock seats haha.

 
Rep Power: 192

Haha thats when you bring out the shotgun...haha sorry gun laws are pretty loose here in texas

 
Rep Power: 366

put a blinking led inside the car
start looking for a snake pet that lives in the desert (so it will survive the heat inside) and leave it there.

 
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lol I was thinking of wiring a few LED's here and there on the inside of the car to make it look all high tech (not seriously of course). I'll take my chances. I also just learned that I was upgraded to full coverage on this car because my dad works for Allstate and recently got promoted. Hoo-rah!

 
Rep Power: 811

i always walk towards and look into cars with flashing leds, esp at night. i just have to see all the cool things inside that need an alarm to protect lol

 
Rep Power: 210

I'm just thankful I live in an affluent, quiet neighborhood with the only crime being my friends and I stealing DoT cones and shooting off our massive potato cannon.

 
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Dude there's so much crime here. I've heard my fair share of gun shots and my university's public safety sends out regular armed robbery reports via email to students. Car jacking is also one of the biggest crimes here.

Wheels get jacked all the time. This picture was taken in front of my fraternity house last week. I think it was a neighbor's car. Sucks, those TL-S rims were nice too

 
Rep Power: 811

yeah that sucks. im not even sure you can get steelies for that car and have em fit. its about the only rim they wouldnt bother with.

 
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http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_...ncept-470.html
last true alarm left. has ignition and starter kill.
nice thing about that is if you have a stick someone can just bust the ignition and push start the car. with this you cant do that.

 
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http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_...ncept-470.html

last real alarm left.