Good car alarm systems?

[777php]

My friend just got a 98 Acura Integra and she's looking to put a car alarm on it.

In your opinion which system is the best one on the market for the money? LoJack, Engine disable, basic audible alarm?

Appox prices and good places to buy would also be helpful. (She lives in the bay area)

 

[ZeroBurn]

Clifford or Viper, don't get lojack. about $300-500, get the trunk release solenoid as well (it'll be extra, but worth it). get a backup battery/siren. check honda-tech.com, they'll set you straight and probably be able to reccommend some good places in the bay area. there's also honda-acura.net and superhonda.com but aren't quite as good.

 

[BCYL]

Basic audio alarms are useless.... might as well save your money...

if you get an alarm, you should at least get one with some kind of engine lock/disable... I would go with a Clifford... they have a very good name in auto alarms... After that, just choose the model that suits your needs/budget...

Also, make sure you get a good installer to install it... a badly installed alarm is useless no matter how good the alarm itself is... If you dont hide the wires/alarm well it basically becomes useless...

 

[yakko]

Clifford is my favorite.

 

[Ns1]

if it's not clifford it's all the same

 

[bcmind]

A vote on Alpine! And yes, Alpine makes car alarm too.

 

[ZeroBurn]

yep, it's more the install than the actual alarm. make sure you pick a reliable place that's certified and has a history. don't go to circuit city or best buy or crap like that. preferably a place that has intimate knowledge of your specific car, i took my teg to a place that did a lot of import business.

 

[NutBucket]

Look into Ungo as well. They're part of Clarion now and you'll be hard pressed to find them outside of the high-end shops.

 

[OS]

Gonna tell you the same thing I just told rossman;

sounddomain security forum

Go there and browse through the whole forum for a couple hours to get a feel for what an alarm is about.

IMO, it's more important to have a good insurance policy than an alarm.

Remember that the install matters just as much as what alarm you get. Generally, you don't want to get a car alarm installed at a franchise (IE best buy), they usually don't do a good job.

 

[RossMAN]

I just bought a Clifford Matrix 2 for $400 from my local Car Toys professionally installed which included the actual car alarm, 50 foot range atenna, keyless entry, trunk pin, trunk release and 2 remotes.

 

[HomerSapien]

I just got the Viper 550esp. The 560 is coming out soon, though i dont know what is improved, but it does have a remote control with an lcd display that shows what is not secure.

Remote start kicks ace. i love it. I had mine installed from a major chain, but then again it was two of my friends doing it very professionally.