I have been contemplating putting on an aftermarket alarm, if I do not this will be the first car is 12 years that I have not upgraded to a better alarm.
What are your guy's assement of the factory alarm?
I know some people really hate aftermarket alarms that have a proximity sensor, but I LOVE em. Yeah, I scared a few elderly people and gave Cardiac urgeons some extra work, but hey In 5 years of owning my last car with a $900. Clifford alarm with all the bells and whistles I never got a door ding.....5 YEARS!!!! .....and I live in Cali-ding-ya !

Has anyone installed an Alarm and if so what did you have done?

An ounce of protection is worth a pound of cure.

Help me decide if the factory alarm can be upgraded or should be ditched.


"Use the Forced Induction Luke!"
-Jedi
2003 G35C, 6MT, Navi, Black Obsidian/Graphite

 

well, im in the same boat, as far as a theft issue, I think the key chip business is good enough. Besides, if the want it bad enough, they will get it AND I DONT WANT IT BACK!

The real issue is valdalism and careless people. I have looked at the ones with the small LCD display fob that notifies you when a zone goes off. Python/viper brand is what the shop in my area sells, but there are many brands with the same setup. It seems like you would have to totally can the factory system and start fresh with the new alarm. I would get the window up/down and trunk kits. Was quoted around $700 installed. Still debating on what to do. The car is so new i'm afraid of warranty void issues from the install.

6MT coupe, red/willow, premium, aero

 

Don't worry a factory alarm can just be bi-passed, thereby allowing you to keep both your factory and aftermarket alarm operable. I had both installed adn fucntional on my last car. One day I forgot about the facory alarm being on the car and was sittng inside and for some dumb reason I locked the doors, arming the car and the facory alarm went off .....didn't know wtf was going on .........was funny as hell.....I was driving the car with the facory alarm going off , honking the horn all the way to the dealership...they simply came out and used my car key inside the door lock and it shut off. I was like, DUH! I'll never do that again.

"Use the Forced Induction Luke!"
-Jedi
2003 G35C, 6MT, Navi, Black Obsidian/Graphite

 

what factory alarm??? besides the key chip thing...i have clfford's rs3, its same as viper and few others, all made by DEI (even ADS are made by DEI now) it works pertty good although the range is about half what they advertised(work fine within 150 yards). the key fob still works just have to remember to disalarm the clifford first...one add bouns, now my door locks and unlocks by trunning the ingition on and off.

i had proximity sensor back in late 80's with the talking ones, it works like charm, thats if you like your alarm go off when wind blows or truck drive by...but now its digital so it might work lil better, and my installer was angist it too (you know something is up when the shop dont want your money), other thing about the proximity sensor is that you might **** someone off ,when the warnning go off if they walk too close, they might think: "how dare you think i am too close to YOUR car" and wants to acutclly to "do" something to the car.

either way i would upgrade the alarm, not really to protect the car but to add something like window up and down, possibly moonroof open and close, remote starter...

btw... the alarm only cost me 400 installed with remote starter, trunk opener, hood and trunk pin swtich...s.w.

03.5 coupe 5AT DG/G premium,performance

 

Those were the old alarms. Nowadays, the proximity sensors are much more intelligent.
Cliffords IQ alarm, recognizes false alarms, and if the proximity sesnor goes off more than 3 times it bypasses that zone for a specified time. I had mine linked to my computer and could easily make adjustments via computer. Too bad I
had to give it up when I sold the car Saturday.

"Use the Forced Induction Luke!"
-Jedi
2003 G35C, 6MT, Navi, Black Obsidian/Graphite

 

I sure as heck like the idea of a proximity sensor that goes off if anyone comes within 3-5 feet of the car, but in the area I live in, I can't really justify the expense. I park as far away from other cars as possible, so vandalism is the only real concern - and my guess is that the factory alarm would go off if someone gets nutz with a key anyway. The alarm went off in my driveway the other day (very rural area), and I was like "Huh?" turns out my daughter bumped up against the car while gabbing on the phone (luckily she was wearing nice, soft cotton sweats). Freaked her out, she'll never go near it again! [img]/w3timages/icons/cool.gif[/img]
I didn't even realize it would do that, but if I lived in the city, I'd probably upgrade to something with a proximity sensor for sure.

2003 G35 Coupe 6MT Leather
Premium, Aero
"There is no spoon"

 

Seriously, Proximity sensors that work OUTSIDE the car are more headache than they're worth. My Wrangler used to get messed with all the time in college, so I got a proximity sensor that chirped if you were within a few feet of it. If you get one of these, be prepared to NEVER park next to anyone, and never paralell park on the street, because if they're set properly, a passing or parking car will set it off. It's impossible to park a car and have nothing ever get within a few feet of it. It's just going to false all the time, and if it's in your neighborhood, your car will become a real-life Peter and the Wolf, and nobody will care that your alarm is going off again.

That said, proximity sensors with small zones, say, inside the car, are great for those who park with their windows down. I don't know why you'd do that if you're worried about thieves, but...

G35 Coupe, 6MT, DG, Prem.

 

When was the last time you saw anyone actually paying attention to an alarm going off?

I went with Lo Jack.

 

Avoid the Cliffords if at all possible. I sell a lot of them, but approximately 70% of the customers come back. Yes, the digital G4 technology is probably the best in the industry, but they have yet to work out the little problems in their alarms. There is also a misconception that DEI makes Clifford alarms. These two companies were individual entities until 7 yrs ago DEI bought them out. Although, they are now under one corporation, they do incorporate different technologies. Of all the alarms I carry (Viper, Python, Sidewinder, Clifford, Crime Guard, & Prestige) I would have to say the DEI alarms are more reliable for the long run. I've been in the business for 10 yrs now and I have customers that still have their Vipers going back 6-7 yrs with no problems.

As for the stock alarm, dealer pays about $80 for that thing.........you do the math.

 

By the way, I have the Prestige APS 996 with transmitters, engine start, auto windows, Piezo proximity sensor, DEI til / motion sensor, DEI backup siren, glass sensor, trunk pop, & hood / trunk pins. This is pretty much standard items I put in all of my cars.

Check out the pager transmitters by DEI, Clifford, Compustar, and Prestige. These are the only ones I would recommend......tried several others, but many customers brought those back due to problems with the brain of the alarm.

 

I read above someone, stated that they had their car got bumped and the alarm went off. It can't as there are no shock sensors in the system. I know this as my car was a $4,900 "hit-n-run" victim. The a-hole backed a large truck with trailer hitch through my drivers front bumper, rad support, headlight and fender and the alarm never went BOO. I talked to the dealer and they confirmed that the system has no shock sensors. Get an alarm,if I had one the neighbors in the backyard next to mine would have looked over the fence to see what was going on and I wouldn't be out my deductible. Get an alarm-factory sucks