OEM alarm (easy DIY install!), LoJack and a big guy that will rip your arms out and beat you senseless with them if you mess with the car.

 

As someone who heard the alarm go off on my car (a Honda at the time), ran outside and then caught the truck that had just hit my car before he could get away I'm a fan if just for that. I also like the fact that the lights reveal if anything has tampered with or hit your car and perhaps act as a bit of deterrant (maybe they'll choose a car without the alarm instead).

Overall I don't know what the real value is, but to me the cost of the OEM alarm is reasonable and it is a simple DIY (see motoringfile for the how to). The only thing you really need a dealer for is to activate it and that should only run 1/2 hour labor at most - if you go that route call around, I was amazed at the wide range of prices I was quoted from area dealers.

 

Cool, what we really need is this :

http://www.myjaguarwatch.com/
http://www.electronista.com/articles....car.tracking/

Lets you track, monitor, log the route and speed, etc via the internet. Its very big brother but pretty nifty anyway IMHO (and who knows what they really collect in the black boxes anyhow since the car companies don't have to tell you yet..).

 

a $35 Audiovoxx aftermarket alarm...has adjustable vibration sensor and also works on current drop if door or boot is opened and light comes on...a snap to install, got the discount on my insurance....only drawback is the extra FOB on my keychain next to my maxi-sized MINI key....will it stop a pro? nothing will, but would give a local teenage thug a second thought about staying around....but also the FOB has a panic button on it which is comforting

 

removing the steering wheel.

 

Well, it does and then it doesn't.... in my Z3 I had an aftermarket Clifford Alarm set up.. it had the proximity sensor set so no one can reach in...

Late one night, parked in a well-lit covered carport right outside my kitchen window, Sunny got butchered... seems someone wanted my xmRoady, why I didn't put it away I have no excuse, why they would want it they have no excuse.... Anyway, thief spies car, cuts open the converitble top, while a second culprit slices up the rear window, reach in, the alarm finally sounds.... grab xmRoady and a backpack thingie that was strapped to the roll bars... the alarm sends them away before they can do more damage (cars had been having sliced tires in the recent past)... I wake up.. go look out window, see a shadowy looking thing on the roof, but nothing else... click the chirp.. go back to bed.. wake up in the morning and am greeted with the results...

So did it keep them away, no, did it notify me yes... did it prevent further damage.. we can assume.. but regardless it was $3000+ to replace the top and no refund of missing toys in my backpack.. the list grew longer as the months went by and I'd be like.. hwere is that.... oh it was in the backpack.

Lesson learned... keep valuables out of site (don't be lazy, its the ONE time that gets you), if you're going to have the alarm and have the proximity then set the sensitivity to keep people BACK before the touch not after!

Do I have an alarm in the MINI.. nope.

 

But you see, like I said ... its ancedotal story. If the car is in your driveway or parked in front of the house ... yeah, it might wake you up but the damage is done.

Its not going to stop the car from being stolen, the key does that.

If it were in a mall shopping lot, no one would care.

IMHO, that is the problem with alarms ... they go off AFTER the damage is done. What good is that?

I would also say thats the problem with covertables. An old trick is NEVER lock your convertable ... You lock it and that guarantees serious damage to the top. Leave it unlocked ... they cant steal the car.

 

I thoguht this thread was what security do you have, not why don't you like car alarms?

 

IMO good alarms stop most people. It is the "joy riders" that good alarms stop, not the professional. Yes, the alarm sirens are annoying and people are used to hearing them all of the time, but that is why you need ignition/starter shutoff so than you can't drive off with the car.

 

1. Clock 26 with 18 round clip and laser sight
2. CZ-52
3. SKS
4. Brazilian made over & under 12 guage
5. Russian Makarov
6. Hungarian PA-63
7. Remington 1100 semi auto 12 guage

 

a 6'4", 310 lbs athletic mechine, aka myself

 

I really don't think shotguns are very good in cars let alone MINIs. The sound pressure in a MINI would be too much for my ears. Now, if you had a 12 gauge C/C entry one, than at least you could reach around and get it, but still not in a timely fashion like you could a shoulder holstered handgun. Especially the ones that carry barell forward and not down.

 

I close my sunroof, roll up my windows, and smoke a few cigars that have a lingering smoke haze. Then I take out my trusty Gonzo air reviver, lock my doors and go and do whatever I wish, leaving the ashes in the ashtray, too.

 

I'm another proponent of .....nothing but the factory immobilizer. Present days cars are all but impossible to steal without a key or being towed away. Most stolen cars are always very common models, i.e. Ford and Chevy trucks, Accords, Corollas, etc. Those cars have huge used parts markets, MINI's do not. Secondly I don't leave anything in the car worth breaking in for. If there's some stories out there of MINI's actually being stolen, let's hear em.

 

I have a AutoPage Xt45 LCD pager Alarm. Anyone touches my car it sends me a page. So i can run out and beat them!

 

I have the Mul-T-Lock installed in my MCS. This is a transmission lock that bolts to the underside of the car. Top mounted lock, secures the gearshift to protect against theft of the vehicle.
• Fits both manual and authomatic transmission.
• 45° insertion key. I have had it installed for the past 21 years on my other vehicle.
Great product!!!

 

the makarov is going to be my next purchase

 

I found out while installing my engine damper that if you unhook the ground wire on the passenger side of the engine compartment the engine won't start... but don't know what other effects that might have. Easy 13mm nut, secure the wire and you have an engine immobilizer. Kind of a PITA, but at least "cost-free"...

 

You lock your wife in the car?

 

How'd I know we'd go there, I should listen to the little voice in my head, that being said. Yes I do she's better then a rabid pit bull with aids when it comes to the cars, I just wish she'd stop marking them. ...

 

i've got the OEM alarm, but ever since my keys were stolen [in my purse, not with the sole intention of stealing the car..nothing happened, thankfully] i've always wanted lojack, or better yet, one of those systems that shuts the car off if it's stolen w/ the keys. anyone had any experience w/ those?

 

That might be painful to your Mini

I make sure there's a clean line of sight directly to my .223

 

My Benelli 12 Ga. usually does the trick.....

 

LoJack

Worst case scenario, M1 Garand.

 

I use the Factory Alarm. A German Shepherd, and last resort I borrow a B-52 to track them down...