Jump to content

Car Alarms


MarkV

Recommended Posts

So, my friend had his car broken into, it is a 1988 Chevrolet Corsica, it does not have power locks, what is the best alarm system for this? Due, to this I am also going to put one in my 1991 Lesabre (with Power locks) as well. What are some of the best ones on the market? How much does installation cost? What are some of the +'s and -'s?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

As a guy who had an aftermarket alarm on a car many years ago, and a guy who just retired from 30 years of law enforcement, I would avoid installing an aftermarket alarm on a car. Make sure that you don't leave valuables visible in your car and your money would better be spent on insurance.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well that is obvious, however, nothing was in view, people are desperate out here! I, personally have had luck with alarms, with shock sensors and warning sensors, to ward people off and to alert me if I am close by what was your experience?

Edited by 1948Lincoln (see edit history)
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest Jim_Edwards

Thieves don't worry about an alarm going off. They break a window, grab what's in sight and leave. So many car alarms go off in parking lots most people don't even pay any attention to them. The thieves are well aware of that.

Aside from that car alarms are easily triggered by some idiot passing by in a car with 12 inch woofers thumping away, a loud exhaust from one of our classic cars sporting a set of glass pack mufflers, a motorcycle, even a loud clap of thunder and can be a pain in the butt even in one's own driveway. Embarrassing when over the loud speaker you hear "attention Neiman-Marcus Shoppers would the owner of that old Chevrolet piece of crap cluttering up our parking lot please turn off the alarm before we have it towed":D

Link to comment
Share on other sites

"1990 Ford F-150

1995 Ford E-150 custom high top"

Chevy piece of crap? hmmmm look at that list! LOL! :0 Just kidding! The car is a really nice car and is clean with only 60,000 miles on it, any car regardless of brand if clean is a nice car! It is only the idiocy of the American populace who think you must have a new car when a clean older car serves the same purpose, and is cheaper to maintain. Hey, do you like your town car and mark VII?, I am looking into buying one of those...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest Jim_Edwards
"1990 Ford F-150

1995 Ford E-150 custom high top"

Chevy piece of crap? hmmmm look at that list! LOL! :0 Just kidding! The car is a really nice car and is clean with only 60,000 miles on it, any car regardless of brand if clean is a nice car! It is only the idiocy of the American populace who think you must have a new car when a clean older car serves the same purpose, and is cheaper to maintain. Hey, do you like your town car and mark VII?, I am looking into buying one of those...

Hee, hee......I'll guaranty that F-150 would be called a piece of crap on a visual by anyone. Needs new paint, new windshield, and upholstery but that old gal has logged 300,000 towed many a car from East and West Coasts to here. Fixing to put a new roller cam engine in it and go another 300,000 (if I last that long:)). That van is a super tow vehicle though what one might describe it as a "cushy" vehicle because of it's interior and amenities. Cost the first owner $45K (I have the invoice) I picked it up several years ago for $4,500 and it only had 70K miles on it. Sucker rides better than my Town Car!

I thought you were looking for a Town Car and not a Mark anything. Mark VIIs are a lot of fun to drive and get really decent fuel economy, they still look attractive, the seats are great, but that's about where the joy of ownership ends. They are extremely cramped with respect to leg room either front or back. I've driven mine on long trips and while they don't beat you up you still feel like a sardine in a can. If you seriously entertain a Mark VII go for an '88 to '92 because of issues with brake booster repair you don't want on the earlier models. Just the parts cost to replace or repair the booster can quickly become greater than the car is worth.

I'll defer my comments on newer Town Cars back to the thread you began on that specific subject. However, in the most simple terms the 2003 and up Town Cars are a huge disappointment compared to their counterparts in the '70s and '80s though their maintenance and repair costs might be less. Fuel economy is not all that great and is open road mileage not all that much better than the 5,000 lb tanks of the '70s with a well tuned 460. The '80s Town cars all had their unique issues depending upon the specific year or years. Personally, I don't think any full size Lincoln since the '78 models have been worth a flip! They lost the product so to speak the day Iaccoca was shoved out.

Jim

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I say get one of these deterrents for your car. There will be no "reaching in" by the would-be thieves.

Several years back we were touring with our 1933 and had taken our dog along. We came out from dinner one evening to see a number of people approaching the car. They took a big jump back when our sweet Akita popped her head up and looked at them. I'm sure she would have protected the car if they'd reached in but she was pretty mellow, very mellow for an Akita, about people and places that weren't her territory.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hey Barry do you consider an 88 corsica a classic?

How do I answer that without sounding mean?

Car alarms just annoy neighbors, they don't stop the theft. How can they be a deterrent if nobody knows they're there? By the time the window is smashed your stuff is gone. Why wake your neighbors?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The fall of 1964 I worked a a driver for a traveling salesman selling women's clothing. He replaced the Cadillac's back seat with clothing racks full of clothing bags. He had a police siren, not a horn, attached to the inside dome light and trunk light. The alarm was not sensitive to a bump and you could have hauled it away with out setting it off. He had a key lock on the driver side front fender to activate the siren on & off. At a hotel one night in Nebraska 4 kids broke into the car. The night clerk said when the siren went off the 4 ran 5 different directions.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest WEB 38

Back in the 70s when CB radios were in, after losing one I taped a row of razor blades along the upper rear edge of the next one and never lost another. But did have to buy new floor mats occasionly. Bill WEB 38

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Back in the 70s when CB radios were in, after losing one I taped a row of razor blades along the upper rear edge of the next one and never lost another. But did have to buy new floor mats occasionly. Bill WEB 38

OUCH, but a VERY good idea! Except nowadays, the thief will sue you over the loss of his fingers and you will probably lose everything to the rat bas....!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest windjamer

:)Linc. take my word for it ALARMS ARE A PITA!! Like wise anything that you put on the car like a old ford coil (as we used to) to shock a thief or cause him to brake a finger nail will land your as* in court so fast your head will spin. The days of protecting your property ARE GONE.:mad:In todays world criminals have more rights than victims. Its sad, but its true. Leave nothing of value in your car, got a nice radio? mount it on a detachable mount so you can put it in the trunk,dont leave it in sight. DONT bother to lock the door,theres nothing to steal and a rock will bust the window. Believe me, the best lock in the world will only keep an honest person honest. Yes my friend it is sad.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

How do I answer that without sounding mean?

Car alarms just annoy neighbors, they don't stop the theft. How can they be a deterrent if nobody knows they're there? By the time the window is smashed your stuff is gone. Why wake your neighbors?

Well Barry, you said to garage it like a classic! If you have an indicator on the dash (remember those) it serves as a slight deterrent. Also, once they break a window they may grab what is in arm reach but they wont mull around the whole car until someone happens to see them

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest 1hooligan

I live quite a ways from town, and have a large collection, in locked and alarmed garages (monitored), the the one thing that I found works is attached to the motion dectors is the outside lights, and a recording over a speaker that plays only one thing on a one minute delay. That sound is the recording of one of my winchester lever actions being loaded, it went off only once, and in the time for the alarm to go off in my bedroom, and for me to be out the door (about 30 seconds) with the winchester, all I could hear was the sound of someone exiting our road rather quickly.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest Jim_Edwards
I live quite a ways from town, and have a large collection, in locked and alarmed garages (monitored), the the one thing that I found works is attached to the motion dectors is the outside lights, and a recording over a speaker that plays only one thing on a one minute delay. That sound is the recording of one of my winchester lever actions being loaded, it went off only once, and in the time for the alarm to go off in my bedroom, and for me to be out the door (about 30 seconds) with the winchester, all I could hear was the sound of someone exiting our road rather quickly.

Great concept! I may adopt it, only I'll record the sound of my M-14 being cocked. Being similarly out in the country that sucker is ready to go 100% of time and no one could get out of the drive before I would have an opportunity to get off a few shots. Long, long driveway with a clear view of its length all the way to the road enhanced by a night vision scope.:D

Jim

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...