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A Selection of Car Alarm Resources

Alternatives to Alarms

A car alarm consists of an array of sensors, a radio receiver, a wireless key fob, an auxiliary battery, a computer control unit, and a siren (all described here). This same installation can trigger anything: a pager, a cell phone call, an engine shut-down, even vanilla-scented fog. There's just no reason to hook it up to a noisy, ineffective siren. Better alternatives exist. (Many of which will save you money on your car insurance.)

The tracking device made by Lojack is completely silent and very effective. (Forbes Magazine recently published a pithy article on Lojack entitled "Honk if You Hate Car Alarms".)

GM has come out with a similar feature for their OnStar System. So has industry giant Directed Electronics (described here) and Guidepoint Systems.

Here's an example of a silent car alarm pager, widely available in New York City shops. Directed makes a snazzy one, too.

And of course, there's always The Club and its spawn (here and here), as well as a few kinds of fancy locks.

Probably the best theft protection is an immobilizer that makes starting the car without the key impossible. The overwhelming majority of new cars come with one already. For example:
  • General Motors PassKey III & PassKey III+
  • SAAB Anti-Theft System
  • Cadillac Catera Coded Key System
  • Ford Securilock
  • DaimlerChrysler Sentry Key
  • Nissan "Immobilizer"
  • Honda "Immobilizer" (includes Generations I and II)
  • Hyundai "Smartra" Immobilizer Systems
  • Toyota & Lexus Immobilization Systems
  • Jaguar Immobilization System and Passive Anti-Theft System (PATS)
  • Mercedes-Benz Immobilizer Systems
  • Volkswagen/Audi Generation III Immobilizer System
  • Volvo Guard Immobilization (VGI) System.
Some immobilizers (here and here) can be installed on older cars. Tom and Ray from NPR's Car Talk recommend a kill switch (similar concept as an immobilizer) instead of an alarm.

The Australian experience with immobilizers is instructive. Last year, the Crime Research Centre at the University of Western Australia found that the rate of motor vehicle theft in Western Australia had declined by 41 percent since 1995, much more than in the rest of the country. Why did this happen? Because of the introduction of car engine immobilizers. These devices became mandatory in 1999 for every registered vehicle. Today, they are the only anti-theft devices recommended by the National Motor Vehicle Theft Reduction Council (NMVTRC). Formal studies are available here and here (pdf files).

Meanwhile, the antiquated car alarms are still causing trouble. On May 19, 2003, the Australian insurance company AAMI reported that 79 percent of Australians believe that "nobody pays much attention to car alarms nowadays because they often go off accidentally." Sound familiar?

European countries have also used immobilizers to advantage. Immobilizers have been required on all new cars sold in Germany since the beginning of 1995. In both 1995 and 1996, Germany's biggest insurer, Allianz, cut payouts on theft claims by 26% a year, says The Economist ("Hot wheels, cold calculations", November 16, 1996). "So far," says the magazine, "Allianz knows of only 12 cases of theft of protected cars, all of which have involved either use of the original [microchip-equipped] key, or the towing away or dismantling of the entire vehicle." In England, the government recommends immobilizers above all else.

Here's a chart with the whole array of alarm alternatives, prices included. For information on how to turn off an existing alarm, click here.


How Not to Protect Your Car