I was at Walmart the other day and noticed they sell alarm systems and such. Anyone have any experience with them? Good, bad, features?

Thanks.

 

i have a bulldog alarm from walmart
works great comes with startkill and keyless entry talks too all i need is a red flashing light in the front and i have kitt

 

I was hoping it would come with the red flashing light. I was watching this show about car thieves and one said if he even sees a flashing led in the car he would just keep walking.

I'm gonna go have another look today and probably pick one up.

 

go to radio shack and they have a flashing led light
that's what i did and just hooked it up with the alarm

 

www.bought4less.com has a better alarm with keyless entry, parklight flash, will control optional accessories like window roll up and remote start etc. dual zone shock sensor so the neighbors boom car or cat doesn't set it off.
bulldog is walmart quality, abysmal

 

Personally, I would never trust the reliability of ANY cheap alarm system. A much safer bet would be to go with a proven and well known auto security system made by DEI (e.g. Viper, Python, Clifford, Hornet, Avital). However, these will run you at least $200-300 installed. An alarm system's effectiveness is mostly in the install and not the brand and model. That is, a poorly installed $1000 system is not going to be nearly as effective as a well installed $200 system. Among many other things, a good install involves hiding the alarm brain well and camouflaging all its wiring. I've heard the installers at most retail chains will just zip tie the alarm brain in plain sight underneath the dash. A would be thief wouldn't wouldn't have to be a genius to figure out how to defeat an alarm system installed in that manner.

Here are some good links offering advice on alarms and car security in general...
http://forum.sounddomain.com/forum/u...c;f=9;t=001941
http://www.directed.com/security/sec...e/article3.asp
http://www.directed.com/security/sec...e/article4.asp

List of recommended alarm systems...
http://forum.sounddomain.com/forum/u...c;f=9;t=002432


2.5L four

 

Thanks everyone.

I checked out the one ae Wally World and decided to pass on it because it didn't have starter disable.

I picked up a Code Alarm CA-110 system and it's being installed Saturday. Total with all installed options and tax about 260 Cdn.

When they talk about hood pins are they actually talking about the pins that they used on some cars in the early 70's that had lift off hoods. the kind you have to drill holes in the hood and you can put a small pad-lock on?

 

With regards to alarms, hood pins are simply switches mounted somewhere in the engine compartment which will set off the alarm when the hood is lifted open.


2.5L four

 

I just bought a Clifford Matrix RSX 3.5!

 

well i think my bulldog is great next door nieghbor has the same rig 87 b2 but he has (had) a custom interior and dvd player,subs,tv etc.. i have almost the same inside nothing happened to my rig
and was stolen had a viper alarm was found today stripped onlything left was the alarm and seats so much for a 300 dollar alarm lol bulldog was 50.00 viper quality my a$$

 

I happen to like the Lethal Force 3000 alarm system myself ....

if you've seen RoboCop (the original - not the sequals or TV shows) then you'll know what I'm talking about.

That or Mel Gibson's little contraption he had rigged up on the gas tank in Mad Max.

 

From the info you presented, I noted some obvious fallicies in your inference that Bulldog alarms are superior to Vipers.
Do you know for sure that the thieves even attempted to break into your truck? If not, then you really can't deduce that your Bulldog alarm offered greater protection than your neighbor's Viper. Also, likely it's something about your neighbor's truck that they wanted more than yours. If the same thieves tried to steal your truck, they may as well had equal success.

Also, how were the alarms installed. As stated in my post above, an alarm system's effectiveness is almost all in the install. An improperly installed $300 system is not going to be nearly as effective as a well-installed $50 alarm. Among many other things, a good install involves hiding the alarm brain well and camouflaging all its wiring and switches. I've heard the installers at most retail chains will just zip tie the alarm brain in plain sight underneath the dash. I bet that your neighbor's Viper system was installed like that. A thief wouldn't have to be a genius to figure out how to defeat such a system. A good install also includes some measure to prevent a thief from getting into the hood and disabling the battery and/or siren.

Realistically, there is no practical way to completely prevent someone from breaking into or stealing your truck. Ultimately, they could use a tow truck in which no alarm system can defend against. All you can do is to deter a thief from even wanting to try or make it more difficult. That is the primary effect of a well-installed alarm system along with some common sense.
Again, see this thread for good info...
http://forum.sounddomain.com/forum/u...c;f=9;t=001941


2.5L four

 

Kontai69, your right, i had a cheap alarm(crimestopper), and it did work, till one day it just quit working. When i was on the hunt for a new alarm i decided to go with a name brand model, I chose DEI's Clifford Arrow 5, it had all the features i had wanted: remote entry, starter kill, horn honk, flashing lights, 2 aux. hook ups. They wanted $350 installed, but i know 12v wiring, and did it myself, those hood pins dont work for a crap, they get rusty and prevent the contact so the alarm will not go off. I used a mercury switch. Basically it comes down to you get what you pay for, this is my first DEI product and im happy with it!!!!!

 

my truck was messed with also door keyhole driver side was messed with
that's it i saw the truck today and saw his wow they did a job on his truck
they left the alarm and the front seats that's it the tow truck brought home scraps
poor guy whatever alarm you put in works just as long as you do it right period

 

An alarm is also only good if there are people to hear it. If you break down in the desert and you lock your doors and turn on your alarm, it's not going to make a difference. I work at Walgreens, and I hear car alarms go off all the time, and I have never seen anybody rush outside because they hear it, as a matter of fact, most people will be checking out at the front register, and they're like "Gosh, I hope that's not my alarm" then they never check it out, they don't even stick their head out the door. If you have an alarm listen for it also.