It's official .... Alarms are useless.
 

According to progressive insurance they no longer give discounts for cars that have car alarms, or lowjack.

reasoning (direct quote from rep) "Alarms just annoy people and no one pays attention"

"lowjack is easily removed"

I know these are valid points, but does it seem right?

Its true though. I mean 10 years ago, an alarm went off and people looked. Now its the norm to hear an alarm going off in the parking lot...Noone even looks twice...

/begin rant

I guess insurance companies just realized this and decided they want to charge even more than they already do by not giving a discount...money stealing bastards!!!

/end rant....



Eric

You know those expensive Clifford alarms?
 

People are stealing those and selling them instead of the car.

Yup I remember back in 1993 this lady kept calling my dad's work everytime the car alarm went off to tell him.

It might stop a n00b car thief from taking your car, and it will slow a real thief a little bit. What I would like is the alarm with the pager, forgot which company makes those. You get your own pager, with a pic of your car and the different zones. And when the alarm is set off, it beeps your pager and pops up which zone was set off so you can go get your bat and run to your car. :)

Yeah, I agree. When was the last time you looked when you heard a car alarm? That's why for mercedes cars (2000+ models on E and S class), if the alarm goes on for 45 seconds and if it is not disabled, it automatically sends a signal to mercedes teleaide and if they can't locate the owner, they will automatically call the police.

Only thing I find the alarm useful is finding my car in a parking lot at the mall or at the movies.

Any one of the Directed Electronics Alarms (Viper, Clifford, Avital) can be had with the pager.

Remember:
Lock doors only keep out the innocent. Others will find a way.

Wow, this is news. My insurance gives discount on my alarm system. Progressive seem to be a rip off, I was quoted a lot for the Maxima considering my age and they even check your credit report which is being biased.

PROGRESSIVE is a complete rip off they wanted my left leg my right ball and a sperm sample to cover me and my record is spotless for the past 5 years and i was 22. i guess they gotta pay for all those useless commercials and all those ford explorers sports their reps drive around all the time..ho's wont get a dime from me :rolleyes:

Bastards! Especially re: the Lowjack. And how about OnStar? Just last week here in the Seattle area they caught a murder suspect with OnStar...

non-standard progressive............
it is considered non-standard to have them as your previous carrier. This hurts your rates if and when you switch from them. FYI

My DEI Matrix RS3 with pager seems to be useful for me.

Some insurance companies still give you a discount, but it won't offset the cost of the aftermarket alarm. That way, I am against any LowJacks, Viper, etc because they only protect from teen thiefs. There is no protection from pros, they will get it if they want it. Now why would I want to spend $500 on alarm to get a $20 break on my annual policy? Just maintaining a full coverage policy and trying not to keep the car "flashy" are the best ways to protect yourselves. Let them steal it and keep it for 31 days lol

good points...but teen thieves will pass up on a car w/ an alarm and go for the one w/o one..(your car). do u want someone that's a rookie break in by busting your window out...then since they are a rookie hack up part of the dash, rip everything you have out of the car? then you'll come back..you have about $1500 in damages...$500 is the usual deductible. so now you're out $500 bucks...messed up window...time off from work to deal with it...time without a car...etc etc. all this because there was no aftermkt alarm to chirp when someone bumps your car.

if you don't want your car flashy then you should've bought a 89 buick..not a maxima.

I think there's a difference in "flashiness" between say, a stock maxima, and a maxima sitting on 20" of chrome, enough lighting mods to make vegas jealous, a muffler w/a 6" exhaust tip, etc.

true..but most car thieves would take your car because it's a stock car. the rookies are the ones that pull your car for the toys inside. the pros will look for a clean stock car.

u think the guy wants to drive a slammed low rider to the chop shop? the less attention to him and the car the better. he'll prob get pulled over for lights or something while going there..LOL

i guess there's a flip side to everything.

well i only have liability so alarms do a hell of a lot for me. Even if no one can see or hear or cares, i have my pager letting me know who is the MOST important to know about a break in... :thumbsup:

Yeah, I gotcha. I think the trend may be shifting as more of todays "rookies" that are more attracted to obviously modded cars study enough to be more irritating than just rookies.

Even so the frequency at which petty vandalism performed by rookies is quite high compared to a professional theft. And while yes, it does suck that it happens, the people doing it are totally in the wrong, and you shouldn't have to worry about it, the reality to me is that if you park your car outside overnight in the right/wrong neighborhood or with the right/wrong people/teenagers living/cruising nearby, and it's modded in such a way that it displays the owner is more than likely a young person who likes to customize their car (and therefore probably the car's stereo, or keep CDs in the car, or other such common toys stolen), you up the risk of your car being subjected to vandalism. The hope is that not much vandalism is done by the time the rooks get scared off by the alarm, but that doesnt always end up the case, and any vandalism sucks period.

there is no right or wrong, you never know when a car will get stolen. Hell, talk to thieves and ask them what they like to drive. They steal POS Dodge Neons, 1988 Camrys, and 1990 Accords. By flashy I meant TVs in headrests, external modifications, custom rims. Stolen are stock and modified cars. The modified car, however, has a bigger chance to be stolen. That's why insurance companies charge extra premium to cover aftermarket accessories. To reduce the chance of being in financial burden, have a good policy with the lowest deductable, and dont put TVs in headrests lol.

I disagree, Not all alarms are worthless.

My alarm will shut off my vehicle if the code isnt entered. They might get a couple blocks down but thats it. Also has a wireless fuel cut off so even if they know where the alarm is and cut the wires it doesnt do them any good.

No need for low jack cuz they aint getting far.

PS-Progressive gives me a discount :)

we were not talking just about the theft of the car, but break-ins too. You can't prevent thiefs from getting in and stripping everything, stereo, system, speakers, breaking glass, tearing the interior panes, even jacking off rims. How much is your discount and what did you pay for your alarm?

Alarm is only useful for the owner of the car. If I hear it, I can run out with my 9mm. I can't shoot them but aleast I pop off few rounds in the air.

Police ETA for a car breakin in progress = 30 mins.

Police ETA for a shooting in progress = 2 mins.

I believe in VA, I can practice shooting on my own property. I have to research that.

Are you allowed to shoot someone if the car is on your property? I mean why waste bullets shooting at clouds, might as well pop some into the theif.

Obviously an alarm isnt going to keep someone from breaking a window and grabbing something they want if its accessible and they have the time.

My truck is the most stolen vehicle in San Antonio, If they could break the window and take something off the seat they they deserve it. My truck is too high to simply break a window and reach into.

Anyway, I feel its better to have a window broken than to have the cops find your vehicle stripped and wrecked in the next county :)

Im not sure how much i save on my insurance as i dont pay the bills :)
My Clifford cost me about $300 (reg $600) since my buddy got me a discount.

But theres more to having an alarm than an insurance discount, remember, the purpose is Vehicle Security/Theft, not insurance discounts :)

Of course, it all depends on the alarm. Im willing to bet that at least 75% of vehicle security systems out there dont do crap.

shoot to kill option is available in texas..you have the right to defend your property with deadly force.

Only in Texas...only in Texas. The rest of the states believe personal property do not worth as much as a human life. On a totally different note...It is also legal to shoot a man that you caught in bed with your wife in Texas. You can shoot the man but not you wife though....

lmao

dam, i wish that law came up here to jersey.

a hidden kill switch that is a few dollars worth is more effective than a 700 dollar alarm.

LOL, only if it stays hidden :)