Your Guide
You'll be looking to purchase a car alarm or immobiliser for one of two reasons. The first is because the
insurance company has required you to do so. The other is that you want to keep your vehicle or it's
contents secure from theft.
The information on this page is here to help you make an informed decision about what is effective, what
issues there are and what the best solutions are.
The most important thing with any vehicle security system is the installation, so before picking the company that offers you the cheapest price (or the most expensive which is no guarantee!) find out exactly what real value you are getting for your money.
Remember that we are here to help so contact us if you have any questions.
Alarm Installation Checklist
- If you require the alarm for insurance reasons then make sure the installer is NZSA registered.
- Your car deservers some respect, you should expect Seat covers to be used along wing guards to protect your paint work and rubber floor mats to protect your carpet.
- Find out what immobilisation circuits your installer intends to cut? A lazy or incompetent Installer
will place both cuts at the Ignition loom because it is quick and easy to do so.
Unfortunately this is the first place that any would be thief will look, not only will the poor install offer minimal protection, it may actually help the thief as he now has the wires required to “Hot-wire” the vehicle identified! - If you're considering getting a 5 star alarm then we suggest getting one with a digital battery back-up
siren
(see our siren guide opposite), talk to the installer and find out where they intend to hide it (if at all!) - Make sure the installer has full liability insurance, this will cover both you and the installer should any damage occur during the installation (all NZSA registered installers are required to have liability insurance).
- Do some research on the car alarm you want, just because and alarm has good marketing and is well known does not mean it is any good. Some of the best know alarms which we come across are utter crap! Read the review section of the Obsessive blog before making a decision...
- Expect a full electrical test to be carried out on your vehicle before and after the job to ensure that it is functioning as it should do.
- Find out what your over-ride code is. Not only should you know it incase your remote should fails, but some alarms come with a factory code which needs to be changed. If the alarm is left on the known default numbers then a thief would be able to disable the system with it!
Do you have window tints?
Did you know that window tint film muffles the sound of glass being smashed?
Many alarms come with glass break sensors which may not be effective if your vehicle has been tinted.
If you have window tint film then a movement sensor such as a P.I.R. or Ultrasonics (standard equipment
with Cobra alarms) are recommended.
