Should You Buy a Car Alarm From the Car Dealer?
Car Buying: Types of Car Alarms
When you are finalizing your car deal, the salesperson will often attempt to sell you "extras,"
such as a car alarm. Should you purchase this item from the car dealer? Car alarms, themselves,
come in many shapes and price ranges and of course are installed on cars to deter thieves.
The alarms that are sold at car dealerships are often extremely cheap alarms that come with high
mark-ups.
Often, the car dealer sells an ignition/fuel cut-off system (not really an alarm)
to deter thieves from hot wiring your vehicle. This system costs the car dealer less than $50,
but the dealer will usually charge about $200-250. Additionally, with some of the alarms that
dealers install, the alarm is not even hooked up to the trunk, hood, doors and sunroof,
if applicable.
As you are no doubt aware, many alarms go off on cars without proper provocation, even when
factory or dealer installed.
This situation often occurs because the alarm is a cheap one (costing about $50-75) and the wiring
is faulty or sensitive to heat or the sensors are improperly installed, although car dealers may
charge 6-7 times the dealer's cost.
Instead of buying a cheaply made and installed alarm at a car dealer, you can instead get a
worthwhile alarm installed at a reputable aftermarket alarm company. A good place to look for a
place that will install quality car alarms is to simply look up "Automobile Alarm Systems" in your
local Yellow Pages or through online search engines. They should be able to install a quality
system for $250 or less depending on your particular wants and needs.
Some excellent alarms that are recommended by Consumer Guide to protect your new or used car
investment include the Audiovox Rampage,
Crime Guard, Python, Clarion Ungo Security, Clifford Arrow 5 and the Viper 850XV.
If the car dealer says that the car alarm is already attached to the car, simply ask them to
remove it and state that you will take your business elsewhere if they happen to give you a hard
time. If, of course, your particular car dealer is willing to negotiate the price of the
alarm (provided of course that the alarm is high quality), ensure that you do get all of the
alarm features in writing from the car dealer.
Car Buying: Other Ways to Keep Your Vehicle Secure
There are other ways to deter thieves, even if you purchase a luxury new car.
Since many car thefts occur when a vehicle is
unlocked, an easy tip is to lock your door and take your keys with you. Other ways to prevent
theft include using steering wheel locks that prevent steering wheels from moving as this
device discourages would-be thieves. Utilizing geographical positioning satellite (GPS)
technology is another more expensive option, but it definitely would be able to locate your
vehicle anywhere on the globe. Along similar lines, you can use a device called
LoJack
to locate your vehicle if it happens to go missing. This device is really a
radio frequency that is installed in 20 secret locations on your vehicle. If your vehicle
happens to be stolen, police will activate your
LoJack device and it will in turn emit an
inaudible signal. Police that have
LoJack tracking units in their vehicles then locate your car.
Thus, it is extremely important that you know all your car alarm options (including pricing
information) before finalizing your car deal.
