CoolBDPhenom03

Before you say "yes" or "no", bear with me for a second.

I called my local shop who specializes in alarms. They told me that with the newer european cars, there tend to be compatibility issues with the aftermarket alarm speaking to the stock alarm. They recommended a specific Viper alarm (not the model I was originally considering) that would integrate with my stock alarm, but it wouldn't have a 2-way system so that I could be alerted when one of the sensors was triggered. Also, the only notification that something went off would be when I unarmed the car after I got back to it. There would be more chirps and a number of light flashes that would indicate a zone...similar to a home alarm system.

That being said, is it even worth it to get an aftermarket alarm considering the limitations? I feel like I would be paying $400 just to get some extra sensors and a different alarm sound.

Edit: This shop sells Clifford, Python, and Viper alarms - I know they're all basically the same company and practically identical.

Infamouz

Out of curiosity, is there a particular reason you are considering an aftermarket system?

Sheep

I won't as the risk for carjacking will be much higher for our cars. Therefore I would advice you to arm YOURSELF instead.

Sheep

CoolBDPhenom03

I would rather be notified as something is happening rather than find out later. It seems that most stock alarms these days are just noise makers and not much of a deterrent to a serious thief.

@ Sheep: I do carry a knife on me always, but CA is really strict about firearms in vehicles these days...they just did away with open carry, which I'm told was legal in your vehicle or on a moto, but it doesn't matter now.

Jason888

I don't see a real benefit with an aftermarket alarm system on modern cars. It's going to be either vandalism or thieving the contents in the vehicle in majority of cases.

MIKESV8

the shop i work at specializes in alarms as well and i would tell you from my perspective that i would not touch your car alarm and put an aftermarket one in for jack squat. i could not stress this enough, do not let anyone put an aftermarket alarm in your car. (yes, DEI is aftermarket, not OEM) i think i know which system they are talking about, although we do not stock them. we did a 2006 ML350 last week and put in a paging alarm system in it by viper, it just needed a module to make it work, but like you said, making the factory system talk to the aftermarket one was tricky and required alot of time for programming. it came out great, but was not worth the time, money, and effort IMO. so good luck with what you choose to do.

CoolBDPhenom03

Thanks for the insight. There just aren't many articles coming up when I search for the features of the stock alarm.

bhamg

Break-ins are one thing but if your car is stolen most likely it'll be towed to a parking lot and dropped. After a waiting period for a possible Lojack recovery a tow truck will pick it up again and complete the theft. Nobody will think twice about the alarm going off.

derspi

There's just almost no point these days. Aftermarket alarms, along with car audio, is more or less dead when it comes to modern cars. Like you said, alarms are just noisemakers, most OEM "alarms" aren't alarms even - its just a keyless entry & immobilizer system. The real purpose is to prevent the car from being stolen. You really can't prevent smash & grabs anyway - just don't leave anything of value or in plain view when parked is about the best you can do.

MIKESV8

believe me, the business is not dead for any era of vehicles when it comes to aftermarket audio and alarms.

derspi

Not dead (yet) but it's on life support. So long as there are older model cars, there will be a business case but those days are coming to an end as cars get more and more complicated & sophisticated in their electronics.

CoolBDPhenom03

Well, there were also alarm systems that had GPS trackers and remote "kill switch" abilities. I have a similar one on my moto. It requires a subscription, but I can check it any time from any mobile device.

MIKESV8

cars come with alot more power and over all performance than they did a while back, therefore no one is buying aftermarket performance parts right? It's the same concept in the car audio world. There is no "good enough"

derspi

And I would agree but for every ten car enthusiasts, there may be only one car audio enthusiast. How do I know this? I used to be in car audio and even briefly competed in IASCA but car audio is a lost art form. Maybe in your neck of the woods, it's better but around where I am, there are practically no car audio/alarm shops left.

Raygt3

What about theft insurance? Let them take it if they really want it so badly. Spend the extra alarm money on a good policy and save your receipts and have current photo's. I'd just as soon let the PD and insurance Co. deal with all the nonsense. Certainly don't want to shoot someone over a silly car.

Jason888

I'd rather get a brand new replacement C63, in the very unlikely circumstance my car gets stolen from the insurance company. To me, aftermarket alarms on modern cars are more of a piece of mind thing these days.

DuaneC63

The stock system demobilizes the car so all they can do is drag it on a flat bed. The only good an aftermarket alarm would do is if it called your cell phone when it was tripped. Other than that it would serve no other usual purpose than your stock system.