I have recently bought a MY00 Turbo, with the standard Cat 1 alarm. I am trying to gauge how much I should spend on "additional items". I love my car to bits and would cry for months if it where damaged/stolen, therefore emotionally I am prepared to do ANYTHING to keep it. The salesmen can tell that I am easy prey, however lack funds prevent their fiendish attempts to sell me everything in the shop.

Is a Cat 1 alarm sufficient (i.e. do many get damaged/stolen)? If not what are the most secure additions, for a budget of say £400?

I am really confused as to what is the best approach (better alarm? Mechanical Immobilisers? Tracking systems?), so any advice would be much appreciated.

As we've all heard, if someone wants your car, they'll take it.. so my theory is to stop them wanting it, by making them not notice it:

Don't wash yer car.
Pref. have it in green.
Don't put bloody great spoilers on it
Don't put spangly wheels on it.
Park it with the scoop/spots facing a wall.
Have a bloody great stoplock on the steering wheel.
Have lots of confusing flashing LEDs inside.

My car hardly gets noticed, until I turn the key http://bbs.scoobynet.co.uk/biggrin.gif

[This message has been edited by DavidBrown (edited 17-05-2000).]

I too share your worry and are very reluctant to park in certain places.I have a cat 1 alarm immobilizer.

Recomended when parking in a car park is to leave the car in gear (reverse) so that the thieves if they cut the hand brake cable can't push the car on to the awaiting tow truck and off to a quiet spot where the alarm would not be heard.

I will soon buy one of those really ugly Hailfords yellow things that goes across the steering wheel, merely as a deterrent.

..Ian

As for your car Mr Brown sounds like my neighbours Mondeo.... http://bbs.scoobynet.co.uk/wink.gif

My father had a very nickable Cossie a few years back, along with Tracker, cat1 etc he had a big yellow wheel clamp(driving wheel, not steering wheel http://bbs.scoobynet.co.uk/wink.gif ) - very visible and very effective, 5 years parked on the streets of London to testify.
Cheers
Charles

I found a good way of not getting your car driven away, I found it by accident!

I was playing with my induction kit the other night, and I must have pull one of the breath houes off by accient(I have a Sport 97').

I closed the bonnet and try'd to start the car, it started and dead straight away!!!, So now I park the car, open the bonnet pull off the houes, close bonnet, put chain around steering wheel, and turn on the alarm!

After all that, if they went it they can ask my pitbull for the keys ;-)

By far the best anti theft device is a Garage . Just dont forget to put it away every night!!.Graham.

I have had first hand experience had the car nicked from my drive.
They broke into the house during the night whilst we were asleep took the keys and of they went with the car.
They must have pushed the car off the drive and started it once they were down the road, as the noise from the exhaust and the fact that we sleep with the window open we would have heard it.
Luckily the car was found a few hours later minus stereo etc but the car was left locked and alarmed.
Motto is never leave your keys downstairs and leave your house alarm on at night.

Grant

have a steering lock and keep the key separate from your car keys e.g. with house keys. If your car keys are stolen they still can not remove the steering wheel lock. Of course be careful not to forget to take your steering lock key when you go out.

I have a disklok, and don't want to tempt fate by saying I've had no problems, but I've heard they are a big deterrent.

Mine cost about £80 from Halfords but I am sure you can get them cheaper.

I had mine towed away and the recovery guy showed me how he got in - scary! Said the alarm is another thing, but you can be in in seconds, so I think some aftermarket help is a worthy investment.

Smudge

Barrier deadlock is pretty good, I know personally of one lad who had this fitted and some ****eds tried to nick the car, they got past the cat 2 immob. but couldn`t move the car, they vandalised it quite a bit but his car was still there next morning

Yeah, barrier deadlock will stop 'em driving off with it, and a diskloc will probably stop them from even bothering to find out that it has got a barrier deadlock.

BTW, the top rated steering wheel lock from that mag review (the Auto something 2000) is 60 quid from motor world. Got mine and it is easy to use and very visible.

And to put the steering wheel lock on, turn the wheel all the way to the left, then slightly back so the wheel looks straight, then turn off car and turn key to the lock position - saves you yanking the wheel all over the place with the engine off trying to get it to engage.

R

You can now get the 'Disclock' in black and silver too, which is nice. http://bbs.scoobynet.co.uk/smile.gif
Any decent visible deterrent like this, combined with something like the barrier deadlock should suffice. Not much else you can do then unless you go to monitoring systems.

Stef.

Stef, only you could want a "visible deterrant" that was colour-coded to match your car! http://bbs.scoobynet.co.uk/wink.gif

get a disklock, tracker involountary movement
unit. so if the theives get it on a flat bed using a winch, tracker call u straight away.
its just like a spirit level. if it moves the sensor activates and if ur close by u can run out and "protect ur property" cosh!
always leave ur glove box open and empty, remove all things from show in ur car, even if u think it aint valuble. theives break in cause damage to ur car then realise its only something cheap. always remove ur radio/tapes if poss. sand blast all glass with ur reg no. think about a removable steering wheel. always carry the "large spanner under ur seat. lock ur doors at all time as thieves strike at traffic lights sometimes boxing u in front and back in stolen cars, so be aware never get to close to the car in front, leave a space so u can move out if the theives move towards u. always look around b4 u get into ur car. they watch and wait. oh and get a cat 1 alarm/immobiliser. all in a days driving!

Do a search on this forum. Search word security in title only over last 30 days.

De nerr, a shed load of info and (informed?) opinion.