Bodger

Right,

My Cat 1 alarm failed today and would not unimmobilise! So I waited 1.5 hours for RAC to come out (high priority due to having 2 year old with me, so how long would it of taken on my own?). Anyway within ten minutes the RAC guy was able to start the car by bypassing various systems with cables and within an hour he had rewired the alarm out of the electrics altogether (at my request, it has played up a couple of times lately, I have checked with the insurance and oddly they had no requirement for alarm fitment!). His job was much neater than the original installation which was a mess and (despite being fitted by a VSIB approved installer) not properly installed, it wasn't wired to the ignition (?) at all, instead it was double wired to the fuel pump. Anyway the RAC man was very much of the opininon that most CAT 1 installations are poor quality and very easy to get round, mine being particularly easy, though he was careful and someone who didn't have to be careful could have got the car going even faster He also said that it didn't really matter what alarm was fitted, once you have access to the car most are easy to remove!

Now I'm interested to know what action I can take, the alarm was incorrectly fitted by a VSIB approved garage, who don't exist anymore (about 3 years ago). I have the supplied documentation (ie Certificate and invoice). Do I complain to VSIB?

Also when I buy a new car (very soon) how can I check the quality of the existing installation or how do I know if I can an alarm installed if it has been done correctly (RAC seemed to indicate most aren't, but that I guess he would only see the ones that break down - though he did laugh when I said mine was thatcham approved!)?

And one last thought, is there anything I can quickly and safely remove to immobilise my car before it goes to auction (very soon hopefully, so I don't really want to fork for major alarm work)?

Thanks



My car had a reasonable