[saury316]

Pondering whether its worth getting an alarm installed in my new e90 when I get it in August (living in Pittsburgh)

[saury316]

Could som eppl also post why they voted yes/no??

[romeo26]

i voted yes cuse wouldent you want to protect your baby???

[Broken1]

It depends. If you want an alarm so no one will steal your car, don't get it...they can't steal it anyways.

If you want it - so you have that little extra piece of mind (if you park it on the street alot etc) then get it.

I posted no. Although the alarms in SA are standard, I don't really think you need it. The car has got a good security system as far as a thief driving it away, and they don't really try steal factory fitted radios and that (because they can't be used in other cars)

[bzzbenz]

I voted no because of the fact that no one pays attentions to alarms going off. I have covered/guarded parking at work and a garage at home. I can't personally see spending the money.

[Athos]

Originally Posted by bzzbenz

I voted no because of the fact that no one pays attentions to alarms going off. I have covered/guarded parking at work and a garage at home. I can't personally see spending the money.

I agree completely. There are so many car alarms going off in the city that no one pays any attention anymore. Save the money for your insurance deductible. Once your window is broken you'll need it anyway.

[MBChariot]

I would have voted yes but now that I think about it I would have to say no. It really isn't going to do much, yeah your window will still break with the alarm going off. So you will have to get it fixed anyway, I don't think the car is going to go anywhere. If you have a bunch of extras then maybe for the piece of mind, one that let's you know if someone gets to close but how many false alarms will you have. Besides the car alarm goes off, you run outside, you never know what's waiting for you.

[cosmosblau]

If you will get an alarm, all you will do is waste money and disturb your neighbors.

If someone wants to steal your car, or even break in, the alarm won't stop them. Besides, that's what auto insurance is for.

[voltron1011]

Get good insurance. The only way someone can steal one of these cars is to put it on a flatbed truck. Since these cars don't have traditional wiring anymore, there is no way anyone will be hotwiring them. All components on the car (lights, swithes, etc) all run a universal bus. The start button doesn't have anykind of direct connection to the car's starter. It's exactly like your PC at home. Everything communicates on the same shared datapath to the CPU.

[Kao BMW]

My sales guy told me not to get the alarm, but get the lo jack instead. Insurance becomes cheaper too.

[Gnosis]

I didn't order it.... I live in a relatively quiet neighbourhood. And I HATE that little red plastic piece beneath the center mirror that comes with the alarm. What were BMW thinking?

[RedStripe]

You can turn that thing to dim the mirror (assuming you don't have the auto-dimming rearview mirror that comes with the Premium package)

Originally Posted by Gnosis

I didn't order it.... I live in a relatively quiet neighbourhood. And I HATE that little red plastic piece beneath the center mirror that comes with the alarm. What were BMW thinking?

[JBOO]

Originally Posted by cosmosblau

If you will get an alarm, all you will do is waste money and disturb your neighbors.

If someone wants to steal your car, or even break in, the alarm won't stop them. Besides, that's what auto insurance is for.

I've mentioned this other alarm threads, but recently my wifes non-alarmed car was broken into while we were sleeping. Two windows shattered, paint scratches, missing items, etc... $1500K+ claim. Sure the insurance paid for it, but it was a frustrating ordeal that took several weeks to resolve. The thiefs hit several cars in our neighborhood that night, but none of them with an alarm. In fact, my alarmed BMW E60 sat within feet of my wifes car and not a scratch. IMO, the alarm paid for itself that night and who knows how many other nights. Of course I understand that if someone really wants to steal the car or your item inside, they will get it, but an alarm is an effective deterrence for the average thief. I will never own a car without one now.