Advice On Alarms Wanted

[notamondayfan 44]

my insurance company says i need a thatcham 2 alarm, fitted within 30 days.

 

currently my funds are rather low, and i dont have a clue whats the difference between thatcham 1, 2, toad, etc!?

 

so is there anything i should go for / avoid? how much should i expect to pay to have it fitted professionally?

 

any advice welcome!

 

thanks, dean

[M@tt 77]

toad ai606 gets my vote round the £100 mark and easy to fit yourself if you can work your way round a wiring diagram, it's a Cat1 alarm. I think theyre about £225 fitted iirc if you look on ebay theres companies that advertise a fitted price

[mitch205gti 1]

I think a Cat2 is just an immobiliser and Cat1 is a full alarm and immobiliser. I also think you may need to get it installed professionally for the insurance to take it in to account, may be wrong with this but worth checking.

[large 33]

Yer a cat 2 is an immobiliser, and i would have thought for the insurance you would have to get it fitted. If they are asking for a cat 2 it is cheeper £100-£150 max fitted. I will ring a mate who fits them and get some better prices.

[notamondayfan 44]

ok thanks. i think id want it fitted profesionally anyway, as im not too confident with wiring, plus i think theres an old system under the bonnet, which might add complications.

 

large - that would be great, thanks!

[large 33]

Just had a a chat with my mate he said £100 for a good one fitted and that should top end.

[notamondayfan 44]

thanks thats music to my ears!!

[DM88PUG 0]

I have trouble with a toad system on my old rs and a maxpower one i belive it was.

[steve@cornwall 100]

I have 4 different certificates with my CTi - and no immobiliser!

[platty 1]

I believe you can fit the alarm yourself, and then have a fitting company inspect the install and certificate it(Im looking to do this with a Toad Ai606). Although, £100 supplied and fitted sounds good to me.

[Anthony 1,003]

If you're happy with a CAT2 immobiliser, I can recommend the Toad Powerkey / Sterling Excel (same system) transponder setup - really good, totally automatic arming/disarming, and cheap too

[notamondayfan 44]

going for a toad. £75 inc fitting, plus they pick the car up from work not bad i thought.

[damien 22 1 Cars]

what insurance company are you with? ive never heard of insurance companys demanding that you have a alarm.

ive got a cat 2 immobiliser (no alarm) but i never get asked about it

[timmsy19 3]

my insurance company (churchill) ask for for what type of alarm on quote stage. if you put none it just wont quote for you

[GLPoomobile 958]

I've typically found that above a certain value, usually £2k, they insist on having at least a Cat II installed by a Thatcham accredited installer (i.e. barely trained monkey with dubious credentials).

[welshpug 1,657]

I couldn't get insurance on my 205 without a cat 1.

 

405 has a factory fitted system, as did my ZX, though they didn't ask for proof of that

[Dan@bar 0]

When I first got my Pug the insurance insisted on a Cat 2 immobilisers. I ended up getting a Cat 1 so that I got remote central locking too. I think I paid about £230 for a Cobra system fitted with the necessary certificate to keep the insurers happy. I wasn't very impressed with the knuckle draggers that fitted it though. Didn't realize they were going drill great holes in the centre console either (as it was a remote system) I forget that there was an LED and the touch pad backup!

[notamondayfan 44]

im with adrian flux, and they said i needed a CAT 2 cause of the value of the car. tbh i think its probably £75 well spent too.

[rallyman 0]

Having been involved in the trade (ok so it was 10 years ago..) and presenting thatcham with alarms/immobilisers for assesment - I can tell you:

Cat 1 = Alarm + Immob

Cat 2 = Immob

Certain manufacturers did a cat 2 to cat 1 upgrade

 

Certificates: MMMmmmmm You can buy certain Cat1 / Cat2's with the cert in the box..... you can fill it in yourself and say it has the security but if it gets nicked then you're in for a bumpy ride...they probably wont pay out as it wasn't fitted by a professional outfit (yes apes, gorilla's and numpties included). You MAY find a local garage to fit it but they might not be suitable. Speak to the insurance co. and find out! Really thou it has to be fitted by a VSIB accredited company to be insuarnce suitable http://www.vsib.co.uk/

 

Don't go for a Cat 1 unless you REALLY want or have to and do some research into it, don't go necessarily for a named brand too many features spoil security! and thats what you are buying!

DECENT FITTING IS KEY I recently bypassed a Cat1 Clifford on a mates car in less than 15mins (bit rusty these days ) BECAUSE is wasn't installed properly! I have seen cat1's thrown at a car and looms chopped with twist and tape and scotch locks - they are not really good on the fuel pump circuit!

 

 

The immobiliser box MUST have a metal casing around it, ask the fitting company how long they have been around and how long they have been fitting that make for. Ask where the kit is fitted and what circuits it cuts as well (handy for future starting issues - like pugs dont have them without immob's!)

 

Do your research on the fitting company!

 

The last cat 2 i fitted was a microscan mi100 (I think) it was good and didn't let me down.

 

Last thing to remember....... what ever you fit to the car, if they want it they will have it. All you're doing is removing the "joyrider" (are not we all? ) causal opportunist theif scum from nicking your motor!!

 

Personally I would take the car to the workshop.... as thatcham/vsib certified installer MUST have one! and watch it get fitted should take about an hour on a 205. might pi** off the installer but it will stop him lashing it up!

 

Have a lookey at: there is some advice here!!! certainly VSIB and certificates

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thatcham

 

Hope this helps!

 

Cheers

 

Michael

[platty 1]

I was under the impression that you could fit the alarm, and then have it inspected by a VSIB approved installer to gain a certificate?

 

Does that come down to the willingness of the company you are approaching, or are we talking a no no, in the eyes of the insurance companies.

 

I am absolutely certain I can make a far neater and safer installation than the CAT 1's I've had fitted in the past.

Edited October 1, 2008 by platty

[rallyman 0]

Some may, but then they are putting their name to a potentially open situation that if cars get nicked to often then the VSIB could withdraw their certification abilities or worst that they could have a insuarnce claim, i.e. I was overtaking this 18wheeler and it cut out.......

You might find a tame company but I'd bet he would want to sell the immob in the first place along with a stereo!

Immobilisers start at about £20 trade (acutally thats over the counter Maplin are selling cat 2's for £20 now - dunno what its like?) thats £55 that they make........ no wonder I saw so many that seemed to be thrown at the car!

I agree that so many people love and cherish their motor and would do such a wonderful job of fitting it perhaps much better that a cowboy outfit!

As I said do your research on the company and the kit.

Remember that the whole point of after market security kit is that it could be fitted in different places using different circuits making it more difficult for a thief to bypass!

[craig f90 0]

toad ai606 gets my vote round the £100 mark and easy to fit yourself if you can work your way round a wiring diagram, it's a Cat1 alarm. I think theyre about £225 fitted iirc if you look on ebay theres companies that advertise a fitted price

Ive got one to go in mine ^^^^^ Is it an easyish job M@tt?