Anyone running a <$50 alarm?

[hatedonmostly 5,000+ posts]

I need an alarm, dirt cheap; something simple under $50. I don't know what brands are good in that price range, or what features I should be looking for.

If someone could school me on car alarms a little or point me in the direction of what some good affordable alarms are, that would be great.

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[gunz4me2 10+ year member]

I am running an Autopage RF-420LCD that I received for free.

The only downside is the battery backup and useful sensors cost more than the alarm would have normally cost. Oh, and we can't forget the fact that I had to order several rolls of different colored wire. By the time all was said and done, my "free" alarm was running close to $100...

 

[zierbox 10+ year member]

do you have a 50.00 car

Don’t Ruin your Vehicle with a Cheap & Bad Installed Alarm System

The Car Alarm\Security System is the most intrusive and imposing accessory you can add to any vehicle

The Basic Car Alarm \ Security System interfaces & Connects to most of the major electrical Components, functions, and systems of your vehicle

Exterior lighting (parking lights\ headlights)

Interior lighting (dome \ other)

Body control module \ multiple door entry points

Trunk or hatch entry points

Hood entry

Multi level Ignition system

Start \ crank system

Main power source \ battery and power distributions centers

Power\electronic door lock system

Trunk \ hatch release

Engine monitoring point’s injectors\coil packs\ecm\tach signals

Electronic security key systems

Factory ECM security control system

A bad or improperly installed Car Alarm will cause significant problems: disruption of normal operation and functions, cause costly damage to your vehicle

Common mistakes and signs of a Bad installation

Improper power source and fusing

Required independent fusing: Brain\Lights\Locks\Acc\Starts

Bad grounding: Never ground under the hood\ look for the Siren wire

Poor\bad siren placement

All exterior connections must be soldered

The use of speed terminal connections: T-taps or locks

Override /valet switch

Placement of range antennas

A properly installed Security System is your first line of defense to avoid and detour a would be theft or vandal

Many Car Thieves will test a vehicle for systems by first striking\bumping\rocking the vehicle looking for the unprotected vehicles\which makes for an easy target

A Security System will be at work Daily, even with out you knowing it

No systems will 100% stop thieves; however a properly working alarm will minimize the opportunity of damage and destruction

The last thing a theft wants is to draw unwanted attention from an activated security system

A anti-theft (starter\ignition\fuel kill) system may prevent the total theft of the vehicle and electronic tracking system can be used to track and locate stolen vehicles

Automotive Security Systems require specially trained installation technicians; which are very difficult to find

Many shops may claim long term experience and/or countless vehicle installs; however years and volume do not account for the quality of the work (I have seen installers do bad/ poor installations repeatedly over and over for years)

Tint shops should not and can not properly install vehicle security systems

 

[quest51210 10+ year member]

how much do you have in gear? how much is your truck worth? how much time/money did you spend on a blowthru for your truck?

and you want to secure it with a cheap alarm which is probably much less than you spent on your last amp wiring kit?

 

[quest51210 10+ year member]

at dealer cost i spent close to $600 in an alarm i had in a custom car i drove while i was installing some years ago. retail would have been $1000+, remote starts and 2 ways were pretty new tech back then but it was well worth it in the long run

 

[hispls 5,000+ posts]

What they all said. Stick with a brand name and make sure it's done right. Nothing more nightmarish than alarm/remote start that's improperly installed or malfunctioning.

*****Edit*****

Oh ****, you live in Detroit too. LMFAO. Dude you can't possibly spend enough on an alarm. I'd budget 500$ if you're doing it yourself, 1000+ if you need to pay somoene else to install it.

 

[zierbox 10+ year member]

this is what a Cheap Bad Alarm looks like

this is after

 

[zierbox 10+ year member]

 

[hatedonmostly 5,000+ posts]

I know guys, but I don't have power locks or anything like that, nor do I need a remote start, I just need a simple alarm.

I also already have a kill switch installed, and I want to try something cheap just so that I can have my own shot at installing it.

 

[quest51210 10+ year member]

well in that case, get a decent 2way for piece of mind, glass breakage sensor, and backup battery. add hood pin switch to that and you have a decent setup with decent costs. worry about adding door lock solenoids later.

a decent "budget" 2way is Scytek. i have used them for years on my daily drivers and currently going on 3 years with the one on my chevy. basic model with 2 LCD remotes is $100. all my other added features are DEI

 

[hatedonmostly 5,000+ posts]

Cool man, that sounds like just the info I was looking for. I always lock my doors and arm the kill switch so I don't need power locks, and a glass break and bump sensor sounds like exactly what I need.

I heard a bit about their units being easy to install, is that fairly true?

 

[RJesus 10+ year member]

My alarm cost $1.

Its a viper alarm sticker.

jk, I have a factory alarm and nothing worth stealing is installed right now.

 

[hatedonmostly 5,000+ posts]

Right now I have 5% tinted windows, always remove my faceplate when I exit the vehicle and have a kill switch, not to mention the subs are in the bed in the blowthrough box, the subs are impossible to remove from the cab of the vehicle and are incredibly difficult to get out of the box if you unbolt it from the bed, and the box weighs 300 lbs. In short, it would be a lot easier to steal the whole car, which is why the kill switch is there.

But I don't want to go through the expense of having to buy a new window + tinting it, when some noob tries to break in and realizes he can do nothing. So I mainly want a bump sensor or motion detector.

 

[MikeyF 10+ year member]

Anyone you don't trust that knows you have a nice system shouldn't be knowing where you live anyways. I have a Autopage, and like it quite a bit. It's quite sensitive as well. I pull all the way up in my driveway at night, and everytime the next day, the school bus picking up kids sets it off. So I like to think I am pretty safe. This is what I have, pretty cheap, but does the trick. It also came when I bought the car, so I can't complain. AutoPage XT-90LCD (xt90lcd) - Remotes and Transmitters - Sonic Electronix

EDIT- Nevermind, I forgot you live near WSU. Crackheads/Dumbasses galore. I would definitely go with something a little bit nicer than $50.

 

[quest51210 10+ year member]

Keyless Entry 2 Way LCD Paging Car Alarm and Remote Start Car Alarms