Cat 1 alarms... opinions and reccommendations please!

Richdog · 24 Jan 2006 at 16:12

Some nice muggins have reccommended that I get a Cat 1 alarm for my car and I know sod-all about them. I am just wondering do they offer any major advantages over Cat 2 alarms, as in make it seriosuly mroe difficult for thieves? What sort of price will I be looking at consdering I am on a tight-ish budget (~£200 or thereabouts)?

Can anyone reccommend any for me? I live in the West Sussex area just outside Crawley.

[TW]Fox · 24 Jan 2006 at 16:20

You do not need a cat 1 alarm on a car like yours, it wont stop people breaking in and is a waste of 300 quid.

mad_allan · 24 Jan 2006 at 16:23

I'll concur with Fox. Defo do not need one on the clio, just make sure you leave nothing inside / visible.

thebrasso · 24 Jan 2006 at 16:29

Aye, Cat 1 systems are designed for cars that are targets for serious thieves...so you can pretty much disable the engine. Overkill on a clio.

If it were me I'd save my money, and just don't leave your headunit cover in the car anyway. Your car insurance (even TPF&T) should give you some cover for your stereo..enough unless you have some sort of mental system in there.

Richdog · 24 Jan 2006 at 16:29

Ahh that's good to hear, it will stay garaged anyway most of the time. It's just ithat in my other thread someone was really reccommending getting one but I wasnt sure whether the cost would be worth it...

Liverpool-Lad · 24 Jan 2006 at 16:31

Get a CAT2 immob, mine was £100 fitted. OR, something substantial liike a Disklok. £45 from Cosctco.

Richdog · 24 Jan 2006 at 16:43

I already have an immobiliser (definately got one of those) and a Cat 2 alarm (I think) as I believe they were standard on the 1997 CLio 1.4 RT.

I also heard that you need to get some special nuts or something to protect alloys from theft>

Liverpool-Lad · 24 Jan 2006 at 16:45

You can do - the best one really are ones by McGard.

eidolon · 24 Jan 2006 at 16:45

Flashing LED and windows stickers would do for your car, no need to spend money on an expensive alarm really.

Phantom · 24 Jan 2006 at 16:50

I agree with [TW]Fox and eidolon on this one.. whilst there are lots of alarms out there the decent ones are well outside your budget (starting at £300 and going up to £1000). in all honesty you would just be buying a "noise maker" for that money.

you can get basic models which will give you remote/+central locking but if your car already has those features just keep it as it is and invest in some window stickers and a flashing LED to deter car thieves. one useful hint is never leave an aftermarket headunit inside or anything valuable on display when you park up.

Richdog · 24 Jan 2006 at 16:54

Yeah no worries about that, my stereo face will be taken out religiously when not secure in the garage. It just arrived today too so will be going in tonight hopefully...

I'll look into the stickers etc, cheers for the advice folks.

eidolon · 24 Jan 2006 at 17:19

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/RED-LED-FLASH...032711322QQcategoryZ75329QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Something like that should do the job.

[TW]Fox · 24 Jan 2006 at 17:48

There is no Cat 2 and alarm - Category 2 is a thatcham approved Immobiliser, Category 1 is a thatcham approved immobiliser along with an approved alarm.

Hate · 24 Jan 2006 at 18:21

whereabouts near crawley?

my parents live in east grinstead and i worked in crawley for 3 years, never had any problems there

Richdog · 24 Jan 2006 at 18:23

Hate said:
whereabouts near crawley?

my parents live in east grinstead and i worked in crawley for 3 years, never had any problems there

Heh I live in Ashurst Wood mate just outside east grinstead, quiet spot with very little trouble. But my girlfriend lives in the dodgy bit of East Grinstead just behind Superdrug. I'd also worry about leaving my car in parts of crawley, brighton etc.

Hate · 24 Jan 2006 at 18:26

heh, live in brighton now

prelude's been fine

i know the area you mention, but its not really "dodgy" - trust me east grinstead is pretty good as far as things go.

I know ashurst wood too

fRostiE · 27 Jan 2006 at 10:33

to buy a cat 1 your self around £150-£200

to have it fitted £300 inc was what i was quoted

CaneyJ · 27 Jan 2006 at 10:47

I got a Toad ai606 fitted by a guy from birmingham for £200

, it might be pointless on my car but I like having peace of mind when parked outside my house at night.

D4VE · 27 Jan 2006 at 10:50

Trouble is, they all go wrong in the end. Wouldnt bother getting a complex cat1 alarm unless it was 100% necessary.