Most older Japanese cars are very easy to steal.
Hence why it's mandatory for manufacturers to have immobilizers included with the new cars.
Even with a regular alarm it is still relatively easy to steal. It might take a thief 10 seconds longer with a shitty alarm installed. Even a $1000+ alarm installed poorly can be bypassed in a matter of seconds if you know what you're doing.
I used to have a long post on RS on how to better secure your car. I think it's gone now though.
There's no way to 100% guarantee your car won't get stolen. All you can do is make it a pain in the ass for a thief to steal.
Here's a couple pointers:
1. When getting an alarm installed make sure you spend a little more money to relocate the alarm brain in another location. I'd say 95+% of alarms get installed under the steering column area of the vehicle. So thieves can safely assume your alarm brain is there and bypass whatever immobilizer you have
2. Get your valet switch for your alarm hidden somewhere out of the norm. Again most valet switches are in the driver kick panel area.
3. Get a battery backup system or siren hidden somewhere the thief cannot just rip out (inside the fender, dash, etc)
4. Ask the installer to conceal the alarm wiring in loom or electrical tape. So all wiring blends in with the factory wiring.
5. Put a proper immobilizer in, most alarms have "closed circuit" immobilizers. Meaning once the alarm loses power the immobilizer is no longer immobilizing.
6. Make sure to get a hood pin installed with your alarm. Most thieves target the hood first to disconnect the battery so your alarm won't go off when they break in. Hood pin saved my car from being broken in once, I parked in my driveway and my alarm went off in the middle of the night so I ran outside to find my hood popped open. If I didn't have that I wouldn't have known people were trying to get at my car in my driveway.
7. The louder the alarm is the better, a good properly installed alarm will not false often. Thieves don't like the added attention, so the louder the car is, the more attention it will attract. I had my old alarm hooked up with the normal siren + back up siren + horn honk. You can get additional sirens nicnamed "ear piercers" which are high pitched sirens. Awesome for sticking under a dash + engine bay so the noise will give them a headache.
8. EXTRA Insurance. Normal coverage only covers $1000 for interior goods (stereo, seats, accessories) and $5000 for exterior (rims, kit, performance parts). Parts must have receipts and be screwed or bolted down. Loose things sitting around are not insured. If you have a sound system installed and the sub box is not bolted down to the chasis of the car you will not be covered at all.
I could go on forever. There's alot more you can do.
Last edited by Cman333; 12-04-2009 at 12:52 PM.
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