I'm planning on installing a keyless entry and alarm system on my 97 prelude but I'm not sure which one I should get. I've seen some at circuit city for about $60 but not sure how good the quality of those alarms are. My friend tells me I should get a viper alarm system but they are pretty expensive. Also, how's the installation? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

 

I have a Prestige alarm system with a little pager...I only paid $220 for the alarm and installation

 

if you were planning on installing yourself, dont...

there are soo many wires its way too much of a mess for me....

definitely get a higher quality one, spend at least 200

 

Installing alarms suck, i only did it once and it took me forever i was so **** over the whole wiring of it. If you like wiring and have somewhat of brain you can do it yourself. I installed a compustar, but i had all the wiring diagrams sitting in front of me.

 

What do you want your alarm to do? Do you want a pager alarm or a regular alarm with a simple remote?

From my experience they are all the same, except for some useless features and remote range.

As far as install goes...it depends on your skills, common sense, patience and how much free time you have. I installed a Compustar into my 2000 lude....it took some time, lots of research and all that, 'cause it was my first install. But it works flawlessly and I'm satisfied more by having it done myself

 

what kind of alarms you guys have? I was thinking about getting the viper 2 way paging thing, thinking it would be a good idea if someone was breaking into my car I could have the joy of beating the senseless **** out of them. I am not so sure on how usefull a two-way is though.

Most places charge 150-200 if you bring them an alarm to install. Installing an alarm is not one of those things I would install IMO.

 

I have a Compustar 2WSSR. The pager is very usefull as it tells you what's going on with your car. For example, with a traditional remote there is no way to know if your doors are really locked and the alarm is armed. With pager you can see all that info on the lcd. Also, if your alarm has a remote start, it is nice to know if the car actually started when you're far away from it. And sometimes you can't hear your alarm's siren/horn, but pager will beep and you'll know. One thing that I wish I had on the alarm is a possibilty to mute my car's siren/horn and have the pager beep if the alarm goes off. This way I don't have to bother my neighbours at night if for some reason I get a false alarm.

And installing an alarm could cost as much as the alarm itself...up to about 500 dollars.

 

I think since the car costs 10,000$$ spending 200-400 on an alarm would be worth it. and all the little useless stuff would be cool too

 

remember this, the alarm is only as good as the installer is