I am considering purchasing a basic clifford or viper alarm for one of my family's 2002 honda civic. Is this a basic install and easy to defeat for professional thieves? I've read that they can pop the hood and disable the siren within a matter of seconds. I had one on my integra before and never had a problem with it.

My main concern is a low quality install where they don't hide anything and it is still easy for a thief to defeat. The civic is parked outside 24/7 and I am getting more worried due to the holiday season and an increase in crime around my area.

How do these installs compare with a stealth install being done by our own HT members? Thanks.

 

unless you have a backup battery that is running power to the alarm, they can ALWAYS pop your hood and disconnect the battery, no matter where the alarm is installed.

that being said, i always reccomend taking your car to a specialty audio/security shop, where they wont break all your interior pieces during the install

 

Please see the Audio/Video forum. Plenty of good info there.

Do a stealth install yourself following the guides and save yourself a boatload of money.

Unless you pay for the additional labor at either place, you will get nothing more than a brain shoved up under the dash.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by B18C_EJ8 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
Unless you pay for the additional labor at either place, you will get nothing more than a brain shoved up under the dash.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Install at Circuit City is as only as good as the monkey who's working on your car. And he's right about that, they'll just shove the brain up underneath your dash and wire it up the 'basic' or 'standard' way of how they do things. Any knowledgeable thief would know where to locate the wires and cut them.

And if you have them add pin switches, make sure you either install that yourself or tell them exactly where to put it and check on it afterwards because I've seen some really jenky pin switch setups for the hood or other doors on the car.

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Stoic &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">unless you have a backup battery that is running power to the alarm, they can ALWAYS pop your hood and disconnect the battery, no matter where the alarm is installed. </TD></TR></TABLE>

Not even disconnecting the battery, but just cutting the fuse line from the alarm that is sitting there in plain sight going to the positive terminal of the battery (which Circuity City will not hide for 'liability' reasons.... ask them about that).

 

thanks for all the responses. I need to do some more research but I guess I should stay away from best buy or circuit city installs.

 

&lt;--- Uninstalled a crap tastic CC or Best buy install

Horrible job wiring lol.

It really was sad.

 

DO NOT GET IT FROM BB/CC!!!!!


WORST $300 i've ever spent

 

i will NEVER buy another car with an aftermarket alarm. i needed to repair the floor on the regal and was greeted with the [at the original time of install] top of the line clifford intellipage. what a imbroglio. i STILL don't have the wiring back to original.



what a g-body floor pan should look like



alarms...

 

Thats a tough call man. To say not to go to CC or BB as a whole I don't think is really fair. I used to work at CC myself and installed for them. I can tell you first hand that they had some really good people installing and had some real dipshits installing. I dealt with numerous alarms installed at "specialty shops" and can tell you based on experience, don't think just because they are a "specialty shop" that they are great installers. You need to find a GOOD INSTALLER regardless of where they work. Word of mouth is a good way to find somebody, as well as their amount of experience. Build some rapport with your installer. I know that for me, when the owner had a nice car and was pleasant, or even had similar interests (imports), it would make working on their car more pleasnt, therefore giving them a better finished product. Hell I had one customer let me beat on his Type R for doing some things to make his install better. Consider a backup battery siren, not just a backup battery. This way if power is cut to the alarm or the siren, it will continue to make noise. Make sure they hide your valet switch, not just put it in the kick panel. Good luck. Do some research before you drop the cash.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by ImprtTunr &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Thats a tough call man. To say not to go to CC or BB as a whole I don't think is really fair. I used to work at CC myself and installed for them. I can tell you first hand that they had some really good people installing and had some real dipshits installing. I dealt with numerous alarms installed at "specialty shops" and can tell you based on experience, don't think just because they are a "specialty shop" that they are great installers. You need to find a GOOD INSTALLER regardless of where they work. Word of mouth is a good way to find somebody, as well as their amount of experience. Build some rapport with your installer. I know that for me, when the owner had a nice car and was pleasant, or even had similar interests (imports), it would make working on their car more pleasnt, therefore giving them a better finished product. Hell I had one customer let me beat on his Type R for doing some things to make his install better. Consider a backup battery siren, not just a backup battery. This way if power is cut to the alarm or the siren, it will continue to make noise. Make sure they hide your valet switch, not just put it in the kick panel. Good luck. Do some research before you drop the cash. </TD></TR></TABLE>

I worked at circuit city also, i wouldnt recommend going to them. There are a handful off good installers, but most installers there are dumb *** kids of the street who get trained in-house. Same goes for any company for that matter, i would definately research online for reputable people who do it on the side.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by niccuhles &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

I worked at circuit city also, i wouldnt recommend going to them. There are a handful off good installers, but most installers there are dumb *** kids of the street who get trained in-house. Same goes for any company for that matter, i would definately research online for reputable people who do it on the side.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Smaller shops generally house the best installers. Find one that has done a few competition level installations at least.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by white trash loser &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote"></TD></TR></TABLE>

thats a pretty tough alarm to get to, if it was under all that carpet, seats, trim, etc.

as long as the wires were all wrapped up nicely where they were tapped into, so you couldn't tell that they were tapped...

thats a decent install...

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by ImprtTunr &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote"> Build some rapport with your installer. </TD></TR></TABLE>

Some installers, such as myself have 10+ years of experience installing and choose to work for a big company due to the fact that benefits and schedule flexibility are most important. I can make more money in side jobs than most companies will pay me. However, if I am paying for my own benefits, matching a 401k, etc. than a big company suits me better than a "specialty shop" (though I've worked at one of the best in town).

Talk to the installers, if you want something out of the ordinary done there are plenty of capable installers at ANY retailer, but be prepared to pay some extra for it to be done, and don't rush them. You are paying that extra for their time remember.

McDonald's isn't gonna cook you a better burger just cause you ask...but if you slip someone a $20 I bet you they'll throw in a few extra patties

-Nick

 

I work at circuit city, as an installer,

And Honestly It depends on the Installer, Also Circuit City Solders all connections as oppose to some places that only use T taps which arnt a good connection at all

circuit Citys have a Shop Supervisor thats trained and overlooks the installers

Get a battery backup.

+ If circuit city breaks anything, They get the new part for you.. plus its all warrantied there service is nation wide so if u get an alarm in california and move to new jersey and have a problem theyll fix it, also they have free UN installation

 

w1ck3dR &gt; I see that you are in Cali, I would contact Desmon and have him or Suspended Hatch do the install for you. It's by FAR the best bang for your buck. Check it out: https://honda-tech.com/zerothread/2080798

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by white trash loser &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">alarms... </TD></TR></TABLE>

Yeah, OK... Let's all listen to you. lol
That install actually looks pretty dam good if you ask me. The better the install, the harder it is to remove. I can tell you it would take you a good 2 8hr days to completely remove my alarm and restore the car back to stock. And that's for a pro!

 

I'll add my .02.

I work for BB now...Have worked for CC,Tweeter,Silo,Highland and a few mom & pop shops. As stated by previous posters there are a few great installers out there in big box shops. You just have to find them. Another thing is it takes time to properly hide a security system-not the 2.5-3 hrs that companies typically allot. Hell back in the day with earlier product (LARGER DEVICES ) we took 1.5 days min to install a basic system. With that being said it sgonna take TIME and Money to do it properly. ie:stealth.

And no matter how good an DIY is...a Skilled Pro who cares about the project will do it better.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by audioroach &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

And no matter how good an DIY is...a Skilled Pro who cares about the project will do it better. </TD></TR></TABLE>

Word

 

I heard they use crimp caps instead of solder because it saves them time

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by hb420 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I heard they use crimp caps instead of solder because it saves them time </TD></TR></TABLE>

Decks, yes. But not on alarms/remote starts.