On the 2000 R, is the factory starter immobilizer effective?

 

maybe

 

For what it is, it works fine. The car does not start without the right key. There are ways around it, but those should not be discussed in a public forum that is trolled by car thieves.

 

It is only effective against a casual thief. For a professional thief, it does very little. They either tow the car or know how to (easily) bypass the protection.

Same for alarms actually - but don't tell that to the countless people on this board who have spent $1k+ on alarm systems.