Hey guys i recently picked up a 97 M3 sedan and to my surprise it had no keyless entry/alarm on it. I've never had an alarm cause my previous car (00 turbo civic ex) just had the keyless entry and i never bothered to upgrade and my 91 SER doesn't even have power locks.

Anyways i'd like to have keyless entry and some added security but i've never shopped around for an alarm. From reading a few thread it seems like compustar is pretty popular. I just need something basic and reliable but not too pricey. If anyone can reccomend any systems i'd greatly appreciate it.

 

bump, no suggestions for a decent alarm?

 

Dallas, TX? I live in the Dallas area.

I sold my last Compustar alarm to my friend and installed it in his 99' TL. Unless you know someone who can get Compustar it will run around $300-400 for a complete install.

You can get a Compustar alarm on ebay for $200-250 bucks. I haven't seen an retailers in the Dallas area carrying Compustar though. You can give Earmark or Car Toys a try.

 

Cool, PM me with some more information if possible. What features does the compustar system include? I basically just want keyless, maybe trunk pop and remote start. I was gonna try earmark, just wanted to know what to look for once i got there.

I don't really know much about any of the systems, but clifford/compustar seem to be the favorites. If you could tell me some of the advantages of each i'd appreciate it.

 

Is your M3 a manual or auto tranny?

If you want remote start you will need an alarm that is designed for remote start for safety reasons. Compustar alarm is designed for remote start on a manual tranny.

It has options for trunk release, keyless entry and some extra that you will prolly never need.

Check your PM.

 

It's a 5 spd, i don't think i'd ever buy a M3 in automatic. PM'd you back and imed you

 

w/ remote start, you can still just start the car using only your keys right? like if you dont have your remote..

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by asdf54 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">w/ remote start, you can still just start the car using only your keys right? like if you dont have your remote..</TD></TR></TABLE>

yes

as far as alarms go, dei makes a harness to plug into your factory alarm plug, if you go w/ a DEI alarm there is an alarm harness under your glovebox that has most of the wires needed for the install of the alarm.. just a little tip if you do it yourself that is also where most people install alarms on 3 series bmw cause everything is there to tap into..

 

Yeah, I'd stick with DEI, I'd stay away from Clifford, especially if you're going to be installing the alarm yourself, Those brains are huge and not fun to find a good hiding place for, I'd go with Viper and put the brain up behind the glove box, but do your best to hide it, The harder it is to get to the brain of the alarm the harder the car is to steal.

 

Do most retail shops such as cartoys etc carry DEI? I'm looking to spend around maybe 200-250 for a very basic unit installed. Basically all i want are decent protection and keyless entry.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Jkan2001 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Do most retail shops such as cartoys etc carry DEI? I'm looking to spend around maybe 200-250 for a very basic unit installed. Basically all i want are decent protection and keyless entry. </TD></TR></TABLE>

yes most places do carry dei as they are the biggest alarm manufacter there is today.. as for a basic system you can look into the rattler 250 or whatever model replaced it some places will charge you a little extra labor for some parts and stuff that your bar requires so remember that when your shopping around.

 

You can get a Viper 350HV installed with keyless entry (assuming you already have power locks) for about 240 installed at my shop. I'd assume you should be able to find the same setup around you're area.

 

Cool, that's pretty much how much i was looking to spend for a decent alarm with keyless and yes i have power locks. It's odd how my 97 M3 doesn't have keyless even though it has every other upgrade and my friends 95 318 has keyless.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Jkan2001 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">It's odd how my 97 M3 doesn't have keyless even though it has every other upgrade and my friends 95 318 has keyless.</TD></TR></TABLE>

maybe the remote was not given to you.

I bought a rattler 310D (used) from florida, only alarm and keyless entry for $20 and installed it myself, and it works perfectly.