i have had a posh new alarm fitted, a guy came to fit it for me so it's certified, hence should give a lower insurance cost with any luck.

a scorpion alarm system with capability for remote engine start but i opted not to have that. It also has but in immobiliser... so currently my car now has three immobilisers on it lol + tracker.

Tracker sounds like a good idea.

These days with the custom of breaking into cars for the stereo seeming to have largely died out I am not sure it is really a massive priority to have a car alarm however the original one on my coupe has been disabled since it goes off all the time.

This means that currently I unlock the car in the age old way of using the key in the door!

I was going to look at after market alarms with a view to rectifying the situation. May I ask what the cost was to have yours fitted and what firm did you use?

here is a link of the alarm that is fitted... £379 including fitting fee.

http://gapsecuritydirect.co.uk/product/toad-ai606/

company i used is gap security... i could also of had shock sensing and remote engine start but opted not to do that as it would of cost a fortune... but the remote start could of been useful for warming up the car on winter days before you get in it.

Alarming

Unless remote start knocks the car into neutral its a bad idea for me since I always leave the car in gear.

Looks decent, and I guess the cost was about what I was expecting... might look into why mine isn't functioning properly first but could be a useful option.

seem to recall a few years ago that remote start can invalidate the insurance as i quite fancied it on a new (to me) escort i brought in 2000

I also always leave my car in gear so doubt i could change that habit easily

daveyboyz Keep an eye out for the fiat car alarm on ebay its usually the self powered siren that is faulty, but search using the part number as they are fitted to quite a few different makes (im assuming you have the later meta one) i got a brand new one boxed for a Ferrari for £23 posted

If you need to pay full price for one you would probably be best to get an aftermarket one for a bit more!

Thanks for the tip...

Mine is the scorpion alarm though... I will reconnect it today and let it annoy the neighbours. Then should see what it does and try to work out the reason for it going off (apparently the LED gives some kind of clue...)

Not a job I am looking forwards to but if I can get the original to function it will save me a few quid. If anyone knows the part number of the siren on this I might need it.

Hi Chris, have you had any issues with this alarm?

That Toad is exactly the same system I had fitted on my van (Ai606 T2). Has a good reputation and has been 100% reliable too. The Toad is also Thatcham Cat 1, so is rated by insurance companies too. I think it cost about £250 to fit, but that was about 5 years back by "Safe N Sound Ltd."

My Coupe has a Cobra (3 series with the 7777 remote) system, but was on there when I got it. Seems to work fine.

no problems with the alarm no... it still works fine.