Cat 1 alarm, which one?

[Crawford_S2]

Thinkin i need some added security these days, thinkin of getting a toad. Any BTDT? Anyone know where i can get one fitted by a non-muppet? Really reluctant to let someone i don't know loose on my loom, so many horror stories out there

Any advice/recommendations? As long as it is cat 1 and is gonna be on the thatcham list for a while i am not fussed about it telling jokes/doing windows, just needs to be reliable and effective. Oh and cheap

[Rusty]

Was thinking of a Toad 606 myself but never got round to it. Cobra alarms are a cost effective self-fit solution too. 8188 / 8186.

Try www.lowcostcaraudio.co.uk for some great prices on Cobra alarms.

If you need the certificate for your insurance company then I believe that you'll need to get it fitted by a certified fitter?

[Jamo]

Depends what you mean by cat 1, Toad is cat 1 rated but for an insurance approved cat 1 get a clifford 650, you have to get a new ceritficate for it every year though but most insurance companies are now going down this route for our performance cars.

[Crawford_S2]

****** so toad isn't insurance approved? How much is the clifford?

[Al Wyn]

The Clifford 650 on the Cabriolet been as good as gold no probs

[Jamo]

Toad is insurance approved but for my needs it wasn't good enough.

I loved the Toad AI606 and probably pound for pound it's the best alarm but when I was talking to specialist insurance companies over the Avant they were telling me it was an older alarm and because I had a modified car i'd be better of with a new style alarm which would reduce my premium.

Cost around £200 for a Toad

http://www.motorguarduk.co.uk/search.asp?s=Toad%20Ai606%20Thatcham%20Approved%20Cat%201%20Car%20Alarm

My clifford cost £325 with proximity sensors and turbo timer and crucially blackjax (anti car jacking ) by Motorguard who are the largest clifford suppliers in the U.K and had done an S2 before

http://www.motorguarduk.co.uk/search...imity%20Sensor)

[bazookachicken]

I've had the toad stuff for several cars now without any problems.
I've just had the new Toad Sterling Cat1 fitted to the s2 simple no fussing alarm £250 all in including removal of the knackered old system. They're cheap functional and give you a certificate for the insurance

I'm with jamo though the clifford's are the best in the world, they're quite a bit more expensive but if you are parking your car in downtown Bosnia ( or central Birmingham as we like to know it!!) I'd trust the clifford more. They've been around longer than anyone else in the alarm business and the alarms are very secure.
Also check out Viper alarms, they are just cliffords in disguise as Viper is the parent company in the states. They are slightly cheaper than the cliffords but I think i'm right in saying there is only 1 with thatcham approval in the range at the moment, but you do get a funky pager with a 2km range.

[jd2]

Ive got the Clifford 650 on my S4 and its been absolutly fine, in for 1 1/2 years now. A cat 1 alarm was compulsory for my insurance with Privilege. Had the Toad Ai606 on my wifes car and again was great no problems at all in 3 years. The Clifford is upgradable so you can add all sorts of things if you wanted, remote start, total closure etc.

[TEKNOPUG]

For an insurance point of view they are a necessity but from an actual security point of view, pretty useless (when was the last time you ever saw anyone responding to a car alarm??). Immobilisers are obviously good but hardly difficult to get past. You’d be better off fixing a couple of switches into the loom yourself – at least that way there are no visible signs as to what make/model you have. Won’t stop some scum crowbarring your door and ripping the dash apart trying to start it though. The best security is a visual deterrent to stop people breaking into your car in the first place. I recommend a **** off dirty great disk-lock.

[Jamo]

For an insurance point of view they are a necessity but from an actual security point of view, pretty useless (when was the last time you ever saw anyone responding to a car alarm??). Immobilisers are obviously good but hardly difficult to get past. You’d be better off fixing a couple of switches into the loom yourself – at least that way there are no visible signs as to what make/model you have. Won’t stop some scum crowbarring your door and ripping the dash apart trying to start it though. The best security is a visual deterrent to stop people breaking into your car in the first place. I recommend a **** off dirty great disk-lock.

So what do you do when you dragged out your car once you've started it? stick the disk-lok back on whilst driving?

The clifford anti-car jacking system allows a theif to make off but kills the car in 30 seconds. I've given the keys to a mate and told him to try it, he got to the top of the road before all hell broke lose

[pixsaudisex2]

do toad own clifford or does clifford still exsist..

and i thought a cat one was a cat one regardless ..
as long as you have certificate etc...
and if it isnt insurance approved its not a cat one..

[Jamo]

do toad own clifford or does clifford still exsist..

and i thought a cat one was a cat one regardless ..
as long as you have certificate etc...
and if it isnt insurance approved its not a cat one..

Ah young man but consider this, there's been a spate of insurance companies not paying up for cars knicked because your VSIB certificate is from the installation date and not uptodate.

Your suppose to have the alarm checked and a new VSIB certificate issued every year that you can send to your insurance on renewal to prove your alarm is still cat 1 compliant.

Search the net been a few cases recently.

[neebover]

Good choice Jamo, I have the same (Clifford Concept 650), turbo timer also. The engineer messed up while installing mine so they chucked in the Intellistart for free. Am I right in assuming Blackjax is an optional extra? No problems and easy to use all round.

Chris.

[TEKNOPUG]

So what do you do when you dragged out your car once you've started it? stick the disk-lok back on whilst driving?

Dunno...I lock the doors when I get in but then I do live in central London...

[Jamo]

Good choice Jamo, I have the same (Clifford Concept 650), turbo timer also. The engineer messed up while installing mine so they chucked in the Intellistart for free. Am I right in assuming Blackjax is an optional extra? No problems and easy to use all round.

Chris.

It should be standard with the 650, maybe it's not turned on in your case.

If you look in the 650 manual theres a section on it and how to turn it on.

Damn you getting intellistart for free lol On my future mod list but very low priority