Which Alarm should I get?!??!

1023 Views 7 Replies 5 Participants Last post by LegendGS, Jun 10, 2002

legend2die4

Discussion Starter · Jun 9, 2002

Alrigh, so heres tha story. I just graduated from HighSchool on the 7th

and mom and dad's gift is "an alarm of my choice" (hah! Are they crazy????) but anyway, so i am lookin at the Clifford AvantGuard 4 system.

its got remote start (for auto AND manual trannys) BlackJax (instantly recognizes carjacking... dynamically shuts down the engine and immobilizes vehicle with a three point-untraceable / unbreachable circuity. Siren blarring and car stalled, but even w/ keys and remote, thief cant start the car, YOU have to enter a secret PIN number to restart your car and reset all the immobilizers) Wireless Immobilizer, Dual Point AutoImmobilization, Self-Powered SmartSiren 4, Digital Tilt/Motion Sensor, NightVision (auto on/off headlights and 'walk away' feature) $3000 anti-theft guarantee, Life-Long warranty, Dual-Zone Digital Proximity Sensor(outside), 4 passenger compartment Radar/motion detection(inside), Glass Tampering Sensing, CliffNet Wizard (connect via PC's to diagnose and adust alarm system) , LowTemp/LowBattery AutoStart, Window Closure.

Those are the basic features. It has just a few more availiable things that i would get like the scrolling "system-armed" LED's that go on your rear-view or wherever you want it... I may also get an electro-illuminescent alarm display light that flashes, Or something like that. What do you all think of this system? Any of you have it and like/dislike it? Is there something better? I also have no idea how much this system is. It looks pretty sweet tho, and I think i would be happy with it. But i dont know too much about alarms. Any imput or suggestions you guys have are much appreciated!

peace out
-bryan

Save

1 - 8 of 8 Posts

LegendGS

· #2 · Jun 9, 2002

I have two of this system (one on each of my Legends).

Couple of corrections though. The dual-zone proximity refers to both the inside and outside sensors. There isn't one for each of the zones. The primary zone is the interior which will set off the alarm if movement is sensed inside the cabin area. The secondary zone is the exterior which sets of a "screach" when someone comes too close to the car.

The other thing is that the AG4 does not come with a glass sensor as standard, but I believe that you can add it.

As for Black Jax, if you choose to activate it, it is constantly on. It doesn't automatically sense a car jacking, but looks for situations that would hint towards a car jacking. However, if you choose to enable it (it can be turned on and off), you have to deactivate it everytime before you drive the car. It automatically assumes a car jacking.

As for price, I think that the average going is $1200.

Save

mattw007

· #3 · Jun 9, 2002

Any Clifford Alarm you get is good, they are all good alarms. If I were you though, I would be more concernered as to where to get it installed at. Make sure you find a reputable place, and not some place tha's main objective is to install 20 car alrams in one day. Even if you get the best car alarm and it is installed poorly, a thief can still overcome it. Possibly look into going to a local place-stay aqay from bestbuy, circuit city, places like that. They just throw those alarms on without doing a decent job. Hope that helps....

Save

legend2die4

Discussion Starter · #4 · Jun 9, 2002 (Edited)

LegendGS

Wow dude, well thanks a lot for clearing that up... i havent gotten a chance to talk to anyone about it yet... and the website is kinda confusing "everything the IntelliGuard 600 system has plus this, minus this" so yah, a lil confusing for me!

but thanks man! so this black jak thing sounds like a joke to me! u have to disarm the blackjack thing everytime u drive the car??? That is rediculus! Most of that stuff in my previous msg was copied and pasted directly from their website... kinda misleading... http://www.clifford.com Hmmm... do u suggest any other system? is Clifford who i should go with??? No false alarms right??? Thanks man! What dont u like about yours? I dont want to have to worry about people messin around with my car at the mall or theatre and places like that... how is the proximity sensor? And what is this OmniSensor???

mattw007
Also, thanks for your advice, the place i plan on going to is a pretty reputable place. All high-end audio/alarms only. Nakamichi, Orion, MBQuart, etc. Its a pretty good place. i plan on asking for a MECP certified installer only. A few of my friends have decent alarms, but false alarms are common. (one has a delta and the other has an avital) so thanks for the advice!!!

-bryan

See less See more

Save

Roger

· #5 · Jun 10, 2002

can u get proximity sensors on any alarm as an addon

Save

LegendGS

· #6 · Jun 10, 2002

I've actually enabled black jax a couple of times when driving into areas where my car would stand out like a sore thumb. Knock on wood, it was all for naught.

I can't think of what I don't like about it, other than it's cost. I actally do like it quite a bit (which I why I have 2, and my g/f has one installed in her BMW.)

It has occassionally falsed on me, but rarely. Apparently due to sudden temperature changes (mainly the seconday proximity sensor zone).

You can't go wrong with virtually any Clifford system. The question to ask yourself is what features are important to you, and how important they are. The other thing is to ask yourself if you are eventually going to be adding features to one that doesn't have it.

For example (and primarily) the AG4 has pretty much everything built in to the main brain. If you go with a lesser system, and wish to add things later, it would require a seperate module that you would have to find a place for at that time.

I went with the AG4 because I figured that I would eventually add stuff to the unit (Intelliguard 7000) that I almost got, and the AG4 was a better choice because it would be a cleaner install, and cheaper too since I won't need to have them go back in again when they install the other stuff. This way, everything is already there, and nothing left to mess with.

If you find that an IG 7000 or 9000 or whatever is sufficient for your needs, that it may not be worth forking over $1k to get the AG4.

As mattw007 mentioned, a good alarm install is just as important, if not more important to your cars security. Ask them where they are going to be installing the brain, and if they point to the driver side kick panel area, ask them to point somewhere else, or find another shop.

The OmniSensor is, I believe, an impact sensor.

See less See more

Save

Legend95

· #7 · Jun 10, 2002

my friend just got the blackjack system installed like 2 days ago. It senses the way that you drive (ic. rpm goes up suddenly) to determine if you are getting jacked or not. The system will chirp at you at random times sometimes asking to enter the code. He kinda regrets getting it because it more of a pain in the ass than it is worth.
Graeme - have you been to automotive lately.. they are really coming up. There were two brand new porsches there last week. A brand new turbo and a carrera 4. They also had a old lambo the week before. Also i heard this balla talking about bringing in his bentley the last time i was there.

Save

LegendGS

· #8 · Jun 10, 2002

I saw a bently there not too long ago, not sure if it was the same one.

Yup, saw both of those Porches. They belong to the same guy. He's converting the Carrera back to stock, and turning it in, and he just got the Turbo very recently. He's already installed a chip in there that is supposed to have boosted his HP to 500+, and he also JUST got a bigger turbo that he will be putting in.

I asked Leonard what the guy does. He's an Aircraft Mechanic! Never knew they made that kind of change!

Re: the BlackJax, actually, it doesn't sense like sudden RPM changes. It actually picks up on a sequence of things that would typically happen during a jacking like door opening and stuff like that.

Your friend should be able to turn it off from the coded valet switch.

BTW, did you know that Mike recently bought another store?

Save

1 - 8 of 8 Posts

This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.

Top Contributors this Month