Alarm system on BMW 330i ?

No car theft at all in Germany, which is not a capitalist coutry.

DAS

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"Brandon" > wrote in message
oups.com...
[...]
>
> Do they not have car theft in germany? Is this a burden of capitalism?
> .....
>

"Brandon" > writes:

> As for me, I live and work in downtown Atlanta...so security is
> somewhat of a concern....Really all I want is some sort of theft
> deterrant like I had on my ...err....hondas.....meaning an alarm sounds
> if someone tries to break a window or open a door without a key

Well, the cheapest way to get the alarm is to install it yourself
(IIRC, I think the cost is around $250-$300 for the kit) and then pay
the dealer to activate it.

Alternatively, if your car supports it, you could just pay the
dealer to have the red "alarm clown nose light" (under the mirror)
activate when you lock the car (basically, a fake alarm light). I don't
know if you can do that on a 2002, although it's possible on newer
3-series cars.

> Do they not have car theft in germany? Is this a burden of capitalism?
> .....

Oh, they do have BMW car theft in Germany. I'd guess that it's an
even bigger problem over there, as there's a demand for BMW cars/parts
in the former USSR. The European car theft gangs certainly seem more
organized (and, rumor has it, much more capable). My guess is that an
alarm wouldn't slow them down much.

--
Darryl Okahata


DISCLAIMER: this message is the author's personal opinion and does not
constitute the support, opinion, or policy of Agilent Technologies, or
of the little green men that have been following him all day.

Thank you for the detailed replies. All is helpful information.

The fact that the car is immobilized without a key is helpful -- it
addresses my first concern. My second concern is that I wouldnt want
anyone to break in the car and vandalize it...or even sit in it
......so if i got the red light activated, that would be a good
deterrant.....

Thanks again....

To me, the major value of the alarm is:

1. It's really likely to wake me up if tripped, since the driveway is
outside my bedroom window. Given that a 330i was stolen in our
neighborhood last year by being towed away at night, this is good enough
for me. (At work there are security cameras and virtually no theft. In
fact, most people don't even lock their cars there.)

2. It provides an audible indication that the doors and trunk are all
locked.

I don't expect any beneficial effects whatever beyond those two.

Marcio Watanabe wrote:

> I don't know if Atlanta is like Los Angeles, but here, except for
> being annoyed, no one pays any attention to car alarm sounds. In
> fact, I'm in favor of laws to ban car alarms. The standard BMW
> security system is very good. When I bought my car, I asked how much
> discount I'd get to install an alarm. The answer was no discount.
> That tells me how much the insurance company values an additional
> alarm system. I don't have an alarm in any of my cars, and one car is
> a convertible.

JRE

"Marcio Watanabe" > wrote in message
...

> I don't know if Atlanta is like Los Angeles, but here, except for
> being annoyed, no one pays any attention to car alarm sounds. In
> fact, I'm in favor of laws to ban car alarms. The standard BMW
> security system is very good. When I bought my car, I asked how much
> discount I'd get to install an alarm. The answer was no discount.
> That tells me how much the insurance company values an additional
> alarm system. I don't have an alarm in any of my cars, and one car is
> a convertible.
>
I guess that makes two of us who want to outlaw car alarms! I felt that
buying a LoJack unit with my last new BMW would be a good idea - until I
found out that there was no insurance discount for that either.

Tom K.