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Ok, probably not the best place to ask, but I'm not a member of any true car related forums. So just thought I'd ask if anyone has any experience with car alarms? I've been thinking about getting one for ages, but never got round to it. Today a bunch of pissed kids were messing about on the street and one of them jumped on my car, so I went out and told them to f*** off. They duely departed, and now I'm sitting here paranoid it's going to get keyed in the early hours. If not tonight, perhaps another night, as they're always coming past the house arsing about.

There are some dirt cheap alarm and remote locking kits on ebay, for like £30 nugs! But obviously that screams cheap "constantly going off for no reason" tatt. So does anyone have any suggestions or general advice? I'm hunting about on google and finding some interesting info, but could do with some advice if anyone has any.

Cheap alarms are generally not going to help you if you fear that your car may be vandalized. They won't detect someone keying the car, b/c the sensors involved in a cheap alarm only detect impacts, doors opening or electrical system fluctuations.

You should look into a more featured model and add a 2 or 3 stage proximity sensor that can detect people who are too close to your vehicle for comfort, and the alarm will alert you on the keychain remote rather than waking all your neighbors every time a dog takes a wee on your tire.

Get the long-range 2-way remote, a 2 or 3 zone proximity sensor add-on, and since you are already making an investment, get the remote-start module that can warm your car up for you in the winter or cool it off in the summer.

In most countries the following may be illegal: you can also get a high-voltage module that when triggered by the keychain remote can charge the outside of the vehicle with many thousands of volts of electricity, which makes it very painful for anyone to touch the car. Of course they could still throw a brick

LOL do they actually have a high voltage module?

My solution would be to get a garage .

You could get a james bond car?

You could get one of those wireless security cameras and hook it to a recorder, then when the hoodlums do the deed you can have them put away and make their parents pay for the damage

If you offer room and board I'll do night shift with my kung fu prowess.

hehehe. Nice to see all the usefull feedback.

@SirFire

All good suggestions. I was looking at a lot of kits and a basic Thatcham approved Cat 1 alarm costs £200 with fitting last night. In the UK, you need Thatcham approval to drop your insurance premiums, and it has to be professionally fitted to qualify. So there is some red tape to deal with here. I'd imagine one with an imobiliser, remote start, auto window close etc. would set me back a fair bit of cash. The voltage thing is definitely illegal here too. Hmmm, decisions to make.

@Oddmind

They're definitely not hard kids. I'm not hard and they were scared off when I confronted them. Just nuissance kiddies. To be honest I don't think anything will happen, cos my neighbourhood is pretty good. Kids round here don't really grow up carrying knives and vandalizing stuff with the odd exception. The guy who jumped on my car was really distinctive looking though. I have no idea who they are, but I've seen him before and I would recognise him a mile off, so if my car turns up with any random unexplained damage, I'll keep an eye out for his ugly face. And then I'll send him to you.

Yeah, I had a phase where the local kids were nicking those little air caps on the wheels. Not a major big deal as it costs about £2 for 4, but bloody annoying. Turned out no-one else I knew was getting them nicked apart from 2 neighbours. One with an S2000 and one with a Boxter. Basically they were taking caps from sports cars only (mines an Impreza Turbo) as if the caps were like unique to the cars. Worked out that because I had been using nice metal caps they thought it was special Subaru ProDrive kit or something (because some of the car is including the alloys). Went to plastic and all was fine. Just not so nice looking

Hmmm. No advice there I'm afraid... so run the f**kers over. Honest to god, no-one would blame you. You live very near me, and I'm betting the kids are getting more and more stupid about walking in the street. And what's up with kids playing chicken with cars these days? We may be thick up in Wales when I was growing up, but we make you english tards look like gym teachers So just clip their leg or something and leave them in traction for a couple of months. Seriously good life lesson now that the army isn't compulsary And you can blame it on GTA if anyone gets suspicious. *Only* downside is you may leave a bump in your car. But the smile you get as you pass his wheelchair everyday will more than make up for it

Thing I hate is cats. The other day I had 3 at the same time on my bonnet. Erm, it was parked at the time. Run over kids, yes, but not cats. Annoying long-to-cool-down car. Plus the thing *ticks* for ages, especially after a good burn, and I think they like that. Plus they seem to thrive on that stuff thats supposed to put them off. My friend says supersoaker with chilli in it. Sounds good....

Cheers