P5 Stock alarm yes or no???

[temptsboy]

Buying the 5 tomorrow do I want the dealer or factory alarm installed. Is it a decent alarm? Do you like it? Or should I just go after market?

 

[alexlitov]

go aftermarket. the tech guy told me that's it too sensitive and doesn't really do s***. anyone can disarm it in half a second. save your money and get something good. just my 2 pennies.

 

[monki]

really that bad ?

i m planning to ask the dealer to throw it in for free !

 

[alexlitov]

if it's free take it.

 

[Jliao]

I've been debating with this issue for quite a while, either stock alarm or no. Though, I've decided to save my money to go with the aftermarket alarms with advices from fellow forum readers. Simply because stock alarm is "stock" alarm, if techs in the dealer know how to install the alarm, will know how to disarm it.

 

[Joygasm]

i had the same dilemma when buying my car. the alarm itself cost $395 CDN. but on top of that, the shop was going to charge me $89/hr worth of install work... and they told me it was going to take 3 hours. needless to say, it was pretty easy to decide going with aftermarket. heck, the stock alarm doesnt even have an immobilizer. i can get an aftermarket alarm with an immobilizer for under $250. and that's including installation.

 

[alexlitov]

It take about 5-6 hours for a good installer to "professionally" install the alarm. 1st NH pointed out that the brain should be well hidden, like under the gauges so it will take the bad guy some time to remove it. All the wiring has to look as it was never there and came like that from the factory. Don't get the $250 installed alarm. I bet a little kid can disarm it within 5 seconds!!!

 

[bryan_giovana]

My P5 came with an anti-theft device that is a key and must be inserted to start the car. I can't stand alarms that honk or go off because of thunder or someone getting too close to your car.
All of the Mazda cars at the dealer were installed with them and I had the option of keeping it for an extra $200 or disabling it. At first I had them disable it, but I thought it over and didn't want anyone borrowing my awesome P5, so I went back and got the extra keys, etc...

 

[Greg S]

Don't ever bother buying an alarm from the dealership. They are installed aftermarket either by the dealer's techs but more often by a small independent who contracts out to various dealers at the lowest price they can get. What you end up with most of the time is the cheapest install possible so the installer can still make a good profit at the price he has set with the dealer, this usually ends up with corners cut way too much for a good install.
On the P5 I just purchased it had an alarm installed which they wanted to sell me for $425 US, which for a dealer is not a bad price, but since I do this for a living I declined. As they had no one who could remove the alarm there at the time I told them I wold remove it and bring it back the next day. This alarm was so poorly installed that it had no more than a few feet of range and the door lock would fluttle up and down in the morning when you used the remote. Once i got it to work to remoe it I found the antenna for the alarm which is designed to be run up along the side of the windshield looped and taped to the alarm brain at the bottom of the dash and the wrong value resistor used for the door lock control wireas well as the diagnostic plug had been pushed out of place due to the ground for the alarm being done right next to it. It took me all of about 10 minutes to pull the alarm out. Took me anothe 4 hours to put the new one in but I diasembles the dash and instrument cluster and from bumper to put every thing in.