Expensive car alarm or less expensive steering wheel club. Which is better?

Question

I make deliveries. Almost every day I see car alarms going off as the cars owner is getting in or out of his own car. Or someone bumbs the car etc. etc. When was the last time anyone came running when they heard a car alarm. Today as I was going in one store I could see a person sitting in a car across the street with the alarm going for a few seconds. He looked a bit suspicious but not terribly so. As I approached the door of the store two older fellows were talking. They couldn't see the car where they were standing. I heard one say to the other "oh its just a car alarm" and that all they did. I can imagine how the police would feel if everyone called them every time they heard an alarm. So what good are the car alarms anyhow. Steering wheel clubs can be cut off but I think a thief is less likely to sit in a public place doing that. Anyhow, what do you think?

Answer 1

Car alarms are more likely to make everyone mad, and no one ever does anything when they go off, except to ignore them. Clubs must be removed in order to drive the car, so no matter what, they will slow down the thief. How much it slows them down is a matter of debate, but since thieves will sometimes bypass a car with a club in favor of one without a club, especially in a very public place, it would be better to have the club. Neither one is going to stop a determined thief, but the club is probably money better spent. Plus, it's a passive system that doesn't require installation or a power supply, unlike the car alarm that will be disabled if you have a dead battery. Some thieves know how to very quietly drill a hole in the battery and drain the acid, disabling the entire electrical system. Some cars are vulnerable this way. Clubs can only be removed by very publicly destroying them or the steering wheel, neither of which a thief who is concerned about speed and being noticed will want to get involved with.

Answer 2

Steering Wheel Lock With Alarm

Answer 3

Car alarms are so common place, noone even bats an eye when one goes off anymore. I used to work at DFW airport, and there were always alarms going off every time a plane either took off or landed. Can you imagine how tired the airport poice would have been if they got a call every time someone heard one?
True, clubs can be cut off or simply broken off it the thief has a can of freon, so they are not really that great.
One thing that DOES work well is a kill switch. This is a device that is hard wired into your steering column, and it's basically a bypass to your ignition. There is usually a component that can be removed and taken with you that must be re-inserted before you can start the car. My brother had one installed by the dealership when he bought his truck. When someone broke into his truck, and saw the kill switch, they left to go on to something easier to steal. Now it cost about $500 to repair the damage done in the break-in, but when compared to replacing a whole vehicle, that's not too much to pay really.
Now I don't have one in my cars, since I drive things noone in his right mind would steal, but if I were to get a new car, I'd DEFINITELY have a kill switch installed. Some insurance companies even give you a discount for having one.

Answer 4

Here's the trick that theives use on 'clubs'. They bring a long a small 'bolt cutter' and cut the steering wheel (not the club). This takes about 2 seconds to do.

Alarms and other devices are there to keep the honest people honest. Car alarm are an effective deterent because a thief does not want ANY notice given to his activities. Even though most everyone ignores car alarms, we all still look at the car that's making the noise and that is enough to deter the thief.

On both of my vehicles ('05 Ford Explorer Sport Trac and 07 Hummer H3) require that a specific key be used to start it. This is the MOST effective method of theft prevention.

However, if a theif wants a specific vehicle bad enough, they will get it.

Hope this answers the question!

Answer 5

there's no security device ever conceived that a good thief can't circumvent
your best bet is to just buy really good insurance in case it ever happens
although clubs and alarms do deter the teenage joy riders pretty good
the best security alarms work with an agency that can shut down your car from just about anywhere look into these systems if you want to pay for that kind of service

Answer 6

Either way if a thief wants it he'll get it, but it wouldnt hurt to have both that way at least the alarm is screaming while their trying to cut the club off.

Answer 7

i agree. i never pay attention to car alarms. I would go with the steering wheel lock. an experienced car theif can disable a car alarm faster than he can cut off a wheel lock and it is more suspicious looking.

Answer 8

Try the Autolock.

Locks the brake pedal or clutch in place and prevents the car from being shifted out of park. (at least not easily shifted).

Or if you have an expensive car that you want to protect, try the lo-jack.

Lo-jack now has both a recovery, as well as a newer one where if the car is activated without a dongle in the car, it will contact you that your car is moving without proper authorization.

Answer 9

Get "The Club" !