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Great Debates
#1

Car alarms. Loud. Repetitive. Some involve the horn. When I hear one go off I don’t think “Someone’s car is getting stolen” I think “A cat must have jumped on the hood.”

Thunderclaps set the off, large trucks passing by set them off. Seems like anything can set them off. Well, except for a moderately experienced car thief.

Is one person’s perceived security worth annoying an entire neighborhood? Would money spent on a loud alarm be better invested in a tracking device? Are car alarms effective deterents? Do car owners feel better having one? Should they be banned outright?
Alphagene

#2

Car alarms are purchased because they reduce the cost of Auto Theft insurance. No other sane reason exists for them.

#3

tracer wrote:

“Car alarms are purchased because they reduce the cost of Auto Theft insurance.”

My State Farm agent laughed when I asked for a discount based upon having a car alarm. State Farm doesn’t give a discount for that.

Contestant #3

#4

I agree, C3 - Geico doesn’t give discounts for alarms either. I think most insurance companies now don’t give discounts unless you have something that disconnects the ignition - a passive alarm dpesn’t do any good anymore, like Alphagene said.

#5

I’m deaf, I don’t get a discount either. Shucks, I get so many discounts that they only let me have two these days.

I don’t have one of those alarms but my other deaf friend does. Have no idea why since he can’t hear it.

#6

The alarm on my car is a standard feature. I don’t trust it to prevent a theft, but I do like the remote lock/unlock control.

#7

I knew a guy who had his fancy car gutted. Everything, including the alarm, was stolen. Meanwhile, I left my dorky little used car empty and unlocked and never got a single smashed window or stolen item. Same exact parking lot. Which was a better deterrent?

I don’t find alarms all that offensive, but they seem a bit silly to me. The window stickers look like a “Rob Me I Have Expensive Stuff” sign.

#8

Afterthought… In that area car theft was rare, but break-ins happened every week minimum. Alarms might actually deter someone who wants the entire vehicle instead of just the radio.

#9

Just a thought…

Yeah, we’re all used to hearing and ignoring car alarms. They probably can’t even get a cop’s attention unless you’re in a municipality w/some lucrative noise fines. But would you react differently if you heard one obviously moving away from you?

#10

Yes near me alarm going off anoys me to the max! My car is theft proof…it is a god awfull beater, that seems that rust is holding it together, it has no radio…never locked…
The car has an aura all of its own. It says very loudly…“Please steal me…you will be doing the owner a HUGE favour!”

I am going to put up a sign next…“Keys under the matt, doors unlocked”

Cogito Ergo Vroom
I think therefore I ride fast…

#11

I had a rusted out Olds ad they painted a swaskika on mine and left the Lexus next to me alone.

#12

I was passenger in a car when the driver stopped to get doughnuts & coffee, left keys in the ignition in case of emergency. Somehow I managed to set off the damn burglar alarm! After a moment, I opened the door to see under the dashboard better. Became conscious of a police officer in a passing patrol car glaring at me, yelled, “It’s not my car! I don’t know how to turn it off!”, cop nodded, patrol car drove on.

MORAL: If you set off a burglar alarm while trying to steal a car, just insist loudly to everyone in sight that it isn’t your car. Anything else they see you doing, including tearing parts off or using power tools, will probably be applauded as emergency measures for stopping the damn alarm.

Designated Optional Signature at Bottom of Post

#13

And, hey, if you are trying to steal it, you won’t be lying when you say it’s not your car!

#14

David B wrote:

“And when at last the police came by, sing Rickety Tickety Tin,
And when at last the police came by,
Her murderous pranks she did not deny.
To do so, she would’ve had to lie –
And lying she knew was a sin.
A sin.
And lying she knew was a sin.”

 -- Tom Lehrer, "The Irish Folksong"