BrofessorXJ

So my buddy had a few spots left on his Carfax and I said what the heck I'd like to know what mines been through. Turns out she's had 2 owners both in California and was STOLEN from the second owner and driven to Oklahoma. Luckily no damage reported. The vehicle was recovered and returned to California but the insurance company already dished out to cash to the second owner so the title was in the hands of the insurance company. The theft happened 3 months before I bought it and somehow ended up at a local dealership here in California and into my hands. So thank you dude who stole it in the first place? I guess? Otherwise I would probably be driving a wrangler that I don't think I would be happy in.

Anyway, that's my story and now I'm a little bit freaked out especially since I've spent A LOT of money on her so far I would hate to have that happen again. I mean, the theft could have been some pissed off wife or a renegade son without a cause but I just want to feel a bit more at ease of the situation. So what type of alarms or security features do you guys reccomend?

Jeep is a 96 sport 4x4 4 door with manual locks and manual windows. I already know they're a ***** to break into because i've tried on 2 different XJ's and failed. Especially mine with the manual locks it's impossible to move the locks from the outside. Slim jim is different and i'm sure relatively easy to break in with.

I park it always on a side street near my apartment complex just outside LA. It's a nice area but sometimes shady people will venture through. My warehouse that I manage is a different story, those parts are S.H.A.D.Y. As an example: I was so tired after a long days work I took a nap in my Jeep before attempting driving home and woke up to the flood light going off and a man with a mustache staring in at me. Holy **** that made me jump. I'm thinking he saw the light from my stereo and was coming in for a closer look to see if it would be an easy grab.

So now that you've got the details what would be my best bet that I would't need to get professionally installed and I could do myself?

This looks pretty cheap but would it suffice?
http://www.quadratec.com/products/15002_00.htm

jsever

An alarm like that will make a loud noise. If you're gonna be close enough to hear it, and don't work in a neighborhood where alarms go off every five minutes, that's cool.

I had a transmission lock and a pedal cage on my XJ - both were basically bolt-on frames with big padlocks restricting access to the pedals and limiting the shift stick movement. No way an unprepared burglar would be able to remove those.

As for slim jims, I made one the first time I locked my keys inside the car. Takes less than 10 seconds to open the door...kinda scary, really.

BrofessorXJ

Forgot I posted this no one responded haha. The transmission lock and pedal cage sound like a really good idea to me being as I do live in the city and everyone tries their best to ignore car alarms because they are always going off. I think that is the only real way of preventing it from actually being taken. Ill look into it and see what I can fab up thanks man.

AoA

Also a fuel pump or ignition kill switch would be good too

BrofessorXJ

I was thinking that too. Seems like kill switches and locks are the best way to actually prevent theft. I'm not too worried about what's inside, just my Jeep as a whole haha. Thanks for the input I'll post what I come up with here in the next couple weeks.

VTJeep

Maybe LoJack?.. Probably $$$... Go Aussie with it and electrify the handles, or seats. Or flame throwers... Or the non-lethal ideas mentioned.. Either way.
oo
~

BrofessorXJ

Hahaha or keep a tiger in the back.

Turbo X_J

An alarm will be a greater bother to you, than the bad guys. Especially in LA, when I lived in Metro Detroit it was an every day occurence to see a vehicle on a flat bed going down road with the alarm/lights/etc. and nobody cared, not even the cops.

Best defense begins with a 4 and ends with a 5 or something around those lines.

kissthis66

SPEND THE $$ AND GET A VIPER!!!! being from Cali myself and having an old 66 Malibu it was the best investment I ever made. The remotes let you know what's going on with the car instead of just going off and hoping you or someone is near by to take a look at what's happening. Also the kill switch they come with is a thing of beauty.

You will need to have it professionally installed unless you've done that kind of work before. But seeing as your asking about it get it installed. Mine cost me $100 at our local car audio shop to have it installed since i didn't buy it from them. Think best buy has a deal where they will install for free if you buy from them.

I highly recommend getting one. I know I'm going to be getting one here in a few weeks for my jeep as I no longer get to keep it parked in a garage. Viper also has window security film you can get so they can't just smash and grab. Combine the two and nobody will mess with it.

GreenClassic

I really want to get a Viper alarm system. My current alarm randomly does the warning alarm, it honks about 7 or 8 times very rapidly. It's kind of obnoxious.

I want the remote that tells me when the alarm is going off as well as the kill switch. I'd also love to get LoJack & GPS tracking so I can find it if it does happen to get stolen.

99xj48167

i would suggest you go with a compustar alarm i work at best buy here in metro detroit and we have put a fully loaded compustar on my jeep and it does wonders i even have a keypad lke new vehicles with keyless entry but its on the windshield instead of the door trust me very worth it and i also have a fuel pump kill switch hidden in my truck where no one can see or find it only i kno where it is viper is also another good choice but if you can get ur hands on compustar i would deff go with them

kissthis66

This upcoming Friday I'm getting the Viper 3305V installed into my jeep.

http://www.viper.com/p-3305v/viper-r...ecurity-system

Local shop is doing it for $350, they are include any harness/relays needed so no additional costs. Will be nice knowing my Jeep is safe and sound

jmurdock45

C4 AND A REMOTE maybe even a sentry gun sorry I'm playing MW3

DIRTDOGXJ

Look into Viper/Python Smart Start ......it alerts your smartphone with the vehicles status. Set the alarm for silent mode and wait inside with your street sweeper.

I've installed tons of them and have had very few failures and/or alarm falses. They are pricey but worth the piece of mind. They have a few different levels of service too, one including GPS vehicle tracking.

kissthis66

Ya but I thought you had to pay to have the viper iPhone alert service...not looking for another monthly bill. But it's still a wicked cool feature.