[CC 330i]

Oh, another good reason to get an alarm... Your insurance company will often give you a discount on the premium if you have one. And trust me, they won't discount ANYTHING unless it decreases their risk, so alarms must do something to deter theft.

[BellasBmw]

Originally Posted by CC 330i

Oh, another good reason to get an alarm... Your insurance company will often give you a discount on the premium if you have one. And trust me, they won't discount ANYTHING unless it decreases their risk, so alarms must do something to deter theft.

My insurance doesnt offer discounts on alarms, lojack..etc. I have statefarm, but my agent talked me out of lo jack also. But if i hold down the trunk button, ill get a panic response? R u sure?

[CC 330i]

Originally Posted by BellasBmw

My insurance doesnt offer discounts on alarms, lojack..etc. I have statefarm, but my agent talked me out of lo jack also. But if i hold down the trunk button, ill get a panic response? R u sure?

Hey, well if State Farm is going to talk you out of an alarm, I might be tempted to pass. Just make sure your theft and vandalism coverage is very good!

[E90 Enthusiast]

For those of you with the OEM alarm, does the alarm 'notify' with a honk of the horn or with a chirp? And can you control the volume of the honk/chirp?

[CC 330i]

Originally Posted by E90 Enthusiast

For those of you with the OEM alarm, does the alarm 'notify' with a honk of the horn or with a chirp? And can you control the volume of the honk/chirp?

It's more of a BEEP than a honk, chirp or anything else I have ever heard. You have probably heard this beep before on another BMW, but haven't realized it. It's really not offensive at all, and it's not very loud. It beeps once on activation, twice on deactivation.

I don't have Idrive so I can't customize the alarm options at all, but I think I drive cars can disable the audible beep. Not sure about changing the volume, but I doubt it can be done.

[06graphite]

Originally Posted by BellasBmw

But if i hold down the trunk button, ill get a panic response? R u sure?

Worked for me.... non iDrive 325, without an alarm.

It's just the horn that keeps beeping.... no siren, etc. but it gets the job done.

[mapezzul]

Originally Posted by CC 330i

Oh, another good reason to get an alarm... Your insurance company will often give you a discount on the premium if you have one. And trust me, they won't discount ANYTHING unless it decreases their risk, so alarms must do something to deter theft.

Not true, yo ucan only get one discount for anti-theft, that discount is already for the passive anti theft (coded key driveaway prevention) There is no additional discount for an alarm. I gather this is true for all insurance companies, check your policy again.

[Athos]

Like others, I think an alarm is a waste. Do you go out and look when you hear an alarm or call the police? Me neither.
However, I do admit that I fantasize about dropping a brick through the window of some of my neighbors' cars when their alarms go off --probably because a cat just jumped on the hood or some other nonsense.

[nexus66]

Yeah - but if YOUR alarm goes off YOU jump and go looking!! Good enough for me! Get the alarm!!

[scottz5]

Originally Posted by nexus66

Yeah - but if YOUR alarm goes off YOU jump and go looking!! Good enough for me! Get the alarm!!

Not in NJ it is a common sound!

[nexus66]

Yeah - I suppose living away from the busy city centres means a lot less alarms going off...

Because where we live is quite quiet, I really do jump up out of bed when I hear a car alarm going off nearby.

[BellasBmw]

Is the factory bmw alarm touchy? I dont want to be one of those ppl whose alarm goes off at every little sound/touch. I cant stand car alarms cause most of the time ppl never turn them off! So #1- they dont give a shit, or #2- they dont even hear them. I want one that will do the job, someone's trying to open the door/ break a window/ and have panic mode. But not one that will go off because of an exhaust or something.

[CC 330i]

Originally Posted by BellasBmw

Is the factory bmw alarm touchy? I dont want to be one of those ppl whose alarm goes off at every little sound/touch. I cant stand car alarms cause most of the time ppl never turn them off! So #1- they dont give a shit, or #2- they dont even hear them. I want one that will do the job, someone's trying to open the door/ break a window/ and have panic mode. But not one that will go off because of an exhaust or something.

I don't think so. I have tried bumping my car, leaving the windows open and clapping loudly outside the car (and even slapping the window), and revving my motorcycle next to it and it didn't go off.
Trust me, I am one of those people that hates car alarms with a passion when they go off for no reason. (Doesn't it always seem like the only people that a car alarm ever "catches" is the OWNER?) I once had a friend that got a really nice aftermarket alarm, and he had his ALARM stolen, and they left the car!!

I think aftermarket alarms are much worse than factory alarms as far as false alarms go. I never had any problems with my Jetta alarm, for example.

[scottz5]

Are the dream you better go get one.

[BellasBmw]

Originally Posted by scottz5

Are the dream you better go get one.

Yea really! Hahha maybe that is a sign. I had a dream last night (a nightmare) that my car was stolen and never recovered, and i was crying endlessly in my dream

[ward]

Originally Posted by 06graphite

IMO the alarm's a waste. Like others have said, no one responds to an alarm going off. If you just want a panic button, just hold down the trunk release on your key. That sounds the panic, even without the alarm...

umm, this just opens the trunk

[nexus66]

The factory alarm isn't "touchy" in the slightest Bella, I have only had it go off once, the car was locked and I was using an electric buff on the roof to take polish off...