Can anyone recommend a good, inexpensive car security system?

[LTR]

My car was broken into early Tuesday morning. The drivers side lock mechanism was ripped out, the window shattered, and my stereo ripped off. All in all, roughly $400+ in damage.

Luckily these moronic thug assholes left a pair of rubber gloves nearby. Hopefully the detective can get good prints.

I'm going to the body shop today to get an estimate on the door damage. Hopefully, this won't kill my wallet.

As far as the security system, I'm not looking for state-of-the-art. All I need is good sensitivity and loudness. I have a 10-year old car with manual locks and windows, so no need for automatic locks. Remote starting is an option I'm considering, what with these cold midwest winters, but this is not necessary.

I went to Best Buy to replace the stereo, and inquired about alarms. The guy there was telling me about all the options and customizations they could do, and all I thought of was many dollars flying out of my pocket.

I don't need all the bells and whistles, just a good, inexpensive system to do the job. Not looking a Viper necessarily, since everyone has that and I hear those things going off constantly.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

[displacedtexan]

1. the best $40 I ever spent

this thing really works! it attaches to your steering wheel. the same thing happened to my daughter... twice! really tired of replacing windows and stereo systems!

on edit: i can't type this morning!

http://www.johnsonsmith.com/website/store/product_detail.asp?UID=2003112922292622&item_no=27034&keyword=jsec&cat_keyword=jsec&search_page_no=5

[LTR]

5. Neat!

Nice and simple, just the way I like it.

Did you buy it from that site, or did you find it in a store?

How's the sensitivity?

[liberalnurse]

2. Check out Clark Howard.

He is the guru of cost effectiveness.

www.clarkhoward.com

[Maine-i-acs]

3. Quick and cheap -

Put a tag with the word "Diesel" somewhere on it.

[absolutezero]

4. LoJack

and a normal screecher alarm....

the alarm will scare off most amatuers, lojack will catch anyone that actually makes off with your car....

of course you can always pay a big, mean guy named bubba to guard your car...there aren't to many people dumb enough to screw with that

[Superfly]

6. The Club

or a bicycle chain and lock attached tothe steering wheel and brake pedal.

[LTR]

8. Let me reiterate

The car was not stolen - the stuff inside was.

And damage was done.

I just want to scare away these clowns.

[Superfly]

10. Then, get one of these....but make sure you leave the

windows cracked:

[LTR]

11. Tried that

He ate the seats and shit all over the car.

Don't get me started on the flea problem.

[Don_G]

7. J C Whitney

If you're halfway handy, you can buy a basic kit and do-it-yourself.

[Bozola]

9. I understand that nuclear weapons are an effective deterrent

and you can buy them pre-owned, on the cheap, from your local SSR surplus store, or, if you can show proof of purchase of any federal-level republican politician, you can get a two-for-one special on a top-of-the-line "Homeland Security Thermo'Nuklar(tm) Device" from Crazy Don's Pentagon Overstock.

They have a full line, ranging from the Mini-Nukes(tm) for protecting small cars to the MaxiMega(tm) security device for your new Humvee.

No criminal is going to break into you car if they know that they'll be atomized (along with all of their scumbag friends) if they try to grab that stereo!

Mutually Assured Destruction been shown to be an effective deterrence against Evil(tm) for over fifty years.

Don't delay, get yours today.

[MissMillie]

12. a garage

of course said garage has to double as a home for your very large Schnauzer (a magnificent guard dog).

[LTR]

13. I live in an apartment, with an underground garage

Secure entry (allegedly).

They frown upon large animals. And my 18lb namesake mutt and three cats can't guard anything worth a damn. The dog barks alot, though.

[LTR]

14. kick

:kick:

[LTR]

15. One suggestion I got from someone

This guy's buddy rigged up a razor blade edging on his stereo system, so that anyone that tried to yank it out left a finger or two behind (or at least some blood).

Sounds like a great idea to me! If they want my stuff so bad, they can pay for it in blood.

I figure I can rig up a utility knife blade or something. Heh heh!

[ChoralScholar]

16. one would think

that a crappy stereo would be a sufficient deterrent for that kind of thing. But I had a 35 dollar Audiovox stereo stolen from my '84 Olds. The freakin' thing didn't even have a rewind, you had to flip the tape and fast forward. I hope he was pissed when he tried to sell it to the pawn shop and got 5 dollars.

[LTR]

17. Here's a good one

Know a guy who's car was broken into and the thieves made off with, get this... a DELCO stereo! :crazy:

Yeah, I'll bet that'll fetch some cash at the pawn shop!

I did put in a nice system. A JVC with MP3-CD capabilities. A cool $179. Loved the thing, but the EQ settings were a little funny.

[maveric]

18. Call Darrel Issa.

He's in the San Diego phone book.

[LTR]

19. Yeah, the Viper guy

Viper's overrated. Everyone has it, and they all sound the same.

I want a system that sounds a little different, so I know if it's actually my car being broken into.

I'm not the boycotting type (yes, I do shop at Wal-Mart on occasion and have a Sams card) but I really think Darrel Issa's a complete asshole.