SidewaysGTM
Part of things
Spending my time at the Race track, Pub or in an Engine
Posts: 227
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Jan 18, 2006 22:41:32 GMT
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this evenings random thought
Was thinking to get insurance down may be worth having a Cat 1 Thatcham approved alarm/imobilser rather than a micky mouse non thatcham one, the question is does it have to be fitted by an aproved fitter or can you do it yourself, [seeing most of our cars are older than the installers] and the insurance company be happy with the home install as long as you have followed the instructions corectly of course.
WEST
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Live life sideways, Honda Powered GTM Coupe, you better belive it GTM Coupe VTEC Constant progression and acceleration 67' Triumph Vitesse 2ltr [finally decided what to do with it, at the planning stage] 92' Mini nearly std [SOLD and Missed] GTM ownersclub forum
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Mr K
Posted a lot
Posts: 2,993
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Jan 18, 2006 22:47:55 GMT
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good call, how much can you save aswell? i was thinking about fitting one to the kitten.
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Jan 18, 2006 23:10:15 GMT
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with my insurance the've only started asking for cat1 alarms on cars worth more than 5k your as well asking also if its cat1 you need a certificate to gain the benifit andy
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drew
Part of things
Posts: 153
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Jan 18, 2006 23:14:20 GMT
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When I was getting quotes for my renewal, the Norwich Union website only gave me about £11 off if I had a cat-1 alarm installed. Also I think they have to be fitted by an approved alarm fitter. You get a certificate to be filled out upon installation, which you then forward to your insurer as proof of professional fitting. I am still considering getting one fitted though for piece of mind.
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The flaps always look a bit gash
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Also I think they have to be fitted by an approved alarm fitter. You get a certificate to be filled out upon installation, which you then forward to your insurer as proof of professional fitting. In my experience that's right, although a Cat 1 alarm & immobiliser makes no difference to the premium on my Sierra. On the other hand Bodieanddoyle offered me an '82 E30 320i auto which I'd like, but CIS refuse to insure it WITHOUT a Cat 1 system!
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My fleet: Suzuki GSX-R600Y SRAD with bald, melted tyres A borrowed Mondeo
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Always planned one since i was doing the XR2 cos they are so easily stealable, best price i got was £300, for a less known brand £400 for a clifford type thats fitted. Cat 2 immobiliser is an obtion at £100ish, but i also wouldn't want to risk messing up my nice simple wiring considering a few DIY securiy items; switch off key, modified locks etc now... Alarm- its a lot of money but wouldn't wanna lose a pride n joy
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it doesn't matter if it's a Morris Marina or a Toyota Celica - it's what you do with it that counts
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Rob
Posted a lot
You know, for kids!
Posts: 2,515
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Jan 19, 2006 11:49:17 GMT
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you would need to provide a certificate, so yeah it would need to be professionally fitted...
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Jan 19, 2006 13:06:56 GMT
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As said, you need the certificate. Also be aware that most of the Cat1 Thatcham alarms cannot be sold to anyone but a registered installer. If you manage to buy one it will come with no fitting instructions and the wires are not colour coded, they are all black. This is so that car thieves can't buy one and have an easy time working out how to by-pass it. You can buy good quality DIY alarms, and some of the Cat1 alarms come in DIY versions which are slightly different to the installer-only ones.
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1941 Wolseley Not Rod - 1956 Humber Hawk - 1957 Daimler Conquest - 1966 Buick LeSabre - 1968 Plymouth Sport Fury - 1968 Ford Galaxie - 1969 Ford Country Squire - 1969 Mercury Marquis - 1970 Morris Minor - 1970 Buick Skylark - 1970 Ford Galaxie - 1971 Ford Galaxie - 1976 Continental Mark IV - 1976 Ford Capri - 1994 Ford Fiesta
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Jan 19, 2006 15:05:08 GMT
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...although bear in mind if you buy a DIY version of a thatcham 1 alarm and fit it yourself, it's no longer thatcham approved and you won't get the insurance discount My Polo G40 (worth £1500) was often turned down by insurers (including Tesco and Norwich Union) as it only had a non-thatcham Toad alarm, just the basic jobbie. So even on the cheaper cars they can ask for it if it's a high enough risk not to have one. i'd always have an alarm for piece of mind, round here there's a lot of vigilante-types and if they were woken up by my alarm going off and someone in my car, chances are they'd break the little scroat's neck before anyone called the police. It's one of those rough, but don't steal from your own doorstep kind of places. sadly though in carparks and busy places nobody takes any notice.....
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Never trust a man Who names himself Trevor. Or one day you might find He's not a real drug dealer.
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Jan 19, 2006 15:23:37 GMT
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While looking into it (about 6 years ago) i was impressed by other features on these toad clifford etc alarms. Probably aimed at Mercs Beemers etc they have anti hijacking, let them drive off and it breaks down a few miles away. And one button pressed your doors lock leccy windows roll up etc. probably pulld leccy morrors in too. don't know if i care on the sierra though, might not have owt leccy now! don't wanna lose it though.
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it doesn't matter if it's a Morris Marina or a Toyota Celica - it's what you do with it that counts
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Jan 19, 2006 15:42:30 GMT
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alarms costing £££ can do loads of stuff - full closure of windows and sunroof, central locking, flip your mirrors in on posh cars, remote boot open, remote start (just hope you've left it in neutral!) and so on.... pretty much they can activate any circuit already present on your car.
all my toad did was central locking, and 5 seconds after the ignition was turned on the doors locked anyway to stop car-jacking - the second button on the remote then became a lock/unlock toggle whilst you're driving.
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Never trust a man Who names himself Trevor. Or one day you might find He's not a real drug dealer.
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Jan 19, 2006 15:46:00 GMT
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Even if the system doesn't cut your insurance by much, peace of mind is very valuable. Hence my £50 Sierra has remote c/l (and courtesy light), twin circuit immobiliser, anti hijack, voltage drop sensor, motion sensor, internal battery back-up for the siren and switches on the doors, boot, bonnet and (essential on a 90-spec Sierra) petrol flap. Drew the line at total closure! That cost under £150, although it took so long to fit that I missed Ford Fair (started saturday morning, finished sunday lunchtime).
Everyone thought I was mad spending that on the alarm....and after owning my GLSi for six weeks, it's had the petrol siphoned out and the drivers door lock gouged....twice. (Don't know why they bothered, even the KEY doesn't open said door lock...) <elvis> "In the ghettoooo" </elvis>
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My fleet: Suzuki GSX-R600Y SRAD with bald, melted tyres A borrowed Mondeo
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Jan 19, 2006 16:36:36 GMT
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Even if the system doesn't cut your insurance by much, peace of mind is very valuable. Hence my £50 Sierra has remote c/l (and courtesy light), twin circuit immobiliser, anti hijack, voltage drop sensor, motion sensor, internal battery back-up for the siren and switches on the doors, boot, bonnet and (essential on a 90-spec Sierra) petrol flap. Drew the line at total closure! That cost under £150, although it took so long to fit that I missed Ford Fair (started saturday morning, finished sunday lunchtime). Everyone thought I was mad spending that on the alarm....and after owning my GLSi for six weeks, it's had the petrol siphoned out and the drivers door lock gouged....twice. (Don't know why they bothered, even the KEY doesn't open said door lock...) <elvis> "In the ghettoooo" </elvis> That is harsh, my 'flap' doesnt always close properly, wonder if a locker filler cap would fit under concern though cos sierras need filling up properly, everything else i rely on the standard alarm, but the mk1 sierra has mk1 fiesta security security should take care of regular tea leaves but if they want your car; a transporter takes care of that every little helps though
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it doesn't matter if it's a Morris Marina or a Toyota Celica - it's what you do with it that counts
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Jan 19, 2006 16:48:35 GMT
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I did get a locking cap for the GLSi but the thieves just forced it off. Currently modifying a '92-spec filler neck so a pipe won't fit down it! When I alarmed the other car, the b*****ds kicked the lights in.... Lucky my neighbour doesn't mind hitting chavs with a shovel. (ALLEGEDLY ).
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My fleet: Suzuki GSX-R600Y SRAD with bald, melted tyres A borrowed Mondeo
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SidewaysGTM
Part of things
Spending my time at the Race track, Pub or in an Engine
Posts: 227
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Jan 19, 2006 22:15:03 GMT
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Lucky my neighbour doesn't mind hitting chavs with a shovel. (ALLEGEDLY ). now that sounds like a good alarm/imobilser, wonder how my german shepard will like the taste of said chavs WEST
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Live life sideways, Honda Powered GTM Coupe, you better belive it GTM Coupe VTEC Constant progression and acceleration 67' Triumph Vitesse 2ltr [finally decided what to do with it, at the planning stage] 92' Mini nearly std [SOLD and Missed] GTM ownersclub forum
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Jan 19, 2006 22:23:29 GMT
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I have one of them 'cat 1' standard alarms on my Bimmer.
Sadly I've no 'certificate' for it so I can't get any discount. Grr!
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i have never really thought about alarms.but i am begininning to consider it now.
on the subject with the new VAG cars (well, our 54 Octavia and a friends 54 Fabia) when you pull away at about 5mph the doors lock automatically. this is great, until you just want to get something out of the boot, and you have pull your door handle twice, get out, suddenly remember the car is all locked and go back round to the front and open the doors from the drivers door button(this only happens if the engine is still running). as soon as you remove the key tho it unlocks automatically.
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drew
Part of things
Posts: 153
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Jan 20, 2006 10:30:15 GMT
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Has anyone ever fitted one of the DIY cat1 equivelant alarms, such as a TOAD one, because I have seen them fairly cheap on the bay. I have wanted to get one for piece of mind, at present I use on street parking round the corner. I don't mind too much about the lack of insurance discount, but I could really do without losing the car.
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The flaps always look a bit gash
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Jan 20, 2006 10:38:44 GMT
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I know the feeling, I live on a dodgy '60s "London overspill" council estate with no garage.....
My alarm's not cat1 but it does loads of stuff (see earlier post), and I bought that off the 'bay. I emailed the seller and he threw in a car-specific fitting sheet for it which saved loads of time with the multimeter!
If you like I could dig out the seller's name, he was really helpful and delivery was fast.
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My fleet: Suzuki GSX-R600Y SRAD with bald, melted tyres A borrowed Mondeo
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