What aftermarket alarm?
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Joined: May 2006
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From: Florida
A guy i work with had his duramax's stolen twice. Still havnt found them that was over 2 years ago. He had a system installed with a 2 way pager and they still got away with it.
Upon doing some intense internet searching beacause his insurance was doubting his claim the second time. He found that he could order his factory Chipped key without proving ownership of his truck(V.I.N#) online from somewhere in mexico and also universal remotes to Deactivate alarms and 2 way paging system on most of the big and popular brand names. One of those was what he had in his truck. Upon handing over his findings to his insurance company, they did a little research themselves. 6 months later they paid him for his second truck in 2 years.
Since then iam alittle sceptical about any anti-theft devices and do believe if they want it bad enough they are gonna get(or at least keep trying to).
Upon doing some intense internet searching beacause his insurance was doubting his claim the second time. He found that he could order his factory Chipped key without proving ownership of his truck(V.I.N#) online from somewhere in mexico and also universal remotes to Deactivate alarms and 2 way paging system on most of the big and popular brand names. One of those was what he had in his truck. Upon handing over his findings to his insurance company, they did a little research themselves. 6 months later they paid him for his second truck in 2 years.
Since then iam alittle sceptical about any anti-theft devices and do believe if they want it bad enough they are gonna get(or at least keep trying to).
Sounds like your buddy is dealing with an inside job. Especially since they never found either truck.
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Joined: Nov 2007
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From: Sherwood Park,Alberta.
The 2-way pager does nothing if you're not within range. Sure you can buy unprogrammed remotes on the internet, but you have to program them to your alarm before they can be used to deactivate it. They can only be programmed when the alarm is deactivated too.
Sounds like your buddy is dealing with an inside job. Especially since they never found either truck.
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Joined: May 2006
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From: Florida
Obviously your buddies case was not the norm or the insurance company would have paid up like they usually do. Definitely sounds like an inside job to me. Did he have both alarms installed by the same shop?
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Joined: Nov 2007
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From: Sherwood Park,Alberta.
There was a worry about it being just that for a while. There still is I think. Iam only telling it how i know it. My point of the story was just that [I]some[I] of them are getting pretty darn good at their jobs, so who knows how long any of our systems will still be safe.
With that said, I do appreciate your opinion jrussell and I will end it on that. Let this thread go in the direction it was intended to.
With that said, I do appreciate your opinion jrussell and I will end it on that. Let this thread go in the direction it was intended to.
Banned
Joined: May 2006
Posts: 3,660
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From: Florida
There was a worry about it being just that for a while. There still is I think. Iam only telling it how i know it. My point of the story was just that [I]some[I] of them are getting pretty darn good at their jobs, so who knows how long any of our systems will still be safe.
With that said, I do appreciate your opinion jrussell and I will end it on that. Let this thread go in the direction it was intended to.
With that said, I do appreciate your opinion jrussell and I will end it on that. Let this thread go in the direction it was intended to.
To help stay on topic, here's a few tips I try to use when getting an alarm installed...
- Obviously try to use a reputable shop that has been around for a while.
- Check the shop's history with the BBB and do a Google search on them.
- Try to use a shop that's in a nearby city/state instead of your own.
- DO NOT give the shop/installer your real name or address.
- Pay with cash so they don't need your real name.
- Remove your insurance and registration paperwork from the vehicle (and anything else with your name/address on it).
- Re-program the alarm override button as soon as you get home.
- If you're really nervous about it, swap your license plate with a buddy who lives somewhere else.
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Joined: Apr 2007
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From: misplaced Idahoan stuck in Albuquerque, Roughneckin on RIG 270
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Joined: Feb 2007
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From: Abington, Mass
I installed car alarms and car stereos for 9 years! That a tough call on of the previous posts said it best If a thief wants in your car hes getting in one way or the other. I you have an alarm the theif is just going to rip stuff out faster than if there was no alarm at all. As weird as that sounds id rather a theif take his time because hes more likely to be nicer to the truck and do less damage. It just makes it eisier and usually cheaper when it comes time to replace what was stolen. Your better off gettiong whats installed in the truck covered under your insurance....
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That's apples to oranges man. People are figuring out the complex systems because there are HUGE amounts of money involved. That's not really the case with cars and car alarms. In addition to that, most car thieves are not the brightest individuals on earth. I think the smarter thieves move on to bigger fish.
The trucks get stolen here in the US and are driven across the border (either one) where they are stripped and the drivetrains are sold back to core people in the US that in return sell them to rebuilders, salvage yards and repair shops. The only way you'll ever stop it would be to change up the state inspection practices where they verify the serial# on the engines and transmissions match the vehicle and if not you'll have to show a receipt where the part was purchased that has a non stolen vin printed on it. It's worked great to stop rampant airbag thefts in most states.
Chapter President
Joined: Apr 2007
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From: misplaced Idahoan stuck in Albuquerque, Roughneckin on RIG 270
Lo-jack does not work in ALL locations. both can be bypassed by a simple $350 item purchased off of ebay that scrambles GPS signals. fits in your pocket and plugs into the cigar lighter. can buy NO QUESTIONS ASKED. Plus there are monthly fees associated with GPS tracking devices. and they are an after thought meaning, your ride is gone and you have to track it. once it goes across the border there is NOTHING you can do to get it back.
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Joined: Nov 2007
Posts: 217
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From: Sherwood Park,Alberta.
Lo-jack does not work in ALL locations. both can be bypassed by a simple $350 item purchased off of ebay that scrambles GPS signals. fits in your pocket and plugs into the cigar lighter. can buy NO QUESTIONS ASKED. Plus there are monthly fees associated with GPS tracking devices. and they are an after thought meaning, your ride is gone and you have to track it. once it goes across the border there is NOTHING you can do to get it back.