Best aftermarket alarm for our M-cars?

[SilverSlug]

Wondering if anyone knows of any aftermarket theft deterrents or alarms for our M's?

My Yukon XL was stolen last night (I live in San Francisco) from right outside my house, and the thieves were able to somehow get in without the alarm sounding.

I'm increasingly worried about my M3… Any ideas (short of a wheel boot) for theft deterrents?

[fs34]

A manual transmission? Not really aftermarket but not many know how to use them anymore.

Sorry to hear about your Yukon.

[tbuck]

I would go OE if possible. It is easy to install and no cutting up harnesses to put it in. Though not cheap if purchased as new parts, it would be the best solution for our cars. Used is an option as well. Lots of posts about doing the retrofit on here.

https://www.ecstuning.com/BMW-E92-M3...eSearch/alarm/
https://www.ebay.com/itm/284170022933

[SilverSlug]

Thanks for chiming in.

It already has a 6MT and an OE alarm, but then so did my Yukon. I'm hoping to add an extra layer.

I'm definitely adding a GPS locator, as well as maybe a kill switch, but was hoping for another alarm as well.

[tbuck]

Ah, sorry, should have realized that.

I was thinking our cars had a "kill switch" already, since it will not fire without the chip key. Maybe that can be overridden. A GPS system would be great however! And dash cams sending to the cloud.

[PYE46M3]

Originally Posted by SilverSlug

Wondering if anyone knows of any aftermarket theft deterrents or alarms for our M's?

My Yukon XL was stolen last night (I live in San Francisco) from right outside my house, and the thieves were able to somehow get in without the alarm sounding.

I'm increasingly worried about my M3… Any ideas (short of a wheel boot) for theft deterrents?

There is nothing you can do to prevent them from stealing it. If they want it, they'll take it and there is really nothing you can do about it. My best advice to you is to hardwire an old iphone into your car and hide it somewhere to keep it charged and turn on the location services so you can track your vehicle if it is stolen and recover it quick.

over a decade ago thieves broke into my garage to steal my car, I had the best aftermarket alarm system back then which deterred them temporarily. Two weeks later they followed me around town and stole it with a tow truck in minutes.

[SilverSlug]

Good call on wiring in an iPhone!

I just bought one of those Vyncs GPS trackers, which plugs into the OBD, but can easily be unplugged. So, I was going to splice in an additional OBD cable under the panel somewhere and plug it in there.

Wiring in an iPhone seems a lot easier lol.

Only thing is all my old iPhones batteries are shot, so the phone dies within a couple hours unplugged. I'll have to replace the battery and IC chip in there, then wire it in.

[oolas3]

A hidden Air Tag is your friend.

[ES BMW]

What about a kill switch for the fuel pump?

[r8ders]

Originally Posted by oolas3

A hidden Air Tag is your friend.

I thought about this but according to Apple's site, the AirTag will start playing a sound if your phone isn't near by. This would let the thief find the hidden tag and get rid of it. Quote below from the Apple site

"If someone else’s AirTag finds its way into your stuff, your iPhone will notice it’s traveling with you and send you an alert. After a while, if you still haven’t found it, the AirTag will start playing a sound to let you know it’s there.

[SilverSlug]

AirTags work on Bluetooth, meaning as soon as it's out of range from your phone, you can't track it.

Bluetooth can pinpoint where something is located within a room, but tracking long distance geolocation requires GPS.

[shimmy23]

Best thing is to prevent it or deter. Maybe a visible dash cam? Something that is visible from the outside of your car and says "I'm watching you"

[SilverSlug]

In SF, people's Ring cameras are getting stolen themselves, thieves are totally emboldened to take what they want.

A candy bar inside the car is an invitation for a break-in… A dash cam even more, it will get taken.

My Yukon had two cameras pointed at it when it got stolen… Which at least let me watch the footage of them stealing it.

[SilverSlug]

I think I need one of those pager alarms that contacts me if someone opens a car door… At least this will give me a chance to come outside and have a little conversation with the thief.

[PYE46M3]

Originally Posted by SilverSlug

I think I need one of those pager alarms that contacts me if someone opens a car door… At least this will give me a chance to come outside and have a little conversation with the thief.

you need to get the hell out of SF and cali for that matter like the rest. thats what you need to do

[SpacegrayMe90]

These thieve are getting brazing. My old man's catalytic converter was stolen off his Lexus at a park and ride station last month. It turns out the catalytic converter is a hot item(no pun) do the precious metals it contains.

[SilverSlug]

Oh ya, there are cats getting cut in SF pretty much every single night, especially from Toyota Prius's, but others as well.

[TheV8M3]

Originally Posted by SilverSlug

AirTags work on Bluetooth, meaning as soon as it's out of range from your phone, you can't track it.

Bluetooth can pinpoint where something is located within a room, but tracking long distance geolocation requires GPS.

AirTags update their location constantly when out of range of your phone using EVERY Bluetooth enabled Apple device in range. You do not need to be within range of the AirTag for it to update it’s location, and in a busy area such as San Francisco, the car will NEVER be more than a matter of feet from an Apple device. My recommendation would be to slip the AirTag in a piece of foam or other sound deadening material in case it makes a noise. Then hide it somewhere it won’t be found, such as the battery or amp compartment. Plus if they do see it, it’ll just look like a piece of foam. If the thief has an iPhone, they’ll be the one constantly updating your car’s location for you! And, if the AitTag alerts them and they can’t find it, they’ll know they messed up and leave it!

[Fooksdaddy]

Originally Posted by oolas3

A hidden Air Tag is your friend.

This! Going to get one specifically for the car!

[SilverSlug]

I'll add an Airtag too, can't hurt. Thanks.

[GORDON.M3]

24/7 recording dash camera with cellphone alerts.

[SilverSlug]

Originally Posted by GORDON.M3

24/7 recording dash camera with cellphone alerts.

I'm afraid that if they get away, the dash cam will go too, although I already have a dash cam in there (with Parking Mode option), so it won't hurt to wire in a capacitor/battery to give it a few extra days of juice.

I had cameras pointed at my Yukon… I watched the footage of them driving away. They must have activated my fob to unlock the doors since the alarm didn't go off (reminds me I need to start keeping all my car keys inside the microwave at night).