Has anyone added the alarm? Or extra panels? - Smart Car of America Forums : Smart Car Forum

JD10367 · 10-12-2008, 06:00 PM

So... we're awaiting a passion blue/black with only alarm and fog as options, due around Thanksgiving. I took my wife by to look at some orphans, and we noticed there's a yellow/black orphan with fog, but no alarm, and they added Lojack to it. I know nothing about Lojack, but I was under the impression that's only a location-and-recovery device.

Questions:

1.) I think I know what the alarm does, but can someone confirm for me? The car comes standard with chipped keys (meaning it can't be started without the original key) and a panic button on the key, right? But the motion sensor in the cockpit, the door-opening-triggered alarm, and the anti-rock/tip/tow alarm... those are all what you get for the optional alarm, right?

2.) Has anyone added the alarm post-arrival in the States? Is that even possible, or can the alarm only be done at the factory? If it is possible, and someone had it added, how much was it? (The alarm cost--at least, if you get it done at the factory--is $160. But I assume getting it done over here is more, just like the factory-installed pods are $120 but the stateside-installed pods are around $270 to order and over $400 if you also want them installed.)

Bonus question: has anyone bought the additional-priced colored panels to go with a free-color car? And how much are they? We really want blue, and if we get blue with the car it's $225. If we get yellow (which is a free base color), we'd still want to order blue panels, but I assume they're more expensive if they're just shipped in. However, I would be willing to pay a little more since it's offset by the free yellow panels (i.e., yellow is free, blue ordered with the car is $225, but if blue shipped-in is, say, $400, I'm basically getting two sets of panels for $400 so I can justify that).

Dunerunner · 10-12-2008, 09:40 PM

OK, it seems the link to the search dies when you log off.

Like Karl is saying in the next post there are annoying problems with the factory alarm. I have thought about a system but decided against the cost as other items took priority.

As for panels, I believe they were $850 for a full set, but I'll have to go look.

Found the link Panel prices quoted

Karl Roth · 10-12-2008, 11:06 PM

A chipped key and an immobilizer the factory alarm is not retrofitable (sp) by the dealer and comes with an annoying chirp you can't turn off.
enjoy the car, the little dodads are secondary
karl

Saprissa · 10-12-2008, 11:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JD10367

Questions:

1.) I think I know what the alarm does, but can someone confirm for me? The car comes standard with chipped keys (meaning it can't be started without the original key) and a panic button on the key, right? But the motion sensor in the cockpit, the door-opening-triggered alarm, and the anti-rock/tip/tow alarm... those are all what you get for the optional alarm, right?

2.) Has anyone added the alarm post-arrival in the States? Is that even possible, or can the alarm only be done at the factory? If it is possible, and someone had it added, how much was it? (The alarm cost--at least, if you get it done at the factory--is $160. But I assume getting it done over here is more, just like the factory-installed pods are $120 but the stateside-installed pods are around $270 to order and over $400 if you also want them installed.)

I have those same questions, because i found it highly annoying (as anal as I am) that the alarm button was missing from my switch-row therefore no factory alarm on my orphan.
The smart salesperson said that I could always install it later, but when I proded for more technical questions on how to go about doing that, they back-peddled.

Being a purist, and wanting everything (options) on a car that comes with a car... is the factory alarm retro-fittable ?

Carlos

Saprissa

Dunerunner · 10-12-2008, 11:33 PM

Carlos - It is my understanding that like the fog lights, it is not retrofitable.

SunDiego · 10-12-2008, 11:52 PM

I don't think you can add the factory one post production. However I have read some people have installed after market ones.

JD10367 · 10-13-2008, 06:10 AM

Hmm... that's too bad (about the alarm not being able to be retrofit). That's a deal-breaker for me. Lojack, for $800, doesn't make a lot of sense to me if someone can still pick up my car and put it on a flatbed or tow it away without me knowing about it. For $160 the alarm IMO is a requirement, especially since I live in a city (apartment complex, no garage), work in a city (park in a multilevel parking lot), and will be doing a lot of driving around in cities.

And my date moved out another day today.

They're really ticking me off...