Alarms & upgrades

Buyer's guide

Thatcham, as mentioned in our Thatcham alarms & upgrades section divides alarms into 2 categories:

1. Category 1 - Combined alarm and immobiliser

2. Category 2-1 - Alarm upgrades

Which type of alarm you are looking for will most likely depend on how old your vehicle is. Electronic immobilisers started to come as a standard option on all new cars in 1998, therefore, if your car is newer than this, you will only be looking for an alarm upgrade as your car would already have an immobiliser installed. You can do a car security search to check if your vehicle has one.

However, if your car was made prior to 1998, you may be looking for a combined alarm and immobiliser.

When looking for either of these, you should be aware of the following:

1. Make sure it is Thatcham approved, otherwise, your insurance company may not give you a discount on your insurance, as the product you fitted isn't 'approved'.

2. Installed by an authorised installer or else you may not receive your insurance discount

Key features to look for include: