How good are BMW factory alarms?

[Digitalwave]

There are several OEM late model E36 alarm systems for sale on Bimmerforums for $100-200. I really need an alarm for my car, and I hate the thought of some 16 year old jock at Best Buy hacking up my wiring to install a cheap Viper alarm into my car. My car is prewired for the alarm so it'd be plug and play.

How good are BMW factory alarms in general, compared to basic-to-mid-end aftermarket systems? What kind of sensors do the factory alarms used? I am most concerned with glass breakage entry, since that's probably the #1 use for thieves around here (that's how they broke into my E30).

I realize that aftermarket alarms are super expandable, but besides keyless and good break-in sensors I could care less about remote start, rolling up windows, etc.

[Jscotty]

IMO alarms are more of annoyance than anything. Whether it is a false alarm or someone is actually breaking in your car, everyone will ignore it or say to themselves, "Oh some schmuck's car alarm is going off.. that is very annoying!" but they never draw attention to the situation like you would expect. You are better off just wiring in a couple of LED's on the steering column and dash with a flasher (probably about $10 worth of parts from Radio Shack) to make it appear that you have an alarm system.

[Digitalwave]

Keyless entry was another consideration :) I ended up buying the OEM alarm. I know they are an annoyance, thats what they are supposed to be. You just have to hope the flashing light is enough for the bum to move onto the next car.

[nando]

I'm in the same boat - I hate alarms, but now I need one. some jackhole tried to break into my car sometime last week, using a screwdriver in the driver's keyhole.. LOL. it uhm, didn't work very well.. they didn't damage the lock, but they couldn't get in either so they decided to kick the lower part of my door instead. I didn't even notice until I was waxing my car, and saw that there were cracks on the lower part of the door where they had (tried) to kick it in.. shit!