Ghost Immobiliser vs Car Alarm Which one is better?

Ghost Immobiliser vs Car Alarm Which one is better?

There really is two schools of thought in this. In this blog we will talk about the pros and cons of both and answer any commonly answered questions.

Car alarms

Most cars come with an alarm as standard these days, rated to thatcham category 1 and if your car has keyless entry it certainly has an alarm. But society has changed now. People don’t come running when thy hear a car alarm going off. (Source 1). Warn away features do not work reliably on new cars due to the presence of wifi modules and dashcams (Source 2). Where they come into there own is the multitude of features that you can get, including GPS integration and anti hijack. But even the manufactures don’t recommend the purchase of their own systems if you’re only buying It for the sensors (Source 3)

Is a ghost better than a car alarm?

This one is had to say. Its a none fact that ghost will not stop a thief from gaining entry to your car, in fairness neither will most alarms. However the ghost by design is completely silent which means a thief has time. Time is an issue. Some cars can be opened and started in 10 seconds with the average time less than a minute (Source 4). Ghost slows them right down, it prevents the vehicle from moving. In most cases a thief will give up at. This point. When paired with other security measures you have a fantastic layered approach to security.

Will they be able to start my car with a ghost fitted?

Honestly this depends on the vehicle. Some work on gearbox lock and some will stop the engine from starting. There is an argument to be made either way. With gearbox lock applications the noise of the vehicle starting especially with 80% of thefts occurring in the hours of darkness. A ghost will help alert homeowners to the presence of a threat (Source 5). With starter lock applications they have time to start digging. Here at Autonox if we can we will give you the choice however we are limited by the software.

Will a car alarm stop key theft?

Key theft events are scary, armed masked people breaking into your home likely when you’re asleep is something to keep you up at night. I get scared for my spaniels and Mrs MIke (although Mrs Mike is considerably scarier than I am) (Source 6). But where the ghost comes into play is it will stop key theft. An alarm based system unless you are keeping the tags separate then they will steal the tags at the same time, thus rendering the alarm a waste of money. You can mitigate this with the bigger alarm systems which combine GPS tracking but at present there is not a alarm system which provides a UK based control centre meaning the police are not obligated to offer any assistance. Is it fair? No but it is however reality.

Conclusion

On balance a ghost is a better solution to car theft in general than a car alarm, certainly at the same price point the ghost out performs everything. It would be disingenuous to say that you cannot get an alarm with more features. Something like the Pandora Elite or Pandora Smart Pro has a lot more features but are at least three times the price. (Source 7) and (Source 8)

Speak to our vehicle security specialists on 0800 820 3679 for a no obligation chat