“It’s hard to say it, but crime pays,” said Jay Sanchez, owner of J’s Alarms & Audio.
For 20 years, the
Want to warm up your vehicle on a cold morning without you or the key being in it? Just push a button on your keyless remote and the engine fires up.
“It starts about $200 to $300 depending on the complexity of the vehicle,” said Sanchez.
Jay can make that setup even more elaborate by incorporating a stealth agent kill device. That’s where he programs buttons, like your side mirror controls, to send your ignition system into active mode. Even if someone breaks the steering column, without the secret code, the car dies within a few seconds.
If you really want to go high tech, there's Smart Start. It’s an alarm system that runs about $700 to $900. It allows your Blackberry, Droid or iphone to do remote starts, get triggered alarm alerts and track your vehicle's whereabouts through G.P.S.
“Within 25 feet or so,” said Sanchez.
You can even disable your vehicle while it's being driven.
“You can send a command to lock the doors, activate the immobilizer for the fuel pump and within 30 seconds will be immobilized,” said Sanchez.
“Technology is amazing,” said Lt. Burke Farrah of Fresno Police.
Farrah says his department supports all of these defense measures Jay offers.
“Anything you can do to make your car a tougher target to steal is very helpful to us,” said Lt. Farrah.
Nathan Weber has invested thousands of dollars into protecting his cars.
“Some people may think it's outrageous, but for me, knowing your car is safe and secure and keeping it makes me feel good,” said Weber, a customer at J’s Alarms & Audio.
If you already have a keyless entry remote to your car, you'll save money because the shop can build off that hardware.
As for Smart Start, it does require a service plan subscription which costs $3 to $7 dollars a month.