Viper 791XV and eBay

[Flipz]

Hey guys,

I am looking to get a Viper alarm for my Eclipse these days and I went to all the shops in the area and the prices I get for the Viper 791 with Remote Start is $550 to $766 for everything. On the other hand, I checked eBay as well and the alarm itself sells for $200-250 and I heard people can get it installed professionally at Best Buy or Curcuit City. I was wondering two things - first, is it safe to buy a Viper alarm from eBay or they are mostly problematic pieces, have anyone that bought theirs from eBay?

Second, I was wondering whether you know how much approximatelly would installation of the viper with the remote start cost on an automatic 99 Eclipse GS, I will be going to both Best Buy and Circuit City to check out prices but I wanted to see if you could give me a range so I know whether it is a deal to go there or should I contact someone else to do the intstallation.

My last questions is, do you know whether I could program my garage door to open with the Viper remote. I did it on my sunvisor inside the Eclipse and it works really well but I was wondering whether there is such thing for the Viper remote or I could not install custom commands in it.

Thanks for your help,

Svetlin

 

[4thsydecustoms]

assuming that your alarm remote is on the same frequency as your garage door you could program the remote (ive never checked on mine) as for installation i would suggest a smaller independent shop, theyll likely charge you less, and do a better job. installation will range from 2-500$ depending on how many features you hook up

 

[bluetlr2001]

Well im an alarm installer and at the shop i work at we charge 65/hr to install. And since your going to bring it in your self youll probally get stuck with the hourly charge. The shop i work at sells viper and on your car if it has power door locks on it it would normally take at the most 3 hours to install on your car. But that also depends on if you have any other options you want hooked up depending on what you have done to your car. And as far as programing your remote to your door opener i dont think its possible or as far as i know its not and ive been doing it for 6 years. The only thing about getting one from ebay is you dont get a warranty unless the place you buy it from gives one. With DEI which makes viper they have a lifetime warranty on the brain if it goes bad. If you buy it and have it installed at the same place like best buy they will warranty it also. Say if you buy one from ebay and best buy puts it on and it dont work your screwed. Ive done a few like that. But if best buy sells it to you and installs it they have to make it work.

 

[4thsydecustoms]

keeping in mind that bestbuy sells it for 600 bux... i do agree... as an installer myself as well... i installed this alarm in my 03gt spyder.... definately a bit of labor involved... rates from me are $60/hr, and that system is normally a 5 hr install for all features, and alarm programming

 

[Flipz]

I guess I will not buy it from eBay, it will cost around 200-250 and then from what you say the installation would be around 250-300 which makes it similar to buying it from one of the shops and getting them install it - I got a quote for $599.99 for everything, I think I will go with that, they said it takes 5 hours to install it because they have to bypass the security system that my Eclipse already has.

Thanks for everything,

Svetlin

 

[Oni_Dragon]

wow, funny i stumbled across this thread... i was actually looking at this exact same alarm system... i was thinking of getting it on ebay and me and some friends were gonna install it... it's for a 93 eclipse with manual windows and locks...

 

[bluetlr2001]

It doesnt actually take 5 hours but they do have to give them selves time incase they mess up. The most its taken me to do one is probally 4hours and thats with every option they had. But For Oni Dragon it wouldnt be hard to do on your car since yours doesnt have factory alarm and it has manual windows its actually pretty simple. When i done the one on my eclipse it took me about 2.5 hours to do but i didnt hook up my factory alarm disarm as it doesnt arm unless you lock it with the factory remote or the door button.

 

[DSMcrazy3]

Weird..I got my 791XV for $250 installed at a shop down here. Maybe you guys should make the drive here to get that price?

 

[bluetlr2001]

I got to say for a 791xv you got it at a steal for that price installed. Dealer cost for it is $198.

 

[travislaw]

This might make the garage door opening with a car alarm possible:

http://www.directedstore.com/cgi-bi...plates\FullNav\SearchResult.asp&category=A_SE

GARAGE DOOR RECEIVER WITH (2) 2-BUTTON TRANSMITTERS - 519H
( 519H )



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This unit is designed to work with Directed Electronics' high-frequency Code Hopping™ and Clifford G4/G5 and Matrix units and has a 3-channel capability with two 200mA(-) outputs and one built-in relay for easy connection to normally closed or normally open circuits. Includes AC/DC adapter. Unit comes with 471T remotes, 433MHz.

 

[Rice Over Wheat]

It's an excellent alarm system and the one I have. The price for installation will vary depending on what extra options you have. I got remote start, two way pager remote, auto windows, for $500 with tax (including price of alarm and extras). The alarm was 200 and the pager about 80. Well worth it...don't skimp on your alarm system because the deterrent factor pays for itself.

 

[bluetlr2001]

We sell directed electronics and i didnt even know they made that may have to do some checking on that. Ive never seen it in our catalogs. sounds like it will work on the alarm though

 

[Flipz]

Yeah, I am definitely buying the Viper alarm because I just bought a Pioneer AVIC-D2 and I don't wanna end up losing it because my car is not protected enough. I hope it comes up as a good one - I want remote start, pager and keyless entry installed, I am not sure what other options does this alarm offers. I don't have electric trunk so I could not get trunk opener on my Eclipse, do you know what else is good to be installed as an option for the Viper 791?

 

[bluetlr2001]

The 791v has a pager built into the remote and it has a decent range not the 2 miles they say because of interference. But something else that you might want to check on is a motion sensor the one ive put on my car is an older one its a 508D but they have a newer one out. something else that is nice if you dont have an amp yet is if you get a directed audio amp (which makes viper) some of them plug into the alarms. so that when you arm the alarm they go into an arm state and if anybody steals the amp it cant be used unless they hook it to a viper system to disarm it. So its useless to them!

 

[Oni_Dragon]

It doesnt actually take 5 hours but they do have to give them selves time incase they mess up. The most its taken me to do one is probally 4hours and thats with every option they had. But For Oni Dragon it wouldnt be hard to do on your car since yours doesnt have factory alarm and it has manual windows its actually pretty simple. When i done the one on my eclipse it took me about 2.5 hours to do but i didnt hook up my factory alarm disarm as it doesnt arm unless you lock it with the factory remote or the door button.

yeah, i'm not worried about it getting installed, because i'm more than confident in me and my friends installing it... i'd probably intall the starter kill, the remote starter, install the trunk and hood relay thingy... i'm just curious about actually trusting ebay with the alarm... like.. with it working properly, and not have any missing pieces...

i'd have no problem doing the buy it now price on this.. http://cgi.ebay.com/VIPER-791XV-REM...ryZ94832QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem ... i just don't know if i could trust ebay... i mean, how many of you have had luck with them?... i'm just curious... cause i did a google search for this alarm, and i've found quite a few places that sell it for some similar prices such as ebay, and these places are actual retailers... what would you guys do?

 

[travislaw]

If you are so worried about E-Bay, then try Amazon.com . I bought and installed the Clifford Matrix RSX 3.5 last Friday and Saturday. It is awesome. The total cost shipped to me was $172. It is a 2-Way Paging with remote start and turbo timer. I bought the back-up siren with back-up battery and the 2-stage motion sensor for $40 off of E-bay that plugs into the alarm (new). The best part about putting it in yourself is that you can put things where they are a lot harder to get to. A lot of alarm install shops install the alarms in the same place and a thief that has been at it for a while will know where things are. Plus I always hated having the power to the alarm brain going to the battery and having the fuse for it right by the battery. Pull the fuse and the alarm would shut off. The nice thing about the back-up siren with battery is that it goes off when the power is killed to the car. The bad thing, the alarm goes off when the battery is unpluged while working on the car. It comes with a key to turn it on and off, but I hid in a panel that isn't the easiest thing in the world to get to. I hope all this info helps. Here is the website if you want to check out the alarm I got. http://www.clifford.com/matrix/responder/default.asp

 

[Flipz]

I'm a bit confused with all these options to tell you the truth, I may have to search more around the area. I got so many prices for the Viper ranging from 250 to almost 800 for the same Viper 971 and installation times for 2 to 5 hours. I even got offers for Autopage RS-725 LCD for 400 dollars, I really do not know which one to take. I will look more, it's not that the alarm is first priority on the list but it is good to have one and the stock one just doesn't seem to work well at all.

Thanks,

Svetlin

 

[Rice Over Wheat]

About the two pager... I have the nice blue one with the LCD. Looks like a tiny cell phone with 4 buttons. Well, be warned that the range sucks ass, not nearly 1.5 miles or whatever they advertise. You're lucky if you get 1.5 football fields! And it straight eats batteries (1 AAA).

Supposedly there are range extenders you can buy but I haven't tried that. Someone needs to integrate these things with cell phone alerts because the 2 way paging system is only useful for short distances when you want to know whether it's your alarm that was triggered or the other 6 cars in the lot.

 

[bluetlr2001]

The range extenders are useless they dont help very much> take this from someone that has installed them ( they suck). And like travislaw talked about the clifford 3.5 rsx is the same as the viper 791xv made by the same company. All same options. They have a new one out by cilfford i think its a 5.5rsx not sure but i do know its a 5 something. The only major downfall with the clifford 3.5 and the 791xv is they only come with one remote. They are suspossed to be supplying 2 remotes with them soon but not sure when that will be. So if you get one you may have to buy an additional remote which at the dealers it will probally run around 75-100 for another one.

 

[Oni_Dragon]

hmm... yeah, i'd probably feel a bit safer going through amazon... i think i'll get it there... also... the chilton's dsm service manual... it should have the proper wiring diagrams for the car for when i install it, right?...

also, with the pager, would you guys say it would atleast work up to a quarter mile? (i don't think i'd be that much farther away from my car)

 

[travislaw]

hmm... yeah, i'd probably feel a bit safer going through amazon... i think i'll get it there... also... the chilton's dsm service manual... it should have the proper wiring diagrams for the car for when i install it, right?...

also, with the pager, would you guys say it would atleast work up to a quarter mile? (i don't think i'd be that much farther away from my car)

It is supposed to work at least a quarter of a mile away. Thing is there are electrical interferances in the walls of buildings and your home. So you may or may not get that exact range. Also you have to put the antenna on your windshield or rear window to get that range. It can't be blocked by any metal paneling in your car.

 

[Oni_Dragon]

Ahhh, ok... i already have an antenna on the passenger side rear window (the little triangular one)... no clue what it's for, i don't think it has a use actually... maybe i can run the antenna the same way that one was run...

 

[bluetlr2001]

The companys that make the alarms say the best place for the antenna is the middle of the front windshield at the top or bottom. The reason being is because most rear windows are tinted and the tint has metal in it thats what give it its color. The strip on the front window isnt so bad because it only covers a bit. I put mine at the bottom of my windshield and it picks up pretty good.

 

[zilo900]

I got mine from ebay, $250. The shops around here were gonna charge about $175 to put it in, but no remote start, they wont do it on a manual trans car. I installed the whole system myself. No problems for 5 months now. I also was looking for a way to activate the garage door opener with it. I feel very confident I could do the job, it would just involve a relay and wiring it into the wires for the garage button on the car. I may even go try this an tell you how it turns out.

 

[DGajre777]

A side note, if you do the install yourself, and have full coverage on the car to include comprehensive, the insurance company will most probably not cover it if anything from the car gets stolen. Geico asked me if I did the install myself to insure everything in my car. Ofcourse, you can always lie to the insurance company, but there is that chance that they might not cover it if it doesn't look like it was done professionally.