I will need to have an alarm system in IX soon. I will be doing a lot of driving to work and park it on public parking lots. I was saving some money for some new clutch but I figure that I have to take care of this first.
So I've done some research here and found out that Viper 791xv is the best out there. After that, I did a research for the reviews to it, so far here's what i have,

Strenght:"LCD two-way remote; Directed is biggest name in car security; custumizable features"
Weakness:Cost of professional installation

It turns out that I really have to find a PRO installer of this product or this will happen to me or any of you,

"This install and use of the Viper Auto Alarm has been a nightmare. I went to Drive-in auto sound and got a quote from a sales rep for an alarm. We setup an appointment to have it installed. Upon the install day, I went to get it and guess what? The unit all of a sudden cost $200.00 more than quoted just the day before. No way!!! With some talking we got down to what the orginal quote had been. I was 1 sec from walking out and calling the company. They installed the alarm. When I left, I noticed the doors would lock upon starting the engine. I asked them to change that. They could not and had to order some special equipment. So I went back and they did make the change. Then I noticed, there was a huge hole in the firewall between the engine compartment and passenger area. What!!! I took the vehicle back to them again. They put a large glob of black putty to fill the hole. Now the remote blue LCD fob is having problems. It sticks or sometimes just won't work. I called the dealer and they want to do a diagnostic on it. Just replace it I said. They told me it would be several weeks and advised me to call Directed. What!!! So I called Directed and they said mail it in and they will mail one back if it has not been dropped or the LCD is not leaking or cracked. It has not. They said it would take several weeks to get a replacement. I told them, in the meantime I don't have a working remote. They said, that's how it is. Well.... This is totally nuts and horrible customer service. I heard 5 times, make sure you have the receipt. Yes, yes, yes yes yes I do. There is more, but this review will not permit that much. " <---To make that short, the installer doesnt know what theyre doing and it cost the owner a lot of time and $$$ to get it fix.
Another weakness is "A word of Caution when buying wireless remotes buy the 900 Mhz. model. Unfortunately the 447 Mhz. model generates interference." <--- Basically, what I found out on this is "The range may be 1/4 mile for outdoors in the open, but when you're indoors with concrete walls, it's not even close to 1/4 mile or even a 1/32 mile. I'm a little disappointed in that. What's the point in having a remote that tells you when your car alarm is goin off when you can't even recieve the message?? I would have got the Compustar if I had to do it over again. 1.5 miles I think it said is the range."

The good thing I found out about this, it tells you when the alarm is going off but then again, just like what the guy is saying, "The range may be 1/4 mile for outdoors in the open, but when you're indoors with concrete walls, it's not even close to 1/4 mile or even a 1/32 mile. I'm a little disappointed in that. What's the point in having a remote that tells you when your car alarm is goin off when you can't even recieve the message????

Note: There are other things that other reviews say in this product, they pretty much say the same thing only different thoughts but those problems i posted makes me think twice

Now my question, is there any other way to get a different realiable alarm system? What would this be? How much? Links to any websites?
Let us know your expirience with this product, Im sure it'll help a lot of us.

Man looks like you had bad luck with your Viper alarm. That is an aweosme alarm. It has a ton of features.

No, it didn't happen to me. Im doing some research about it and thats what i found out. And yes a lot of them say its one of the best.

The only things you found in your "research" is a guy who bought from a crappy installer with lousy business practices. It also sounds like this customer damaged his remote by possibly damaging it. Also, all alarm RF transmitter/receiver ranges are advertised as outdoor/unobstructed, and decrease indoors or from major obstructions.

i've had the 790 model (on different car) and now 791 on the evo. the range, although shorter indoors, is still way better than any conventional remote. outdoors, range is very good. the 790 was installed by circuit city (and yes, i paid way more than i should have, i was a noob back then). i was having problems about 1 year after install and took it back to them. they said it was the brain and i had to mail it to DEI. well, turns out it wasn't the brain but the remote. my friends with the 790 all have the same problem with their remotes after about a year. now with the 791, after 2 years, the remote is starting to act a lil wierd. when on audible mode, sometimes it doesn't chirp to confirm commands eventho the command went thru ok.

it's funny, i my father in law has a crappy prestige alarm on his truck for the past 10 years and it still works fine.

yeah, short of a quality alarm, installation is the next most important thing.

I have the 791. I have remote start (I know its extremely dangerous) as well as a lot of the other features. My only complaint is that the windows don't roll up automatically in cold weather. I think the add on module that does this is a universal part and not DEI's fault. Other than that the alarm has worked great for over a year now. (it was in my car before the evo too)

pss instal yourself, its a breeze. you most favorite connector in the world will be C-129 ITs in the driver side Kicl panel and has everthing from Praking lights to the horn Just jump in there with a multimeter and Start turning **** on and off until you find the wires you need.

considered the 791XV when I wanted to have an alarm for my evo IX. nobody would like to install the remote start, even best buy just want the alarm capability but not the remote start nor tt. Plus, if you add the fact that it is not an automatic, they will not touch it unless you sign some waiver, etc. Decided on the compustar, installed it myself, added 508D and 507t and never been happier. yes, it has tt and rs.

I've had this alarm on every car i have owned and never had a problem, I once had a remote start fuse go but that was a quick one two fix!

+1...i've had them on three of my cars and i have no complaints at all...

bought a python 990.i'me gonna have it installed tomorrow.

how can I install remote start on my evo?

Not trying to sound like a smart *** or anything but, if you have never installed one before and are not familiar with automotive electronics, take it to a pro. You will screw something up if you try it yourself.

Their are a coupel of companies that make remote car starters for standard cars. You don't have to sign a waiver like someone else posted. They wire the starter into your ebrake...on mine the car has to be out of gear and than I pull up on the ebrake twice which sets the starter (while the car is still running). Than when you take the key out its like a turbo timer...car still runs. Their is a kill button on the clicker that you hit once your out of the car and it locks and turns the car off. This insures you don't have the car in gear which is why its wired into your ebrake. The starter I have is an astro start. It works great.

oh no. i'me not even thinking of installing it myself. Don't want to screw my dream car. have it installed by people who knows what they are doing "i think" .