I'm looking for an alarm for my 92 300E. This is what I'm going for:

• starter disable
• theft guarantee to cover deductible
• backup battery
• remote outputs (as many as possible)
• remote start
• keyless entry

I'm primarily getting it for remote start and keyless entry, but I also want to get a guarantee for theft. I know any car can be stolen, alarm or not, but I do get a discount for having this installed, and it would help if it covered my deductible (I believe all the crime guards have this).

Having read of the many problems that might turn up (in this thread), I am also looking for a good shop to do this for me Anyone know of an alarm like this, or an NJ shop that would be recommended for the install?

Cucullin,
my friend had the viper system installed in his 400E with remote start and all the other things u mentioned, however battery backup was not part of the system. He had it installed for about $180 (labor and parts included) and the person who installed it did a really good job. The installers seemed to know what they were doing. I will get you the details from my friend as to where the shop is. I know it's somewhere close to woodbridge, NJ. It's a privately owned shop. I intitally wanted to do the job myself as well but the hours and hours of labor to save about $40 was really not worth the headache / time. The alarm system itself if bought without the installation is around $140 but DEI won't warranty their products unless installed by an authorized installation facility. So at the end I really dont see the benefit of making this a DIY unless ofcourse you don't care about the warranty, or if the product that you plan on install is not manufactured by DEI. and about 90% of the alarm systems are made by DEI.
good luck ! I will post the info once I get the name/ or number of the facility.

Well, I think I've found the security system I want... after reading your post, I went to DEI's web site, did the configure your own thing, and ended up with a Viper 550 and 2 optional components. Has everything, trunk pop, keyless entry, remote start, etc etc.

Let me know if you remember the name of the place, I'd like to make sure I go somewhere that's benz-friendly. DEI's site referred me to 6th Ave Electronics on 22... oh yeah, I'd trust them

I emailed my friend for that info. he's out of town so he might not reply back promptly. however I've had others who had their audio systems installed from 6th ave and they surely did a good job with the audio. the alarm. well can't tell u since i dont know any who got it from them. do ask for their installation prices though. at times they're a tad bit towards the expensive side. however if you're considering all those gadgets and leaning towards the more expensive 550 viper then i would suggest you also take a ride down to "Lee electronics". he's off of route 1 south bound right after the open road bmw show room. he quoted me $300 for the avistart system, also by DEI. he does have others. he charges a bit more but he seemed to know a whole lot more than the best buy/ circuit city installers. more over I don't think the trunk opener would work with the benz since it doesnt pop up like the japanses cars would that have a trunk open button inside the car. so even though you might get that added feature with the remote u might not be able to use it. however if you're trying to get more gadgets then try to get the optional components for the power windows installed. u will get the added benefit of one touch up/down of the windows from ur center console with that option, more over you can drop/raise all ur windows through ur remote as well. but u're looking at atleast spending another good $150 on top of the basic installation for this.
Don't let the tech cheat you into getting extra relays for the vaccum locks. if the installer really knows the benz then he should be able to tap into the existing switch and by pass all the relay BS that so many talk about. also, some shops force you to get a mercury fail safe switch installed under ur hood. with ur benz you already have that switch installed, not mercury however but nonetheless, and that switch should be used with the remote start. also, best buy forces customers to buy their 10-guage wire going from the battery to the alarm. well if the benz has it's own wiring sufficient to start the car then what's the need of an extra positive wire all the way to the alarm, where as all the other connections are still being tapped into the existing cirtuitry. just another $35 to $40 they charge which basically makes the shop money off of it.
they are just things that i've seen people being charged for sometimes upto $150 because the owners just arent aware of it and the shops like to make money off them.
good luck !

FYI,
I've found this site to have pretty good prices. It can also give you an idea of how much the alarms actually cost and how much the installers are charing you on top of it for installation since they never tell you how the end up with the total cost by breaking down the labor versus the unit price.

http://www.audiowarehouse.peachhost.com/ct_catalog.htm

Thanks I'm browsing around right now...

I ended up going back to DEI's web site, and I definitely need to keep looking around. Some of their other products have features that beat the Viper 550, for a little less (though granted, some other features are missing - though I'm not interested in them anyway ...)

I'm stopping by a few places tomorrow during the day, to kind of see what they've done before, what they have, and how much they'll try and take out of my wallet

hi guys, that place benz 300 has mentioned is in perthamboy off rt 35 suth on SMITH STREET and the name of teh place si BOSS AUDIO they are very good adn they have worked on benz'z before dotn remember the telephoen number but u can always get it from 411
hope it could help u a bit
mani