I have a 2006 Prius with pkg. 1. I'm planning to buy an alarm for the car. In the past I have had cars with a Viper system. I welcome your ideas and thoughts.
What do you hope to protect with the alarm? Theft of the car or contents? If it is the car, about the only it can be stolen is on a flatbed and an alarm won't help much. If it is the contents there is a glass breakage alarm available from Toyota.
I have read over and over again about how the Prius is just not an attractive vehicle to thieves. (No market for parts, among other reasons.) Couple that with the fact that I do not keep anything of value in the vehicle and we would not put an alarm on this car. Not to mention the fact that I hear car alarms going off all the time and it is typically operator error and have become desensitized to alarms. From observed behaviors, I'd suspect many Americans have become desensitized to car alarms. More "noise pollution" as far as I am concerned.
Go with the VS add-on from Toyota (RS2000 Alarm system is what I think it is called). It is integrated with your existing key fob. If you get a viper, you need to carry the additional fob.
