Karr Security System
What is the Karr security system?
The Karr security system is an anti-theft alarm for cars offered by Southwest Dealer Services (SWDS) through dealerships at the time of purchase of a vehicle. It wires into your vehicle and incorporates older, more traditional security features like an alarm, steering wheel lock, and mechanisms to cut-off the engine. Combined with GPS for tracking of the vehicle’s location and speed. A list of features includes keyless entry, a panic remote, and flashing parking lights. The alarm is designed to detect intrusion, allow for remote locking and unlocking of the vehicle, and put up a geofence around the car. It sends notifications when the car is activated, if driving speeds are unsafe, if the car battery is low, and it allows for the owner to disable the vehicle remotely. The Karr Security System comes with a three year or 36,000-mile warranty for replacement parts and labor for repairs. Karr has certified technicians in network that will also travel to a customer’s home or office and offers 24/7 customer service.
What do people think?
Since Karr security systems tend to come pre-installed on a lot of vehicles at car dealerships, plenty of people have had to deal with them. When you go to buy a car, it is not uncommon for the dealership to try and upsell you on keeping the Karr as an added-on security function since it is already installed. A lot of people will decline and have to decline multiple times before they finish buying their vehicle since most dealerships offer the Karr with a heavy price tag. Keep in mind that you can typically negotiate the price down lower if you are interested in keeping it. Since Karr is not always well known to customers, most have not looked into or seen many reviews about the product.
While there are some websites that provide insight into reviews and ratings for Karr, there are not many to go off of. Yelp is one of the sites that offers some insight on how people feel about Karr. Most of the positive reviews are based on customer service and having peace of mind knowing the system is installed and active. There is one positive review that states their satisfaction with the functionality of the system but mentions needing to adjust the sensitivity and negotiating price. However, most of the negative reviews are unhappy about pricing and mention poor functionality. There are claims of a poor instruction manual, no help from the company, and the system giving out after five years. On discussion forums, on other non-rating-based websites, most people seem to feel as though the Karr security system is redundant and unnecessary.
Is it worth it?
Nowadays, most cars come with keyless entry, have panic buttons on the key fob which set off an alarm and flash the lights, and some cars even have apps that allow you to remotely lock and unlock your doors. The majority of cars come standard with an alarm system that goes off when the vehicle is being broken into. So, the Karr security system has a bit of double dip into features your car does or might already have. This means it is entirely up to the individual to decide whether or not they want the system when buying their vehicle at a dealership or if they want to contact Karr directly and have it installed or activated after the fact.
Is there a better option?
Vivint offers a car guard that is top of the line and a lot less than what dealerships try to sell you the Karr system for. Vivint Car Guard uses GPS and 4G LTE to track your vehicle and transmit data, with a back-up battery to send you alerts if it has been tampered with. It also provides you with updates about the health of your car, if maintenance is needed, and if there are any recalls. On top of that, it can update you on the location of your car, trip details such as speed and distance, and if it is being towed or broken into. You can set boundaries to alert you when your vehicle has left a certain area, check to see if you have been doing any hard braking and speeding, and get a look at your fuel efficiency.
Car guard hooks up to your car’s OBD-II port so there is no need to hardwire it into your vehicle and can be easily installed yourself. Best of all, if you have a Vivint security system, it easily integrates and works together with outdoor cameras and home automation. Vivint outdoor cameras can detect when your vehicle comes and goes and signal the system to turn on lights and unlock doors. It can also detect when there is a lurker by your car and will light up and whistle at them to let them know they have been spotted. Vivint Car Guard has a lot more to offer outside of normal car alarms.
Since Vivint offers 24/7 professional monitoring, if anything does happen to your car you will have someone to help you. With access to all of the information about your car on the Vivint app on your phone you can easily communicate any problems no matter the situation. You can tell the repair shop that you were notified about a maintenance problem or give location information to police in the off chance that your car does get stolen. Be able to keep an eye on your teen or elderly relative’s driving habits and location to keep them safe. If you are in a wreck on a road with little traffic, the Vivint monitoring staff can help locate you and send police your way. If you are going to get a car alarm system, get one that really works for you. One that will not only keep you and the vehicle safe, but also keep your vehicle up and running so you never have to have any unexpected breakdowns.
