Alarm or not?

[I33t]

One of the options on offer here in Australia is the Alarm.

I've not had a BMW before and this may be a silly question, but does the standard car without alarm include basic theft protection like an immobiliser? What benefit does the i3 alarm offer other than a lot of noise if someone tries to make off with the car or accidentally bumps into it in a dark car park?

Thanks for any input.

 

[dvottero]

I can't speak to how it relates to an i3, but my current 335i didn't ship with an alarm.

As a result, when you lock the doors it does not give you a 'beep' feedback. The 'beep' is part of the alarm package. I don't know if this is important to you, but it drove me crazy with the 335i.

 

[I33t]

So, not having a beep drove you crazy?

If all it delivers is a beep, I can do without it...

 

[I33t]

Ok, found info on the alarm in the owners manual:

 

[Stevei3]

Hi guys,

our i3 has the factory alarm. Please don't be disappointed about it not beeping upon locking.

Regards, Steven

 

[Gonville]

Isn't it an option to have beep, lights flash once, indicators flash 3 times? On my 5 I have it set not to flash on unlock to avoid attracting attention

 

[Stevei3]

Hi Gonvile,

flash options are user selectable, but I've not found any beep settings.
I may have stopped looking for the beep settings because I don't want our car to beep though...

Regards, Steven

 

[Gonville]

That's probably my mistake - I think I am thinking of the 'clunk' as the locking engages. I can't wait for delivery as so much of the software functionality seems to be the same as the 5. Found out by reading the manual today for the i3 that you can pinch and expand on the interactive map - never knew that - went out to the 5 to try it and sure enough it has that option and it works. (I thought Apple had a copyright on multi touch gesture - back to reading the handbook...sigh)