Automatic car starter advice please. Not Fishing related

[Old Ironmaker]

I am going to get an auto car started installed on the truck for my wife that leaves for work very early in the cold mornings. And it is going to be cold. This morning it was -10 at 06:00. I am usually the auto car starter and want to retire from that too. Heck if I can pay 600 bucks for a boat slip for convenience why not a car starter. I just paid 650 for cleaning and a filling at the Dentist today. Wowa weewa. I need to check that invoice, new receptionists first week on the job. That can't be right.

 

I have looked at a few units. They all seem to be around $120.00 to $150.00. It will be installed by a qualified person. CTC wants 4 hours or $400.00 plus the price of the unit. My service guy that does both vehicles will call someone in to do it for $399.00 including the unit.

 

All the systems I have seen online look to be similar other than a few that have a small LED screen on the key fob that I will never be able to read. What units are recommended and are there any to stay away from?

 

What questions should I be asking? I have no clue how they work and don't really care as long as it does what it says it does.

 

Thanks all

Johnny D

[manitoubass2]

Paging ecmilley...

[GBW]

Also check BestBuy as some places do radio upgrades and auto starters and yes they are trained to do the starter install. Brand I have no clue as my truck came with one from the factory. Even try the dealership you deal with for said car JD and see what they say.

[GBW]

Viper makes good items I recall from many years ago when I got an aftermarket alarm. Check this and it includes install for $250

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/viper-remote-start-system-and-geek-squad-installation-package/9999274700050001.p?skuId=9999274700050001

*edit to add*

 

Viper - Remote Start System and Geek Squad Installation Package

• SKU: 9999274700050001

Package Features

Viper Remote Start System: 1-button remote; Xtreme Capacity Relays for optimal performance in virtually any weather condition; car finder function; compatible with most fuel-injected automatic transmission vehicles

Ball-Bearing Tilt Switch: Sounds a siren when the hood is lifted

XpressKit Databus All Interface Module: Supports door locking and override capabilities

Geek Squad Remote Start or Security System Installation included

Installation Appointment Details: After ordering, you'll receive a redemption e-mail containing a key code that validates your order for installation. Find your nearest installation center and call to schedule an appointment.

Bring a printout of your redemption e-mail, the hardware you want installed, and any other parts you may have purchased for the installation.

A materials charge of $5 per vehicle will be assessed at time of installation. Some vehicles may require additional parts costing $10–$50. Manual transmission vehicles may require additional parts or labor costing $70–$120.

Your Geek Squad Autotech will provide an estimate prior to performing work that requires an additional charge (including nonstandard installation) and any additional parts. Any additional charges will be assessed after the installation is complete.

For installation information for your vehicle, find a store with an installation center and speak with a Geek Squad Autotech. See terms and conditions for more details.

This package price will no longer be valid if you return one of the items. See the details.

Best Buy's Return Policy on Bundle Discount Items applies to this package purchase. Items may ship separately. Shipping charge calculated on a per-item basis.

 

Edited December 15, 2016 by GBW

[OhioFisherman]

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/car-security-remote-start-onstar/remote-starters-keyless-entry-systems/pcmcat292200050016.c?id=pcmcat292200050016

 

A lot of these seem to include geek squad installation in their prices? My son worked at a radio shop here and around this time of year remote starters were big sellers for them.

 

He says ultra start is a good brand vipers are cheap. Your best bet is to go to a place that does car audio and electronics.Best Buy is overpriced and dealerships just have a third party installer do it anyways.

 

http://www.ultrastarters.com/dealer_locator.htm

Edited December 15, 2016 by OhioFisherman

[Old Ironmaker]

Thanks guys for the quick responses. I know more about car starters in the last few hours than I have in a lifetime. To me the prices are based on what features are available. Many like VIPER which are on the cheaper price side that is on sale are easily upgraded to security systems once installed. The strange thing about the Viper system that is on sale at Best Buy right now a Viper system installed for $249.00 reg. $599.96, seems like a great deal but reading closely it says may need additional parts and labor. From $10.00 to $300.00. What? I know that is probably coming from the US site because labour is spelled labor and other places on the web site labour is spelled with a U. I will need to call them in the AM because it sure "looks" like a great deal. And labour prices may vary. A 50 buck saving going into Hamilton is no savings at all. It's 25 bucks in gas return, maybe more now that gas has hit $1.05 and if they need the vehicle over night or spend all day there it is 25 bucks for a cab downtown and back to Best Buy, another 50. A favour around here usually costs me $100.00 somehow. I can spend the night at the Marriot for around the same price as the free favour.

 

I will be making several calls in the AM. Thanks all for the info so far.

Edited December 15, 2016 by Old Ironmaker

[GBW]

He says ultra start is a good brand vipers are cheap.

I only know the brand as I had a Viper alarm put in a car around 20 years ago and it was the best back then. Times change for sure.

 

I will need to call them in the AM because it sure "looks" like a great deal.

I'd never "jump the gun" without looking into it BUT with luck it does what you need it to do at a reasonable price JD. Good luck!

[lew]

I know nothing about after market starters but try and get one that you can use to also lock your cars doors remotely. You don't want to start the car and then have some low life steal it on you.

[Garnet]

Here in the Oshawa area all the shops sell the units and call my cousin to do the install. He has his own Auto Electric shop that opens at noon. His mornings are mobile doing CTC,Bestbuy, Monroe and a whole list of others.

 

Likely a guy just like him in your area. From what I see 25% less from him and picky about what he sells.

[Mister G]

You can't steal a car with a remote starter..........once you put your foot on the brake to put the vehicle in gear the engine shuts off. Not to mention that the steering wheel is still locked.

 

One thing to keep in mind with a remote starter......your gas mileage is going to crash.....you will be getting ZERO miles to the gallon as it sits there warming up for 20 minutes.

 

Also remember to put the defrost cycle on and turn the fan on high each time you park the car.

Edited December 15, 2016 by Mister G

[lew]

You can't steal a car with a remote starter..........

 

As I said in my reply, I know nothing about remote starters so I wasn't sure how they worked.

 

On my truck, once it's started with the remote you need to unlock the door then insert the key in the ignition and turn it on.

 

Perhaps they're all designed the same way.

[Old Ironmaker]

I know that that truck is wasting gas like mad sitting idling, and it's not great for the engine either. It would be about the same sitting in ridiculous traffic in Hamilton or idling in a drive through, both of which I do not like doing. I explained to her that she will have to remember to put the temp and fan on full blast and select the defrost/lower vent before shutting off the truck. Happy wife happy Johnny D, really happy.

 

I would never use it in the summer, unless it was hot out. I better not say a thing about fuel consumption. She will ask me how much juice the boat drinks. She's no dummy.

 

Garnet, if Oshawa wasn't on the dark side of the Moon I would use your cousin, for sure.

Edited December 15, 2016 by Old Ironmaker

[wormdunker]

My F150 has a factory installed remote starter. Push the button on the fob, horn beeps, door locks are locked then the engine starts. For the driver to access the vehicle you must unlock the doors first. Upon entry to the truck you must insert the key into the ignition, then turn the key to the "on" position. If you should touch the brake pedal prior to inserting the key the engine shuts down. Once the engine has started it will run for approximately 12 minutes then shuts down if you don't insert the ignition key. Many safety features are built in to avoid theft. JD - You should investigate these anti theft features before your purchase. East Hamilton Radio in your area is a reliable, knowledgeable installer.

[Old Ironmaker]

Thanks Brian. I am going to call EHR this AM. My guy who would have to call his guy was surprised the truck didn't have one in it from the factory. I told him I'm not Wormdunker with his $70,000.00 F150, mine was less than 35K coming off the new car lot. It has some fake plastic chrome coloured mirrors on it though.

 

I'm making calls this AM. Talk about baiting the hook. Great price on a few starters at EHR, then he tells my the key fobs are extra, the control module whatever that is would be an additional charge Sir, cable to antenna is extra, on that unit the cable is included but not the antenna, 4 hour minimum labour to install but maybe more depending on the location of the unit. Same thing at CTC. This isn't included that isn't included. Why the bait? How do you sell a product only to find out you have 1/2 of what you need is included. The fine print on Best Buy says no returns or exchanges on starters. So I get home to install it myself, not likely, or hire a qualified person only to find out it needs a few hundred bucks more of product that I now bound to buy because I didn't read the fine print and I'm kyboshed. Man, when do we customers get a break. This is getting ridiculous.

Edited December 15, 2016 by Old Ironmaker

[manitoubass2]

Thanks Brian. I am going to call EHR this AM. My guy who would have to call his guy was surprised the truck didn't have one in it from the factory. I told him I'm not Wormdunker with his $70,000.00 F150, mine was less than 35K coming off the new car lot. It has some fake plastic chrome coloured mirrors on it though.

Hahahah his truck is nice! What is it again? A king rancher????

[wormdunker]

Yah a King Ranch. Awesome vehicle to drive but a little expensive at the gas pump. Mine is a 2008, had 73,000 km when I bought it 5 years ago. Brand new on the lot it's $82,000.00!! My first house only cost $34,000.00 in 1977!

[G.mech]

Over the years I have had 'Astrostart' units put in three vehicles for my wife at the car audio place and had zero issues them; they were expensive but they worked flawlessly. The next vehicle I cheaped out and got a Viper installed at Future Shop (now Bestbuy) and had nothing but problems for the next 5 years. My wife wouldn't even use it because you had to use both the factory and Viper remotes in the right sequence or the panic alarm would start and be next to impossible to shut off. The door locking was also very unreliable and you were never sure if the doors had locked or not. Despite numerous visits back to Future Shop, it never ever worked properly and we finally just gave up on it. I just got the latest Astrostart put on her new vehicle last month at Audio Ave in Simcoe and it works perfectly. You're looking at 500-600 bucks all in but I truly believe that you get what you pay for in this market. The best answer is the factory ones but if they don't come with it I'd be looking at the higher end aftermarket ones.

Edited December 15, 2016 by G.mech

[leaf4]

Call up east Hamilton radio. I know a few people who have had units installed from there with no issues, and they fixed up the hack job of a radio install in the girlfriends old ranger... Thing would shut off when it was too cold or too hot they showed us a picture of the rats nest behind the unit and it was just rammed in there.. got her all fixed up though

[woodenboater]

as well as remote starters (had one on my Jeep. loved it). does her car have a block heater ? that will make a big difference as well since everything is warmed up already. won't be a toasty car to get into but I think better for the engine overall. plug it into a timer so it starts warming up a few hours before you need it.

[dave524]

Dad would always kick my butt if I borrowed his car as a teen and left the fan/ heater/windshield wipers etc. on when I shut it off , especially in winter, that was all to be off when starting the engine in cold weather.

[DRIFTER_016]

Thanks guys for the quick responses. I know more about car starters in the last few hours than I have in a lifetime. To me the prices are based on what features are available. Many like VIPER which are on the cheaper price side that is on sale are easily upgraded to security systems once installed. The strange thing about the Viper system that is on sale at Best Buy right now a Viper system installed for $249.00 reg. $599.96, seems like a great deal but reading closely it says may need additional parts and labor. From $10.00 to $300.00. What? I know that is probably coming from the US site because labour is spelled labor and other places on the web site labour is spelled with a U. I will need to call them in the AM because it sure "looks" like a great deal. And labour prices may vary. A 50 buck saving going into Hamilton is no savings at all. It's 25 bucks in gas return, maybe more now that gas has hit $1.05 and if they need the vehicle over night or spend all day there it is 25 bucks for a cab downtown and back to Best Buy, another 50. A favour around here usually costs me $100.00 somehow. I can spend the night at the Marriot for around the same price as the free favour.

 

I will be making several calls in the AM. Thanks all for the info so far.

 

Depending on your vehicle you will need a device that ties the autostart into your vehicles computer system.

This enables the autostart to seamlessly connect and to bypass onboard alarm and ignition disable systems.

[Fang]

If you looking to get a good overview of options and features check your local audio car stores. I put an aftermarket on in my wife's Plymouth Breeze and got great information to help with the buying process after going into Canadian Tire and Best Buy and finding no one that really knew anything about them.

 

I used Keith's Audio Video in Burlington and yes I paid a bit more but I got exactly the features I wanted, installation included and no surprises. The auto start was about the only thing working properly on her car when we finally ditched it a few years ago

[OhioFisherman]

as well as remote starters (had one on my Jeep. loved it). does her car have a block heater ? that will make a big difference as well since everything is warmed up already. won't be a toasty car to get into but I think better for the engine overall. plug it into a timer so it starts warming up a few hours before you need it.

 

My first Astro van had a block heater on it, it was great! My heater would be blowing warm air before I got to the corner of my road. All the diesel trucks at work had them, you could usually tell who forgot to plug their trucks in at night, they would have to go to the shop to get a mechanic for help starting them in real cold weather.

[misfish]

I know that that truck is wasting gas like mad sitting idling, and it's not great for the engine either.

 

Not sure about that.

 

When I start my truck, I sit there till all fluids are at temp and the engine is idling at 500rpm before leaving the lot in the morning or at work.

[Old Ironmaker]

It was getting very frustrating this morning trying to get prices. It seems most every retailer goes through a second party for installation and they know zippo about what they are selling. East Hamilton Radio never returned my call or email today. No one wants to commit to a labour time other than CTC and my regular service guy is trying to get out of the price he told me over the phone as he spoke too soon I'm sure, $399.00 installed plus taxes all in. None let me talk directly with the installer as they think I am going to do an end around.

 

I am going to shop after the New Year when I am sure there will be sales on. In the mean time I need to find an installer and cut out the middle man. I am willing to pay 600 bucks for a good set up but other than CTC they won't commit to a final price with all the add ons and not sure about actual install time.

Edited December 15, 2016 by Old Ironmaker