remote starter

[joe52985]

I want one so very badly, most of u i know are in cali so u dont really know cold but me in new england, its frikking freezing here man! So starting and heating up car while im still in the shower is very acctrative to me. should i? my dad hates them but its my car so it doesnt matter, is around 50 bucks a good price for a remote starter, is the extra 40 more worth an alarm also? which ones would you recommend, have you had any bad experiences with them? thanks for the help in advance

[brain]

Just letting you know that installation isn't easy for the Accord. I have a Viper 550 ESP alarm w/ remote start on my Accord. I don't know if you knew this, but your key is encoded. So, in order for the remote start to work properly, there will be a spare key wired into the remote start system. I don't think all remote start systems will support the option of an encoded key.

[Kim]

I have a viper alarm (can't remember the model number, sorry) with the remote starter, and I LOVE it! I am going to get one for my jeep also. I do remember that it cost quite a bit more than $100, but that was about 4 years ago. I totally recommend getting one. :)

[brain]

I paid $350 or so which included the unit and installation. The range on this thing is excellent.

[joe52985]

ya i just found out tonight at bestbuy about the key thing, pissed me off, 250 all together for parts and install, im not sure if its really worth it or not now

[spigidygak]

ACK!!! Remote starters will fook up yer car real good mon. Modern day engines don't like to idle to warm up. The oil doesn't get pumped in the engine properly and bad things happen. Basically you're just asking to kill your engine with a remote starter. Plus I've heard a few funny stories of people starting their car and then watching it lunge into a wall. . . :heh:

[MacaroneePenguin]

The lunge into the wall story is true if you leave the car in gear (manual transmission) and turn on the car with the remote starter.

My friend had a remote starter in his 98 Eclipse and he didnt have any problems with it except that it interfered with his turbo timer.

Personally, I think it's worth the price in a cold place such as where you live or places such as Pennsylvania.

You just gotta go around and research it and try to talk to someone who knows his $hit, someone who's had experience with installation and usage/troubleshooting.

[Blu]

Originally posted by MacaroneePenguin
cold place such as where you live or places such as Pennsylvania.


Hmm, I've lived in PA, and never really considered it to be cold here. Is that the general concensus?

[MacaroneePenguin]

Originally posted by Blu


Hmm, I've lived in PA, and never really considered it to be cold here. Is that the general concensus?

I'd think so. I lived in State College, PA for one year and I'm there are we speak to visit. I can think of many times during the winter where I wished I had a remote starter installed instead of my alarm.

[BrewMaster]

seems like a waste o money to me.

my question is, once you sart the car remotely, do you have to put the key in the ignition to drive it, or can you drive it without the key? if you can drive it without the key, it just seems like you're asking to get your car hot-wired or something.

[MacaroneePenguin]

You have to put the key in of course. Trust me, if you live in snowy, cold weather and you know you're gonna have you're car in such weather it's not a waste of money. You can save a lot of time by warming up the car while you're getting ready to leave.

[ArkiStan]

just as a side note, I remember when I was in grade school and some guy living in my apartment complex had one of these. I would walk by the car every morning to school and it would start up with nobody sitting in it. I would totally freak out cause I didn't know of such devices. We all called it the ghost car.

Yeah and I lived in Boston for three years and I think it's worth it. Oh how different life is here in Cali now (though SF summer chills can kick East coast winter's ass).

[johnnymk]

I live near Philly and yes, it gets real cold here. It's the stinking humidity that makes it seem colder than it really is. It also makes the summers seem hotter than they are, too.
I have a place in the Pocono Mountains and even though it's about 8 degrees colder than here, it doesn't seem to penetrate you like it does in the SE portion of Pa..

[brain]

The remote start is great during the hot summer months too. I live in the valley where it can get way up in the triple digits. If my car was been sitting in the sun all day, I don't want to get in it. Plus, my car had charcoal leather interior. This didn't help matters at all. I'd just remote start my car 5 minutes before and I'd have nice cold air rushing out of the a/c vents.

[Dave_7]

You guys owe the mob some money? Worried about starting the car?

Seriously, though... if it IS a newer car, then I agree with spigidygak. The manual for my car says after startup... begin driving right away (i.e. don't let it sit and idle).





Dave.

[xplosiv]

I got a ford factory remote starter installed on my 2001 ford vehicle (After I bought it). Since ford themselves installed this, I would assume idling the car isn't a big deal. The starter comes with a full alarm package (which makes it a nice insurance deduction), automatically shuts off after 10 minutes, you can't drive the car away since you need the key in order to drive it, and if you try touching anything while there is no key in there (i.e. the brake pedal so you can shift) it will automatically shut down (same for opening of the hood, bumping the car, anything that sets off the alarm). The car also locks all locks when you start it, in case you forgot to lock the car the night before. Be aware that MANY kits bypass directly the computer's (even the ones that use the encoded keys) passive antitheft system, which means that if your car gets stolen, your insurance company will look the other way and you are on your own. I would definitely not go with the $50 remote starter kits you can find since that is asking for problems. In most cases, the insurance company doesn't even know about this (find out directly from the manufacture how the remote starter works) so be careful there. This message is based on experience, since I have had remote starters in all my cars, so please don't flame me :)

dan

[attgig]

1) pennsylvania is cold. lived in pittsburgh for 4 years...cold.

2) idle car is bad?!?! I've never heard that before...oil doesn't get pumped in properly?
i'm totally missing something here...

[Blu]

Originally posted by attgig
1) pennsylvania is cold. lived in pittsburgh for 4 years...cold.


Now I see where the confusion is coming from. I live outside Philly, and anything West of Harrisburd, I consider New York State or West Virginia. Damn hicks are everywhere!

[Nanotech9]

ive been in colorado, in 25 degree weather, and walked outside in short sleeves and not felt cold - just a little cool. Its really dry up there.

[whitak24]

Originally posted by DarkFury
Hell... it gets pretty DAYUUM cold here in Indy.

And I can vouch for "cold" in Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan, and Ohio. Brrrrrrr....
i second your "vouching", DF. if any of you from southern climes want proof, just trade places with me for a week -- i'll enjoy your warm weather and you can experience some wonderful michigan winter (although it has been warm the past couple days)

[Ladogaboy]

Originally posted by ucbstan
Yeah and I lived in Boston for three years and I think it's worth it. Oh how different life is here in Cali now (though SF summer chills can kick East coast winter's ass).

"The coldest winter I've ever spent was a summer in San Francisco."

Oh, and as for the remote starting, I can and can't really see a point for it. I didn't know that modern cars aren't meant to idle like older cars, but what happens when you have about a 1/4" of ice on the windshield? Do you lick it off? :confused:

Also, even in warm climates, I could see its uses... If I'm in a rush and doing about a dozen things at the same time, it would be really helpful to just press a button and have the car start up.

[Dave_7]

Originally posted by DarkFury
Hell... it gets pretty DAYUUM cold here in Indy.

And I can vouch for "cold" in Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan, and Ohio. Brrrrrrr....


It's the year 2002... you should know better than to live in those states ;)





Dave.

[irwin]

We have this thing in California. It's called a GARAGE. :P

[Markel]

If you have a garage, an alternative to a remote starter is a block heater. When I got to order a company car (Ford Taurus) at my last job, the factory block heater was only an $18 option. When the forecast was for significant cold (low teens or below), I would plug it in on a timer that would turn on at about 4:00 a.m. . The car wouldn't be "toasty warm", but it would warm up a whole lot quicker.

I remember when I was doing some work up in Winnipeg in February. Every car (even the rentals) came "wired" for a plug-in. Even in the shopping malls there were outlets so you could have a car that would start when you came out.

[BrewMaster]

Originally posted by passwird
We have this thing in California. It's called a GARAGE. :P

i'm with ya on this one Passwird. all this cold climate talk is giving me chills.

here's my theory, although i'm pretty sure i'm wrong and y'all will tell me so. the cost of livign in CA is more expensive than most places. most of the really cold climates where y'all live are a bit cheaper to live than CA. but i think that the money you save gets pumped back into ealing with the cold weather. heating bills, home insulation, snow blowers, snow tires, cars rusting (and therefore needing to be fixed), etc. i say cut out the "middle man" and move to the warmer areas.

and in your case DF, i know you go where the job is, but why doesn't the "gubment" move your office to a nicer climate? i mean, webpages can be developed anywhere, no?

[Ladogaboy]

The trick is finding a happy medium. I don't mind the cold as much, but when the weather is too extreme in either direction, I start to get annoyed.

[BrewMaster]

Originally posted by Ladogaboy
The trick is finding a happy medium. I don't mind the cold as much, but when the weather is too extreme in either direction, I start to get annoyed.

...and that's when people get hurt....