Remote Car Starters?

bujaly

I'm looking to get a remote car starter for myself and my girlfriend. I wanted to see what others think about what to get or stay away from..etc.
We already have factory alarms, so all we want is just something to start the car. I've been looking, but I'd rather have someones personal experience...
Appreciate the input lady and gents

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Celtic

I skipped the factory alarm and had an after-market alarm w/auto start installed...

Viper



This is the parent company:
http://www.directed.com/

They market many brands...





..a few more.

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mickeyco

If you're keeping the cars in an attached garage don't get one or be real careful (most have a switch to disable it). My friend owned a shop where he installed them and one of the cars he installed remote starter in started from a stray signal (it's rare but it happens) in the middle of the night and almost killed the owner from the exhaust, he was sued over it. I've got one on my winter beater that is kept outside, it's great to warm up the car engine and interior (turn the heat on high when you park it the night before), I did have some problems with it draining the battery and turning on the daytime running headlights occasionally. I don?t know what brand it is, I got it at Target, it was pretty easy to install except the wire to the tach and hood latch safety (pain in the butt to put the hole in the firewall on my car).

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Some people climb mountains. I take out the trash. But we both do it for the same reason.

bujaly

Really? I would've never have thought to look there. And no, no garage here. Still stayin in an apartment..

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mickeyco

Yeah, I wouldn't have thought it either, I don't know if they still carry them it was a few years back and a decent unit as opposed to the Bulldog brand (I think thats the name) thay carry at Wal Mart, those ones are junk.

One last important thing if you are putting it in yourself be careful of the air bag wire if you cut it or ground it, it will deploy (probably just disconnect the battery). Get the wiring diagram for your vehicles, you can usually find them on line, at the library or auto parts store.

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Some people climb mountains. I take out the trash. But we both do it for the same reason.

rex

i use valet remote starters for my diesels....paid 300 with installation at abc wharehouse...had 2 vehicles done at the same time

Celtic

Must have been a low-budget model....the first one I had installed some 14 years ago has a timer on it ~ shuts off in 15 minutes.

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LNG24

Viper here on all our cars and trucks. They also shut off in 15 minutes which means we have to start it twice on those below 0 days, but better that than to have it run all day by accident at todays gas prices.

Celtic

Have you discovered a time shift?


I used start mine just BEFORE getting dressed....used to be 15 minutes was more than enough time to get dressed....not so much these days...double startin' too.

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send_it_all

More real estate to cover after all those pies?

mickeyco

No, it wasn't a low-budget model, it was a Prestige by Audiovox, the run time could be set. The one I have from Target is a cheap model, but pretty nice, lots of features, it will start several cars with same unit, unlocks doors and trunk. It starts and runs the car from 5 to 20 minutes, you set it where you want it, it will also start the car every few hours through out the night and run it for 5 to 20 minutes depending on how you set it, great for really, really cold weather.

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Some people climb mountains. I take out the trash. But we both do it for the same reason.

mickeyco

Thought of one last thing, if you're having it installed by someone I'd look for a place the does the connections with solder and shrink wrap versus cheap crimp terminals done with a cheap crimper.

cheap crimper






.

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Some people climb mountains. I take out the trash. But we both do it for the same reason.

Celtic

I saw a helper with that model on a jobsite!

Pure garbage it is.

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Celtic

10 years ago I made a promise to my future wife (we were standing in front of the priest and she was nervous ~ to say the least)....I leaned over and whispered in her ear:
I said: How do you feel about old, bald, fat men?
She looked at me like I was crazy (I am, but that's another volume)
I said: ...that's what I am planning on being!

Then to the priest I announced loudly: I DO !

She laughed and was not nervous about the wedding anymore


However, I am not living up to that promise made 10 years ago...
I am not fat ~ in spite of the pies, mountains of potato chips and other assorted crap(vegetables come in a bag...usually fried and covered with some salt produt/s), entire corned beefs JUST for me(I'm a vegans worst nightmare...LOL), etc....
I am not bald....far from it, actually.
I am however getting old ~ but I am in denial on that issue ....and I have been giving her a 29th b-day card EVERY year for the past 5 - 6 years.
We'll both be young, fit and beautiful forever

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fridaymean

I also installed my own remote start / keyless entry. I think I purchased it from best buy. (They use those cheep crimps, no solder.) It was great. It could be set to run for 15, or 25 minutes. It took about 5-6 hrs to install.

LNG24

I don't know of anyone that uses solder and shrinkwrap. Some of those connections have to be done in extremely tight spaces. I have removed and istalled a number of these. (3-4) You stand more of a chance at mealting a nearby wire then getting a good connection and proper solder joint. A lot of the connections are piggybacked, not butt.

mickeyco

Now you do, I use solder and shrink wrap without any problems, you just need to be careful of other wires. My friends shop used them and a lot of high end shops do. The use of those cheap crimp terminals is asking for problems, wires pulling out, poor connections and corrosion. When you say piggybacked are you using those 3M connectors that clamp over a wire (see below), I don't like and don't use them (same problems as the cheap crimp terminals), you can still solder them (see pic below).

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Some people climb mountains. I take out the trash. But we both do it for the same reason.