Mistakes When Buying Remote Car Starters

One of the best additions you can have on your vehicle is a remote car starter. When purchasing one, though, the buyer can easily make common mistakes. This article will talk about the five common mistakes when buying remote car starters.

Not Enough Range

The packaging on the remote car starter will state the range of the product. It is imperative to remember that windows, walls, and buildings may cause interference in some units. For most people, range is not that important. Not a lot of people start their vehicles from more than 1,000 feet away, but they want to start it from inside a building. This is where the transmitter power comes into place.

Remote car starters will be used in places other than the office or at home. They are oftentimes used at parking garages, the mall, hospitals, sporting events, etc. Don‘t shortchange yourself with the transmitter range – if you are unsure, get a more expensive and powerful unit.

Not Installed by a Professional

The key to a quality remote car starter experience is for it to be installed by a professional. It can be quite complicated to install remote starters in today‘s vehicles and they need to be installed properly. A single mistake can cost thousands of dollars in damage and the worst part is that it isn‘t covered under your car‘s warranty.

A trained professional can easily do the remote car starter installation and will avoid costly mistakes. Some car owners trust the installation to a family or friend, but they are not qualified to do the job. If a mess up happens, it could cost the car owner a lot of money to get the error straightened out.

Purchasing a Remote Car Starter of Poor Quality

Local auto parts store sell remote car starters at a very low price. It even comes with an instructional DVD, claiming installation can be done on your own. The truth is, these remote starters are of low quality than those you can purchase at specialty retailers.

Most people can‘t tell the difference between a good brand and a low quality one. The rule of thumb, though, is to look online for the best shop in your area. The internet will be your best friend. You can post in forums or ask friends who are car enthusiasts.

Not Setting the Proper Feature

You might want to get a simple remote car starter that does its job – turns the vehicle on and off from a distance. But there are other types that have multiple functions. They can do trunk release and keyless entry, defrost the rear windows and heat seats.

A common mistake when not setting the proper feature is the thought that it automatically works with the starter. An example is the rear window defroster feature. If you left it on, it will still not turn on. It is attached on a latched output that resets when the power is turned off. This feature needs to be added specifically to almost all installation.

Another mistake is not adding keyless entry on vehicles manufactured recently. When the vehicle is running, factory keyless entry does not function. So when the vehicle is remote-started, the factory keyless entry will not unlock the doors.

The key has to be manually used in the door or the driver would have to shut the car down using the remote starter, then unlock it with the factory remote and restart it with the key. The solution is to select a remote starter that incorporates keyless entry which will allow you to unlock the car without having to shut it down.

Buying it from One Place, Getting it Installed in Another

You need to have the starter installed in the same place it was purchased from. Also, most quality shops won‘t install remote car starters that were bought somewhere else. Third party shops can do the installation, but if something goes wrong with the remote starter you‘ll go around in circles and no one will take the blame.

The purchaser will refer you to the manufacturer and the manufacturer will refer you to the installer. The installer will deny doing anything wrong even if it could be an issue how it was connected in the first place.

As long as these mistakes are avoided, the remote car starter should work fine and it is an awesome addition to any car, making it convenient for drivers or car owners.