Looking to get a remote starter for my daughter for her xA. Maybe even remote lock/alarm.

Don't want to fork over the $599 the dealer wants. But I'm concerned about aftermarket/Circuit City installers. Any good systems out ther that don't screw up the electronics or warranty?

 

bump

I'm looking for the same thing

 

My only mantra on this would be: Your alarm will only work as well as it's installed. A half-assed install will only net you a half-assed working alarm.

I would warn against going to the chain stores such as Best Buy & Circuit City for items like remote-start/alarm systems (especially, if you were looking for a high end system). A.) Simply b/c they won't have as quality, or selection of products as dedicated mobile electronics stores. From my personal experience, B.) Their installers aren't the best in the business by any means, & C.) they're more about volume than quality on their installs.

That being said, if you want just a basic alarm with remote start feature then they'll have what you're looking for, and I'm sure they can probably half-___ install it for you and you'd never know the difference plus you'd save a few bucks over a dedicated mobile electronics shop. If you're lucky, you can get the shop manager to do it. The couple I've dealt with understand what customer service is vs. some 20 year old who only knows how to cut and solder a few wires together, plus they've got experience and seem to do a good job.

I won't say anything about Best Buy as I've never had them do anything like this to my cars but based on past experience, unequivocally, I can tell you that I would never take any of my cars to Circuit City to do any sort of electronics work whatsoever. I will say, I've never gotten any glowing reviews of Best Buy either, though. I'm just one person posting his experience so take it with a grain of salt, I'm sure there'll be people who swear by their local BB or CC.

It doesn't sound like you're wanting a high-end system or to spend much money, but I'd still try and find some more details about local dedicated mobile electronics shops; see what kind of cars they work with. If it's Jeb's rusted out '89 IROC-Z I would probably be leary, but if they're working on higher end cars I'd bet they'd be a good business to look into further. I'm not sure if there's anyone on here local to your area that can recommend a shop to check out but the regional forum may be a place to post this type of question too.

If you'd like more details about why I'm not a fan of Circuit City's installers, let me know, it's a long winded rant so I didn't want to waste the time here with it.

Sorry for the long-winded post. Hopefully, it helps you out a bit.

 

Sorry... forgot to comment on how it would impact your xA's warranty, each dealer's service dept. is different but if you take the car in saying that the electronic locks don't work or (depending on the type of alarm) the horn stops working, they may try to lay blame on the aftermarket alarm and deny warranty work on the vehicle. Most aftermarket installers do offer their own lifetime warranty on the installation of the alarm system, so I'd take it to them before the dealer for any problems that may have been caused by operation of the car alarm.

 

yeah I'm going to pass on CC theres a local installer who's been in business 17 years. I have a higher comfort level and there cost is the same.