"Snuze: Needs another Swede" (markg) 01/13/2015 at 10:38 • Filed to: None

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My in-laws want to have a remote start installed in my wife's car as a surprise birthday gift and they want me to help orchestrate it and find a shop around here to do it. They want to do it soon, even though her birthday isn't until March, so she can use it while it's still winter. The car is a 2004 Lexus RX330, which you should probably know by now I can't stand. But the car is paid off and I can't talk my wife into getting rid of it, she's intent on driving it into the ground. So I have a feeling it will be with us for a while longer.

When they presented the idea, I just listened and nodded my head, and told them I would try to help them out. But I've been giving it some thought and I'm not sure how I feel about the whole thing now.

I've looked and it was never a feature on that model Lexus, so there's no way to add it using Lexus parts, so the only option is aftermarket remotes. I've had mixed experiences in the past with aftermarket alarms/keyless entry so I'm not super wild about that part.

But more importantly, I know if I were in my wife's shoes and someone took my car and altered it, unless they could morph it into a Corvette or Ferrari or something, I would be beyond mad. But then again my wife isn't attached to cars like I am. But she also doesn't use half the features the car has as it stands.

I'm thinking I should just ask her instead of pussyfooting around. What say ye?

crowmolly > Snuze: Needs another Swede 01/13/2015 at 10:43

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If you can find a good aftermarket car electronics place then you will probably be fine.

DO NOT GO TO BEST BUY or one of those places for this. EVER. I have heard way more failure/hack stories than successes.

jariten1781 > Snuze: Needs another Swede 01/13/2015 at 10:44

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Has she expressed interest in having remote start before?

If yeah, then I'd suck it up and have it done like the in-laws are pushing for.

If no then I'd talk to her first in sort of a 'hey! your mom wants to do this nice thing for you' kind of a tone (even if I thought it was dumb...not my battle and no need to spread animosity).

ACESandEIGHTS > Snuze: Needs another Swede 01/13/2015 at 10:46

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You're SUSPECT!

Yeah, I've got two remote starts but they're both GM options. I would probably cringe at the idea of an aftermarket system that could f up.

I get pissed off enough when something gets out of sync and the car won't start and I have to figure out how to get it to reset and allow the ignition to work.

If I'd installed something from K-Tel Automotive and it started doing that, I'd kick myself.

Snuze: Needs another Swede > crowmolly 01/13/2015 at 10:53

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I would never go to Best Buy. I had a friend that installed car stereos there for a few months before he quit. He said the workmanship as so shoddy because the manager was always pushing them for faster turn around times.

I'm going to need to research and see if I can find a decent place in the area with a good rep if I/we decide to go through with it.

crowmolly > Snuze: Needs another Swede 01/13/2015 at 10:56

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Just had to be sure!

Snuze: Needs another Swede > jariten1781 01/13/2015 at 11:02

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No, never really said anything about it. She doesn't even use half the functions of the car as it is now.

Snuze: Needs another Swede > crowmolly 01/13/2015 at 11:04

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I appreciate it, that's good looking out.

I tried to do it myself once upon a time in a Dodge Ram I had which had power locks but when I bought used had no remotes. I was living in CT at the time so I thought hey, instead of getting factory remotes, why don't I add one of those fancy kits with remote start and all that. Well it was a huge pain in the ass, so I outsourced it to a shop, and they did a shitty job and it never quite worked right, so I ended up ripping the whole thing out.

Snuze: Needs another Swede > ACESandEIGHTS 01/13/2015 at 11:07

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My dad has remote start on his Sierra 3500 and it's a pretty nice feature to have on cold winter mornings, but it's also a factory system.

Part of my concern is that half these systems are shit, and I'm worried about finding a good brand and a good installer. As I told Crowmolly in another comment, I had one in my old Dodge Ram and it never really worked right, even after I got a professional to install it, so I ended up ripping the whole thing out after a while.

ACESandEIGHTS > Snuze: Needs another Swede 01/13/2015 at 11:15

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Yeah, I'd say skip it, for real. That's rough that they're bent on it.

It's not exactly a DVD system or something.

3rd party gear on cars is just super garbagey half the time and I would be very concerned about it as you are.