Six Reasons a Cheap Remote Starter is a Bad Idea

When the weather turns cold, people start thinking about remote car starters, and the company more and more people turn to for them every year is Enormis Mobile Specialties. Our company specializes in remote starters, or automatic starters, as they are often called. For well over 15 years, thousands of people in and around Erie have trusted their vehicles to us. One problem we often see is the installation of a cheap remote starter.  Check out this video below to see more about the experts at Enormis and why you can rely on us:

As the years roll on, we hear more and more stories of people who tried to save a few dollars by buying a cheap remote starter. We get it. Money does not grow on trees. You work hard for your money, and you want to be a good steward of it. We respect that. It is for this reason that we wrote this article, to let you in on a little secret: Cheap remote starters will cost you more in the long run than a well-designed, properly installed one that may cost more. We present to you:

Six Reasons a Cheap Remote Starter is a Bad Idea

1. Installation Quality

Your modern vehicle is literally run by computers, and you rely on it every day. Are you willing to risk getting stranded on the side of the road over $50? A cheap remote start comes with a substandard installation.

Your vehicle uses an electrical network called a CAN-BUS. It allows all of the electronics in your vehicle to communicate with each other. A remote start gets installed onto this network. Unless someone is properly trained in how to integrate your remote start on this network, bad things will happen. It may not happen when you pull away from that store, but it is a time bomb waiting to blow up on you. We see it all the time at Enormis when people pay us to remove their cheap remote starts and install good ones. They are now out the cost of the cheap system, plus a removal fee and the cost of a proper installation of a good system. Do you think they really saved money at this point?

2. Range

Range is one of the most important features of a remote start. Here is the reality. Once you go out to a warm vehicle one time, you will never want to be cold again. Once you experience not having to scrape ice off the windows, you will never want to do that again. How does range play into this process? Good question. Cheap remote starters have very poor range, sometimes as low as under 100 feet. When you are leaving work, church, the mall or even a restaurant after going out to eat, do you want to go out to a cold vehicle? Of course not. You want a good-quality system that can start your vehicle in all the places it is going to sit over the course of an average week, and most of those places are going to be farther from you than you realize.

3. Serviceability

As remote starters get more and more popular, more and more companies get into the category. Since they don’t have any name recognition, they have to rely on a low price to penetrate the market. Now, let’s use some simple economics. You sell your product at a lower price to build your brand, yet you aren’t doing the volume of the bigger, respected brands, so you pay more to have your product made. The only way you can survive is by using inferior parts. When the product starts to fail, you pull out of the market – and your customers are out of luck. No service parts are available. A customer who loses a remote after a couple of years and needs a replacement, can’t find one.

We have seen it time and again – but it doesn’t happen with us.

4. Warranty

Another thing we notice is more and more shops getting into selling remote starters. They figure if Enormis Mobile Specialties can install them, so can they. Unfortunately, once they realize how complex the installation is, and how time-consuming it can be to work on a modern vehicle, they bail on the category. Then you – the unfortunate customer – have no warranty. We have been in business since 1999 and just finished our best year. We aren’t going anywhere and promise to be here when you need us.

5. Product Reliability

Cheap remote starters work fine when the weather is above 25 degrees. Do you want your remote start to work on those cold winter days? Then never settle for a cheap system.

6. Safety Features

Safety features cost time and money to use, and a cheap remote start will have none of them. When you are buying an automatic starter that is sold on price, it is all about volume, not quality. All of our systems come with hood sensors. We throw away the cheap pin switches that come with remote starters and install a high-quality hood sensor. Why do you need one? Here is why: If someone is working under the hood of your vehicle and the remote starter is activated, the mechanic can be seriously injured. Our hood sensors know when the hood is open and won’t let the vehicle remote start. Our remote starters on manual transmission vehicles use two different fail safes so the vehicle can never start while it is in gear. Check out the example in the video below of a cheap remote starter and an unprofessional installation:

Stop By and See The Remote Starter Experts at ENORMIS!

When you add it all up, you can see that trying to save a few dollars on a cheap remote start will not save money in the long run. It is likely to cost you more money. We invite you to stop by Enormis Mobile Specialties with your vehicle and get to know us. Our team will work with you to find the best solution for your needs.

Want a quote on a remote starter install for your vehicle? Click here to fill out our remote starter quote form. Have questions or want to go ahead and book an appointment? You can Contact Us Here.