Automotive → Car alarm/remote start

If I supply my own remote start/car alarm to a shop, will it likely be cheaper (and better quality) than what they are offering?

For a 2012 Subaru Legacy 2.5i Premium (CVT), is this decent, or is there something better?
»www.amazon.com/VIPER-570 ··· te+start ($188.95)

I have a 2001 Ford Ranger with manual transmission. Most remote start installers balk at putting one in it because it's stick. Any suggestions on a good alarm that I can get installed? Windows and locks are not powered (ie. crank window, manual lock). I just want the alarm, not a starter.

What should the approximate cost be for both vehicles to install the parts if I supply them? I know it's different everywhere, but I want to at least have an idea.

Shops around here install remote starters for $130 to $170 including parts and labor. Probably junk, but who knows.

I do not think it will be cheaper. The labor could higher when you supply the parts. They will give a cheaper price if you buy the alarm from because they will make money on the alarm also but none on your parts.
I had a alarm installed in my car. I checked around and asked about supplying my own parts. Some said the labor was the same and some said if you buy the parts there the labor would be cheaper. It was going to cost me the same amount of money so I just bought the alarm at the installer. That way it warranted for parts and labor.

Wouldn't this be easier, and wiser to call local installers for equipment and prices? We have no idea where you are, so prices will vary.

You say it's junk, but you don't know what they install because you haven't called. The yellow pages are your friend for this stuff. Seriously.

Yuck.

Buy a nice new car and start hacking it to install aftermarket junk.

Not for me...

Yes, because I want to spend 2-3 times more at the dealer. Even at the dealer, they "start hacking it" to install many add-ons, such as a car starter or alarm. Car doesn't come that way from the factory.

Hey, it is your car. Hack away!

Yup! and potentially void a warranty.
Really, how much could you be saving ?

2-3 times the cost from what he says.

everything ive seen for remote starters the price is less equipment and more labor. the number of wires they have to cut, then factory antitheft (my car has chip in key)

Directed Electronics (Viper) basically wrote the book on transponder key bypass modules. Don't let that part worry you about a remote start for the Subie.

A remote start on a manual trans car can be done safely by simply using a switch that is closed only when the stick is in neutral. Most are too lazy to fabricate the mount but I did it 20 years ago.

A simple alarm in the Ranger should be pretty cheap, esp if you get it all done at the same shop. Installs don't get much simpler than that one. If they sell Hornet (another DEI brand) it'll be even cheaper.

Have the unit installed by a place that has done a lot of them. Installation, not hardware, is what makes or breaks this kind of product.

For the Subaru, I got a quote for $450 for a Code Alarm 6552SST installed with lifetime warranty. They said the one I linked to in this thread would be $250 for the labor, but if something goes wrong, then there's no warranty.

Aftermarket add-on remotes starters, alarms, etc are the absolute worst possible investment you can make. They will, not may, cause future problems that become virtually impossible to rectify since they are not part of the original engineering and assembly, and repair information and parts will become non-existent in short order.

I'm speaking from many years of experience, and have no axe to grind, other than telling you they are not a wise idea at all.

one car i bought had a starter, professionally installed by a previous owner, when it started going on the blink and cranking the car even when the engine was running i went to price getting it removed... removal cost more than installation

This would have a lifetime warranty if there are any issues.

On the unit, not any BS it causes to the vehicle. Read the fine print, son. Just like this...

That's why I said installation, not the equipment, is the key. Jim Bob who slaps it in with some vampire taps is just asking for problems down the road.

If I could find the alarm remote, the starter I put on the 1989 Toyota Supra in 1992 would crank the car just fine today. They're not rocket science. They apply power to 2-3 circuits and the starter wire for a few seconds. That's it. They don't even need a tach wire anymore.

The car is destined for an engine swap (LSx maybe) and I expect to keep the remote start unit.

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