Do you really enjoy stepping out of the house on one of those terribly cold, frosty or even snowy mornings when it’s barely light enough to get into your vehicle and then you have to wait for it to warm up for several few minutes until you don’t feel as frozen as an icicle? No, of course you don’t; nobody enjoys that. No wonder then that aftermarket remote starters are so popular. But, like it or not, we advise you to consider a few things before you rush out or go online to purchase one…

How far away can you be when you use a remote starter?

It all depends on the range of the device itself. Each one has a specific range, which you should be aware of before you purchase it; they usually vary between 500 and 5,000 feet. What does that relate to in terms of the distance between, say, your bedroom in your home and where the car’s parked in your garage or beside the road outside your front door? Well, should you be lucky enough for your car to be parked that close regularly, then it’s likely you’ll need a remote starter with no more than a 500-foot range. However, if your car’s usually parked beneath your flat or apartment in an underground garage, for instance, then you’ll probably need a device with the highest range available.

car-alarm

Can remote starters damage your car?

This is a myth – so long as your device is of reliable, high quality and it’s been properly installed (for example, with just as much care and attention taken here as you’d take for a car alarm installation). Sure, there are one or two instances of a vehicle having stopped running or even having caught fire due to remote starters but this has pretty much always been due to the thing having not been carefully and sensibly installed – and probably too because the devices concerned have been unreliable owing to low quality.

Don’t skimp on installation

As noted above, installation is all-important when it comes to remote starters – as it is for any aftermarket product (like, say, any bits of car audio kit). To that end, we’d certainly suggest calling on the services of a professional for this work. The reality is that, as electronics and digital technology has found its way into vehicles to ever increasing degrees, it’s also made the installation of these different gadgets more complex; if you don’t really know what you’re doing, it’s by far and a way best not to attempt it and get in someone who does – which, naturally, may not mean the cheapest option either!

Will a remote starter void your warranty?

In a word; no. The law’s on your side here, don’t worry. Indeed, should you add any aftermarket product to your vehicle, it ought to be covered in your warranty; none should void it, should the worst happen – that is, unless perhaps the specific product has been noted to cause problems and failures in the past.

What else can a remote heater do?

A good question to finish on, this one, because many go way beyond merely starting your car’s engine on a cold morning. For instance, some are capable too of activating a vehicle’s rear window defrost, others of heating seats, others of enabling keyless entry and others still, well, they’re capable of doing all three of things. Needless to say, to get these ‘add-ons’ as well as the standard remote-start functionality, you’ll have to pay more for the specific piece of kit. Most importantly, though, be sure you get the right device for your car.