DIY Remote Starters

[PGH04ZR5]

I got an Ad in my email from Styling Trucks and saw they have a sale on a DIY starter kit. I have never attempted a starter install due to fear of complexity but this one has caught my interest.

Anyone have any background on this brand or experience with a DIY starter install?

http://www.stylintrucks.com/part.aspx?p ... tid=736792

[AZS10Crew]

I got one similar to that from Napa for $80 a couple years ago to put on my wife's 2003 (maybe) Malibu. It was kind of a pain in the butt. What's usually included in the kit is the module for controlling the remote start and a couple remotes and that's it. What most of the kits usually don't tell you is the other items you'll typically need to defeat the anti-theft system that is vehicle-specific and never included with the kit. For my wife's Malibu I had to get an additional potentiometer-type module which had to be wired into the ignition system to emulate the resistance provided by having a key in the ignition. The additional part also required additional money...around $75 I think.

Also...for the majority of vehicles, the module also is not "plug-and-play" with the factory power lock and trunk actuators. In my case, I had to download some wiring diagrams from the kit manufacturer's site which showed me how to build a couple relays which allowed the kit remotes to activate the power locks and trunk. Again...kind of a pain in the butt.

So with all the extra parts it came to around $200, 2 cases of beer for a friend of mine to help me, and about 8 hours total time screwing around installing the extra parts and building and installing relays. There's a local shop in my town that does remote start installs for about $300. Thinking back, I would have gone to them in a second had I known all the issues that would come up.

[PGH04ZR5]

Thats exactly what I am in the middle of, does the price warrant doing the project myself or having a shop install it. I have researched a few different brands and although i have heard bad things about the Alert brand linked above, they do off the T-Harness for our vehicles, which not is not plug and play but they do say eases the connections of several factory harness lines, leaving items like door locks and extras to wire in as well as sell the theft bypass boxes.

The bulldog site does offer vehicle specific wire diagrams which I can only image useful. I stopped by a local shop today for a quote for our trucks, they have starters for $129 installed. 97+ chevy's need the theft bypass box, +$59.99 and for new keys FOB w/ keyless entry, $30+ bringing the total to $229 ish.

I'm basicly wieghting the options to see how much my time and headache is worth....

[AZS10Crew]

$229ish to drop it off and pick it up later with a fully-functioning remote start with everything working correctly and someone else to take care of any problems that might arise later? SOLD!