Been pondering adding remote start to my TL for some time now. It's quite cold here and remote start would be a welcome addition. I want to get the top of the line Python 881xp / Viper 791xv.

I got quotes from a few places like Car Tunes, Ameristar and the like. But the best price I got installed was from Circuit City.

Anyone ever get one installed from CC or BB? Should I trust the installers there vs. a custom shop? Are there questions I should be asking before I let them tear apart my car? I am leary about their installers, but the other shops are much more ($100+). CC / BB claim to have professional certified installers. But still. Just wanted to get your opinions.

Thanks in Advance.

 

Anubus12, I thought this to be an opportune time to share with you an experience that one of my friends had at Best Buy. A couple years ago, as a Christmas present, a friend of my friend purchased, from the local Best Buy, a new headunit for her 99 civic. A few days later my friend made an appointment to have the headunit installed. She left the car there that morning and told them she would come by later in the day to pick her car up. About noon that day, she received a call that something had gone wrong during the install. Apparently one of the "kid" installers used the wrong key in her ignition and ended up snapping the key off inside the ignition. Wanting to sweep this incident under the rug, the manager told my friend that he used to work at a car shop and he would replace the ignition for free, which he did. But, as a result, my friend ended up with two keys for her car, one key to open the doors and one key to start the car

I prefer to take my car to installers that have trained and certified technicians. Yes, you may pay a little more up front, but I can assure you it is worth the extra money not to have to worry about some kid with minimal experience possibly screwing up your car. In addition, if you have concerns about the place you intend to take your car to, it only takes a few minutes to look them up in the Better Business Bureau, they are a good source of information on the business practices of local establishments. Good luck on your install

 

I have seen best buy installers goof a radio install so bad that it set fire to the car. Dont let them touch your car!

 

I work at circuit city as an installer. Some locations have knowledgeable installers, others dont... Yuo really have to find someone that had something done at the location near you and find out what kind of job they do.

 

I can't agree with tbone more. I know that some Circuit Citys and Best Buys have very inexperienced installers that really should not be doing a complicated car like the TL, but others have lots of experience and I would trust them as much as anyone else.

Personally, I prefer to do everything myself, but after putting in two different remote start/alarms on my car, I've had enough!!

 

Thanks for the input. The one I am thinking about taking my TL to claims that the manager has 12+ years of installation experience and claims to have done TL's before. The manager will actually be doing my install. Do you think that I should just take his word for it and is that sufficient experience? He did make a comment that the Acuras are very much like Hondas when it comes to installation of alarms and such. Makes me kinda nervous that he's done lots of Hondas but not many Acuras. Anything I should ask to make sure?

 

Dont ever let circuit city or best buy touch your car to do anything. I have seen some of the worst wiring ever done buy those places. Go to a stereo car shop and have them do it.

 

Hondas and Acuras aren't just similar when it comes to alarm/remote start installs, they are EXACTLY the same. I did my car (Acura TL 2005) and my friend's car (Honda Accord 2005), and the install was virtually identical.

 

Unless you are going to watch him put the alarm in the car, i would not trust that he is doing it himself. most managers just say shit like that to get business the door. also honda's and acura's are identical right down to wire colors

 

Is it a major tear up to the car to install the remote start / alarm? What actually will be done?

 

they will need to tie into the ignition wires(usually 4 of them) then depending on what else is required possibly 5-10 more wires need to be cut into

 

If they use a bypasskit from http://www.bypasskit.com, they can seriously cut down on wires and make less of a mess. It'll cost them an extra $50, but it's so worth it. Cuts down on time of install and complexity.