Remote starter on a Sonata?

I've been doing a little research for an upcoming car purchase. Last night
I looked at Hyundai for the first time. It has an impressive list of
standard features and seems to be a good value. One option not offered is a
remote starter. I hate to take a brand new car to some hack to have an
aftermarket starter installed. Has anyone done this? Has a dealer done
this?

Price seems to vary from $150 on a Lacrosse to $495 on a Camry as an option.
It gets cold here and would be a nice accessory.
Ed

 

Hey Ed:

Here in Syracuse there is a place called Thruway Auto Glass that does the
best job in this area at installing remote starters. I had one installed on
a Malibu for my wife and when I bought her the Hyundai, I inquired about
moving the remote over to it. They responded that they loved installing
them in Hyundai's as it was such a clean install. I bought a good unit and
it seems to me I paid around $300 for it. Definitely not a hack job - a
very professional install.

 

That's encouraging, Mike. With the growing complexity of electronics in cars
today, it can be difficult to do a good job. I understand the independents
won't do certain models.

 

Ed, I put a remote starter in myself in our '02 Elantra. It took me
about 8 hours and cost me what was left of my hair at the time. But it
worked great, and I never had a problem with it. I think I paid around
$100 for the unit.

The next year my Mother purchased a Subaru. The dealer offered a
starter, but she passed on it. Then for her birthday I bought one for
her including installation. While the installer near me did a great
job, the starter itself developed "issues" when the temp. dropped below
about 30F. It caused other, unrelated electrical problems with the car
that the dealer refused to cover under warranty because of the starter.
The installer would not cover the problem directly because it was caused
by a bad solder joint on the board in the starter. And the manufacturer
said we had passed the 90-day warranty, so we could not get a new
control unit.

Long story short, I can understand you wanting one for the climate where
you live, but here in NJ I think they probably aren't worth the
headache.

My personal advice to find a good installer would be to see if you can
find a local audio installer with a good reputation. Stay away from
Best Buy or Circuit City. I have never used either personally, but I
have heard enough horror stories to equate them with Jiffy Lube.

Eric

 

When the times comes, I'm going to ask the dealer first. Even if I pay a
little premium, it should (hopefully) resolve any issues of who is
responsible.

I'm not going to do it myself because I have very little hair left, and I'm
not built to be able to crawl around under a dashboard easily.

 

Hey Ed,

It's not a Sonata, but I had the same concerns when I bought my Tucson.
My dealer installed a Valet remote start with keyless & rear defroster
activation for $295 (unit + installation) before sales tax. It works
great, and makes Buffalo winters a little more tolerable.

As for the Sonata, I drove one for a weekend test drive and was greatly
impressed. If I had been looking for a sedan, that would have been my
choice, but I was already pretty much sold on the Tucson. Again, Buffalo
winters...

Greg

 

Thanks, Both you and Mike have had good luck with the starter so I'm
confident. I bought a Sonata on Saturday. To finalize the deal, the dealer
said he'd put the starter in. I don't know what model it will be. They
take many cars to a shop local to them so they are experienced with Hyundai.

Long story short, the Buick was acting up again so I headed to the dealer.
Right now, the 2.9% finance is a good deal. I passed through this dealer's
lot last week and a silver blue Limited caught my eye. I should be picking
it up Tuesday. Those cold winter mornings will be a bit warmer now. Same
with leaving work in the PM.