Remote car starters are a new necessity for keeping warm in cold weather

No one really likes getting into an icebox, also known as the car in the wintertime. As the temperature outside decreases, the demand for remote car starters increases. Once installed, the radio-controlled device can preheat a vehicle by the touch of a button, allowing the driver to enter into a toasty-warm car.

According to Vic Perri, owner of Tronix Autosports, located on Route 9 in Barnegat, installations for a remote starter, which is wired to the car’s electrical system to simulate the act of turning the key in the ignition, started to become popular nearly 10 years ago. Perri said he installs many remote starters for local car dealerships that package the systems into their financing.

Photo by Jack Reynolds
Tronix Autosports in Barnegat installs Avital Remote
Start Systems to help keep commuters warm. 

“As the weather gets colder, everybody kind of panics and wants one right away,” he said. “If the defrosters were left on the night before after a snowstorm, you could potentially defrost the snow off your car without having to clean it off,” he added.

Although the local shop owner said customers begin to request installations for a remote starter when temperatures begin to drop around October, he said he usually receives so many calls in December that he has to hire someone just to answer the phone and set up appointments.

“They’re a huge Christmas gift,” he emphasized. “Customers come in, they buy a Christmas gift for their wife or husband, and they get a gift certificate that’s valid for one remote start installed in a specific vehicle. It goes into a remote start gift box, and we give it to them so they can wrap it up and put it underneath the tree. When the recipient opens the gift, they get to make the appointment to get it done.”

Tronix staff installed about 100 remote starters and sold nearly 200 gift cards for future installations prior to Christmas this year. Installations take between two and three hours to complete.

“Generally they get wired in right underneath the dashboard. The car gets put back together, and you never know we were even in there,” Perri explained.

Although the systems can be installed in new and older cars, Tronix staff will not install them in manual transmissions due to “safety purposes.”

“The vehicle can actually try to start three times with a remote start, so if it’s left in gear, and the car lurches forward, you run the potential of damaging property or God forbid a person. It’s not worth the insurance liability,” Perri said.

There are many different remote starters available on the market. Tronix installs Avital Remote Start Systems. Installations come with a lifetime warranty and a key fob, allowing the driver to start the vehicle up to 1,000 feet away.

“If you park the car far away from your job, or if you live in an apartment complex or condos, you have about a 1,000-foot range to reach the car to start it. Your average person that lives at home with a car in the driveway is only about 100 feet away,” Perri explained.

Customers also have the option to start or lock and unlock the car via a smartphone app called Viper SmartStart.

“Essentially, with the app on your smartphone, you’re really just calling your car, and you’re controlling the car through cell service,” said Perri. “The nice thing about having it built into your cellphone is if you lock the keys in your car, you always have your cellphone on you,” he added.

Perri suggests having a remote starter professionally installed rather than purchasing a do-it-yourself kit because many vehicles require extra parts.

For more information, contact Tronix at 609-607-8882.

— Kelley Anne Essinger

This article was published in The SandPaper.