# How common are remote starters on cars? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 29, 2013, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-common-are-remote-starters-on-cars/672595 "2013-10-29T22:08:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2013, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-common-are-remote-starters-on-cars/672595/41 "2013-10-31T04:37:11Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > When it’s -35 C, it’s not a waste of energy. :eek: I agree. The car has to warm up anyway when it’s that cold; so you can remote-start it, and get your coat and shoes and other winter gear on (three to five minutes), and get into a warm car with an engine that’s ready to go. Or you can sit there, in the cold driver’s seat, for the same three to five minutes, before the engine is ready. Either way, you’re going to have the engine running for three to five minutes before you go anywhere. I find that starting the car from inside the house, getting ready to go out, and being able to go when I get in the car is the most efficient use of my time. ---
**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2013, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-common-are-remote-starters-on-cars/672595/42 "2013-10-31T13:22:10Z")
> [@Wesley\_Clark](#): > > I looked into it, about the cheapest I could get a combo starter/install done was $300. The average car in the US is 11 years old also, so for a lot of people $300 (minimum) is not worth spending. > > I think there is something like 250 million cars in this country, and only about 14 million new ones sold every year. The vast majority of people don’t have remote starters. South of a line that runs thru Chicago and Boston you won’t find a lot of people with remote start because the cost to benefit ratio isn’t really that good. I paid about $300 for the one I had and maybe used 30 times one winter; that comes out to $10 a start. :eek: Granted had I been able to keep the car longer I would have made out better but still it would have taken me 10 years just to get it down to $1 a start. Many times I just started the car because I could; didn’t really need to do it but then why not? North of here and into upstate New York, thru the Michingan UP and over into Wisconsin it gets damn cold and makes more sense to have a remote start. Atlanta? Only wussies have remote starters in Atlanta. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2013, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-common-are-remote-starters-on-cars/672595/43 "2013-10-31T14:08:33Z")
> [@pkbites](#): > > I usually have my cars rigged so I can press the remote, and/or the lock button on the door 3 times and the car will stay running after I pull the key out. When it’s 15F out getting into a toasty car is worth any extra gas that’s burned! I think you confused us by asking about remote starters, when what you were really talking about was a remote keep-running-er. ---
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2013, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-common-are-remote-starters-on-cars/672595/44 "2013-10-31T14:34:38Z")
> [@Si\_Amigo](#): > > North of here and into upstate New York, thru the Michingan UP and over into Wisconsin it gets damn cold and makes more sense to have a remote start. Atlanta? Only wussies have remote starters in Atlanta. 😃 I used my remote start summer and winter in NYC- I left the AC/heat on when I turned off the car, and the remote start meant that I didn’t get into either a freezing or sweltering car. ---
**Author:** ![SmellMyWort](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea5d25/32.png) [@SmellMyWort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmellMyWort)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2013, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-common-are-remote-starters-on-cars/672595/45 "2013-10-31T14:46:42Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > I think you confused us by asking about remote starters, when what you were really talking about was a remote keep-running-er. And it’s not like you even need a remote. Just carry two keys leave one in the ignition with the car running and use the other to lock the doors. Yeah, someone could break in and steal your running car, but one can be smart enough not to do this where that’s likely to happen. Both my cars have keyless ignition so I don’t even need two keys. I can just leave it running and lock the car with the remote. If someone stole it as soon as they turned the car off they’d be stuck. ---
**Author:** ![Mallard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Mallard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mallard)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2013, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-common-are-remote-starters-on-cars/672595/46 "2013-10-31T15:13:27Z")
> [@SmellMyWort](#): > > And it’s not like you even need a remote. Just carry two keys leave one in the ignition with the car running and use the other to lock the doors. Yeah, someone could break in and steal your running car, but one can be smart enough not to do this where that’s likely to happen. Both my cars have keyless ignition so I don’t even need two keys. I can just leave it running and lock the car with the remote. If someone stole it as soon as they turned the car off they’d be stuck. Starting your car and leaving a key in it is always a risk for theft, locked or not. Starting your car with no key is zero risk. Most remote car starters shut off if you step on the brake pedal, even if some did smash the steering column to try to drive away with it. ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2013, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-common-are-remote-starters-on-cars/672595/47 "2013-10-31T16:24:19Z")
> [@SmellMyWort](#): > > And it’s not like you even need a remote. Just carry two keys leave one in the ignition with the car running and use the other to lock the doors. Yeah, someone could break in and steal your running car, but one can be smart enough not to do this where that’s likely to happen. Both my cars have keyless ignition so I don’t even need two keys. I can just leave it running and lock the car with the remote. If someone stole it as soon as they turned the car off they’d be stuck. And how do I start my car from my house on a cold winter day? Remote starters rock. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2013, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-common-are-remote-starters-on-cars/672595/48 "2013-10-31T16:26:51Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > When it’s -35 C, it’s not a waste of energy. :eek: Well, like I said, I’m in Chicago. It never gets cold enough here (to me) for it to matter. At -35C, sure, I’ll sing a different tune. Of course, if I had it my way, my house thermostat would be set at 58F or even less during the winter. ---
**Author:** ![SmellMyWort](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea5d25/32.png) [@SmellMyWort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmellMyWort)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2013, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-common-are-remote-starters-on-cars/672595/49 "2013-10-31T16:44:18Z")
> [@pkbites](#): > > And how do I start my car from my house on a cold winter day? > > Remote starters rock. I’m not saying they don’t. I would think about getting one but I have a garage and my office is far enough away from the parking lot that I think it would be out of range. The post I replied to had to do with leaving the car running while running into a store or something. ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2013, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-common-are-remote-starters-on-cars/672595/50 "2013-10-31T18:58:47Z")
> [@SmellMyWort](#): > > but I have a garage Yeah, me too. A two car garage but I own 3 cars. And I’m not parking a Jaguar on the street in the wintertime. So if both my wife and I need to go places, one of us is going to have to take a vehicle that was parked outside. ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2013, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-common-are-remote-starters-on-cars/672595/51 "2013-10-31T21:15:49Z")
> [@Si\_Amigo](#): > > …I paid about $300 for the one I had and maybe used 30 times one winter; that comes out to $10 a start. :eek: Granted had I been able to keep the car longer I would have made out better but still it would have taken me 10 years just to get it down to $1 a start. Many times I just started the car because I could; didn’t really need to do it but then why not? Wow that totally justifies the OP’s use of the remote starter. Needing to get that cost per start down, really outrageous at $10 per start, I don’t recall any time I would actually pay that much for that service, now getting that below the $1/start and you have a deal. ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2013, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-common-are-remote-starters-on-cars/672595/52 "2013-10-31T22:47:19Z")
> [@kanicbird](#): > > Wow that totally justifies the OP’s use of the remote starter. Needing to get that cost per start down, really outrageous at $10 per start, I don’t recall any time I would actually pay that much for that service, now getting that below the $1/start and you have a deal. I use my remote starter every time I drive, even if I don’t warm/cool the car. While I’m walking towards it I start the car and unlock it. that way I can jump in and take off immediately. It’s not necessary but it’s how I like it. A decent remote starter can be bought for about $60. But like I mentioned before the security on cars now days is so advanced that it’s extremely difficult to install one yourself. On a Jeep I had to install this black box inside/under the dash, and then get another electronic key ($85!) that went inside the box. This was just to bypass the security. You ever take an entire dash off a Jeep? If it’s an older car it’s not so bad. But anytime I get a new car I no longer install the remote starter myself. it’s either factory installed or I go to Ziebart. They did a pretty good job on my Mustang GT. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2013, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-common-are-remote-starters-on-cars/672595/53 "2013-11-01T00:10:27Z")
No, they are really not yet universal, but they seem to be on the way up – have found remote starters on more of my rentals lately. OTOH it’s probably more the whole deal of leaving the car running or giving it a very long head start that puzzles some people, many of them will think of it out of their own habit and expectation as something you’d use well in advance in freezing cold temperatures and otherwise just right before getting in the car. And the retrofit is too much of a PITA for many drivers. Never owned a car with that device, though the one I drive now came with a feature that opens remotely all the windows and sunroof, so as to allow some preventilation if the car has been sitting in the sun (which where I live is more relevant). ---
**Author:** ![Bear\_Nenno](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bear_nenno/32/3358_2.png) [@Bear\_Nenno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bear_Nenno)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2013, 7:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-common-are-remote-starters-on-cars/672595/54 "2013-11-01T07:04:21Z")
> [@pkbites](#): > > You’re in Georgia? let me tell you, a February day near the lake in Milwaukee can be freaking cold! Dante’s inferno cold! Even a few minutes with the heat off can cool down the interior quite quickly. > > I usually have my cars rigged so I can press the remote, and/or the lock button on the door 3 times and the car will stay running after I pull the key out. When it’s 15F out getting into a toasty car is worth any extra gas that’s burned! This is going to be valuable information for me in a couple months! Thanks. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-common-are-remote-starters-on-cars/672595.md?page=2)