Do you have a remote start for your car?

[MIGrandma]

My car has a 2-way starter built in and we love that feature.

We do have a garage so I don't use it often at home, but in the winter months when I'm in the check-out lane at the store it's nice to be able to remote start it and have it a little warm when I get out to the car. For some reason I don't think to use it in the summer though.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

We have no use for such a thing here. Do you not have garages everywhere else?

I used to chuckle at all the high end cars is see on the road with 8" of snow on the roof because they'd been parked outside. Porche's, 7 series BMW's, etc. I wasn't sure if they spent all their $ on the car or if they're like my neighbor - 2 car garage & a 30x50 shop, but all his cars are parked outside because he has too much other crap


As for us, 2-car garage, 3 "cars".

 

[JanaDee]

No, we don't have remote starters on any of our cars. I don't see the point of them.

 

[crz4mm2]

I don't but wish I did. Every other car I have owned for the past several years had one, but this one does not. I would have it added on, but it is expensive.

 

[aprilgail2]

We have no use for such a thing here. Do you not have garages everywhere else?

Nope- we used to but converted it into a large bedroom. Not many people here use or have a garage- some converted it to living space, many have made it into a "man cave". All the garages in my area are one car garages anyway so while most people have 3+ cars a one car garage doesn't make much difference anyway.

 

[LBIJim]

I have a 1 way remote starter but rarely use it. Maybe half a dozen times per winter on exceptionally cold days.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

We have no use for such a thing here. Do you not have garages everywhere else?

Not all cars are in the garage all the time. Sometimes they are in the driveway for whatever reason.

When it is snowing and icing you HAVE TO start your car and let it run and then scrape off the ice/snow.

In addition it is not good for the car to not allow a little warm up before driving when it is below zero out.

That being said, I have never had a car that had a remote starter.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

No, we don't have remote starters on any of our cars. I don't see the point of them.

Comes in handy on a hot day at Disney, or the grocery store for that matter. One os those conveniences you don't think about until you have it

 

[JanaDee]

Comes in handy on a hot day at Disney, or the grocery store for that matter. One os those conveniences you don't think about until you have it

We don't drive to Disney. At the grocery store, that is what the windows are for.

 

[kamik86]

I don't have one but I understand why alot of people like them.

My car is in an attached garage that is part of the basement... it stays around 50 degrees down there just from the furnace being in the basement... So its not so cold that the remote start is good (plus if I started the car in the garage that would be dangerous the CO2 would build up in the garage and head into the basement.

The parking lot at work is too far from the building (Up about 1.5 stories and out a ways. So I wouldn't want to start my car when it was there... Same with my husbands work he works retaili so that would mean his car out in the parking lot would be on unattended. Just doesn't seem like a good idea when in such a public place and so far away. So for us its just not worth it.

Maybe if we get a second car as the garage is only big enough for one... but not yet.

My mom had one. the auto starter was awesome. The car alarm that came with it was awful. It was set off so many times but us because it did stupid things. If the car wasn't locked the alarm would still be on. So if you walk up and open the door it goes off. If you unlock the car the alarm would go off, but only for a short time, take too long because you realized you forgot something... Opening the door will set off the alarm.

Did you get in your car, not start it, and then make a phone call? If you open the door... Or even the glove compartment. The alarm will go off again.

Did you turn off your car and sit there too long? Again the alarm is going to go off.

Yeah we hated that thing.

 

[Squirlz]

My Cadillac would have had one from the factory, but I chose the manual transmission which deletes it. There have been a few times when that feature would have been nice but the cars spend most of their time in the heated garage.

 

[ashleysev]

I do not. You can get a ticket in Colorado for leaving a running car unattended.

 

[SydSim]

We have no use for such a thing here. Do you not have garages everywhere else?

No, we do not have garages everywhere else. Did you really think that every home in the country/world comes with a garage?

 

[Gumbo4x4]

We don't drive to Disney. At the grocery store, that is what the windows are for.

Wasn't something I thought I'd ever need either

 

[TAX GUY]

We've had them in other cars. I do have one in my truck but NO remote for it. I bought the truck used (private party) and the remote for the starter was lost. I can get another one and have it programed but for the few times I drive it, I can run out to start it myself. Our other cars, the daily drivers, are parked in our attached garage. At work, we both work in smaller offices and can easily run out to start them if needed. Also, on both of cars (an Acura MDX and a Saab 9-3) we have the ability to open the windows and sunroofs without being IN the car. We can hold the "unlock" button on the FOB and the windows will open (this is useful on those HOT days letting the heat escape before getting in).

 

[SkaGoat]

something seems a little off, presumably you drive a hybrid to save on fuel, but then you use a device that wastes fuel, and harms the environment by idling a cold car unattended.

I live in Southern Ontario, we don't have the coldest winters in the country, we do see -40 often enough, but we do get a lot lake effect snow. I almost never idle any of my vehicles any longer than it takes to clear the snow off. I brush all of the snow off my vehicle as it's dangerous not to, and no amount of letting the car warm up will clear it for me. As far as ice on the windows? that's what you ice scraper is for, and I can clear the ice off all the windows of my CUV in about 3 minutes, much much much shorter of a time than it would take the vehicle to warm up enough to melt the ice while sitting in the driveway.

People who use remote starters, and just let them idle in their driveways while they sit inside are wasteful, and harming the environment. There is no need to use them besides laziness.

from http://www.wheels.ca/news/should-you-warm-up-your-car-before-driving-it/

With newer cars, the only reason to let the car idle is to get the oil circulating, but after 30 seconds that’s taken care of. Idle any longer than that, and you’re just wasting fuel and adding to greenhouse gases.

idling forces an engine “to operate in a very inefficient and gasoline-rich mode that, over time, can degrade the engine’s performance and reduce mileage.”

Even on the coldest days, you need not idle any longer than 30 seconds before driving away

 

[kamik86]

something seems a little off, presumably you drive a hybrid to save on fuel, but then you use a device that wastes fuel, and harms the environment by idling a cold car unattended.

I live in Southern Ontario, we don't have the coldest winters in the country, we do see -40 often enough, but we do get a lot lake effect snow. I almost never idle any of my vehicles any longer than it takes to clear the snow off. I brush all of the snow off my vehicle as it's dangerous not to, and no amount of letting the car warm up will clear it for me. As far as ice on the windows? that's what you ice scraper is for, and I can clear the ice off all the windows of my CUV in about 3 minutes, much much much shorter of a time than it would take the vehicle to warm up enough to melt the ice while sitting in the driveway.

People who use remote starters, and just let them idle in their driveways while they sit inside are wasteful, and harming the environment. There is no need to use them besides laziness.

from http://www.wheels.ca/news/should-you-warm-up-your-car-before-driving-it/

I have only once had to let a car sit long enough to melt the ice and not use a scraper... and it sucked. I was in Washington state in winter and my rental car didn't come with an ice scraper. It was a Washington state car too... made no sense.

The next week I was in Albuquerque and my car with New Mexico plates had an ice scraper in it... It was 70 degrees out!

 

[robinb]

People who use remote starters, and just let them idle in their driveways while they sit inside are wasteful, and harming the environment. There is no need to use them besides laziness.

So what's your point ?

You Canadians are a hearty bunch. I do not like riding in a car that is really cold. Especially when it's -40 (and yes, Wisconsin winters do get that cold). Our winter mornings are routinely below 0 Fahrenheit. I prefer to warm the inside of my car up in advance and to run the defroster so I spend less time outside scraping. If that makes me lazy and uses a tiny amount of gas for 10-15 minutes, so be it.

ETA: We brought the car into the shop to have the starter installed and went with the one-way remotes.

 

[SkaGoat]

If that makes me lazy and uses a tiny amount of gas for 10-15 minutes, so be it.

it's not a tiny amount, it can be up to $200 a year spent on idling, and that's not counting the environmental impact of all those cars needlessly idling.

 

[Tuffcookie]

I had a 1-way remote installed in my former car. When it came time to get the new car, there was no way I was going to be without it! I had the dealer install it before I picked the car up. I also have heated seats. It makes it a little easier to face winter!

TC