I purchased this unit for my mother's vehicle for her birthday. I'm an Electrical Engineer and I can tell you that if you don't have electronics experience just take your car in and have this installed by someone else. You will need extra equipment. Older cars that don't require the bypass kit (791 or other) aren't on the road much anymore so plan on buying one! Also you will require automotive relays (775). Count on at least 4 (1 for the trunk release, two for power locks, one for domelight supervision). Also buy some spare wire at your autoparts store. Some nice stranded 12 guage saved my hide more than once.
Finally look at bulldog's website. They have wonderful step by step instructions for many models of cars. The wire coloring was a little wierd in my vehicle resulting in a little extra work with a multimeter. This will help you decide if you really want to undertake this! My car was probably the most difficult to install this on since the 2002 Malibu dash is all one piece! If you have a vehicle where the under panel comes out easily you'll have a much easier time installing a remote starter!
All in all the unit works. I couldn't mount the antenna on the windshield and I still get a good 100' line of site. I can start the vehicle inside in the summer and winter to get the car ready before I go out.
You'll get the most use out of this unit if your car has power locks and a power trunk release, but you didn't get a remote keyless entry system. If I still had my old 91 Acclaim I would slap this on in a heartbeat!
Tech support was quite helpful. I can tell you that they do reply to email and phone messages, just sometimes not the same day. If you are in a rush again have this professionally installed! If you're a mechanic who can take the time (not your primary vehicle / can bum a ride for a couple of days) then go for it!
Okay, after having read some other reviews here, I need to comment. I have installed 3 Deluxe 500 units and several other models of Bulldog starters on my own vehicles. I have used Bulldog starters on my vehicles for 10 years. I am confident in saying that the Deluxe 500 is better than any other remote starter on the market. However:
- if you are not electrically/electronically savvy, don't purchase this
- don't purchase and expect your local shop to install it
- don't purchase and expect your buddy to install it
- depending on your vehicle, for 1st time installers, anticipate at least 16 hours to fully install the unit and program all options
- the remotes can die after a few years, keep an extra on hand
- get the T-harness
- research and be sure to get any additional relays and security bypass units needed for you vehicle as prescribed on the Bulldog website
- solder connections as prescribed in the instructions, don't use crimp connectors
- recommend having the shop manual with wiring diagrams available for your vehicle, wiring harness colors don't always match between the Bulldog documentation as car manufacturers can change their wiring scheme within a specific make/model/year
- don't expect tech support to bail you out
Having said all this, I work in an office with 12 other people that have remote starters. My Deluxe 500 is the only unit that will start my vehicle without walking out the parking lot. The unit is fully two-way, many starters claim to be two-way, but don't fully communicate to you when they are in range and when the vehicle has successfully started. The remote is labeled by function with images. Competing products often have remotes with buttons labeled "1", "2", "3", etc which means you have to memorize the functions for each operation.
Finally, I have had several other brands of remote starters in used cars that I have purchased. Without exception, I have ended up pulling those units out and replacing them with Bulldog units.
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