In light of our recent announcement to discontinue the Astrostart line in our store, We wanted to take a minute to reassure all of our old customers.  While we will no longer be a stocking dealer for the line, we will continue to support any existing customers with warranty and non warranty issues.
Astrostart has made a commitment to us to continue to supply us with replacement parts and to honor our warranty claims.  I see no reason to believe that they will change their mind.
Astrostart was a tremendous company for many years.  They built the very best remote car starters made.  Their recent acquisition caused them to change many of their vendor policies making it much more difficult for us to do business with them.  In addition to this, they have made some changes to the product line that do not coincide with our desire to offer our customers the very best quality remote car starters.
As happens in any business, we have made a difficult decision to separate from a vendor that has treated us well for many years.  It was always our intention to make sure that all of our previous customers would be supported and taken care of.  I am confident that we will be able to see this through.
If anyone has any questions about this, either call the store at 802-527-1220 or email us at sales@yipesnorth.com.

We sell A LOT of remote car starters.  Sometimes it seems like I should just rename the store “Car Starters Are Us” during the colder months!  We talk to thousands of customers every year.  One of the most common comments that we hear is “I park right outside my home and work.  I don’t need much range!”  Lets take a loot at that.

The transmitters that we sell start out at 500 feet of range and go all the way up to 1 mile.   I know what you are thinking: “500 feet is plenty!”  Well, maybe it is when you are at work or home, but I would bet you go other places.   How about the mall at Christmas time or a sporting event.  What about the county fair or the the airport on the way back from a trip? I’d bet that you need to park considerably further  away than 500 feet in these situations.  I’d also bet that you still want to get into a warm car (or a cool one in the Summer).

Another aspect of range that people usually overlook is penetration.  When a manufacturer states a range, it is a perfect world distance.  If the car is 500 feet away from the user in the middle of a field with no overhead powerlines or walls to go through, the car will start.  How often does that happen?  Truth is, most of the time, you are starting your vehicle from inside of a building.  The transmitter must penetrate glass, concrete, wood, siding, etc.  All of these things will seriously diminish a transmitters effective range.  Fluorescent lights,  motors, computers, AC units and medical equipment will also have a negative effect on range.  Your 500 feet quickly becomes 100-300 feet!  In the case of a 3,000 foot transmitter, these interfering factors will still leave you with plenty of range to start your car from well over 500 feet away (if not much more than that).  As you can see, having greater “perfect world” range helps ensure that your car will start in most cases.

Take a look at similar models that we sell.  The less expensive model does 500 feet.  The more expensive model does 2500 feet.  The cost difference is $50.  You decide.

The bottom line is this:  When buying a remote car starter, consider all of the information above.  It usually does not cost a lot to upgrade to a longer range unit.  The remote car starters that we sell are extremely reliable, but they will only do their job if the signal gets to your car.  With longer range units you are much more likely to never have to get into a cold vehicle.

(Note:  As with any wireless service or transmission, it is impossible to guarantee specific distances. Different circumstances can have a dramatic effect on range.  The ranges listed above are for illustration purposes only and not meant as a guarantee of service)

There are hundreds of brands of remote starters out there. Which one do you chose. Do you get the least expensive. or is it really worth it to spend the money on the most expensive one. For most remote starts they start there life as a car alarm then get a remote start as an added feature, unfortnetly a remote start is far more complex than a car alarm, so you want to look for a system that started out as a remote start and if you need an alarm you can add it. Also look for the features of the remote start, will it function with multiple aspects

KNOW YOUR WARRANTY RIGHTS
Many consumers are confused regarding the installation and service of third party
accessories for their vehicles. This confusion often is the result of incorrect information
intended to convince you that only the manufacturer or authorized dealer should service
your vehicle. What does the law provide?
The Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act is Federal Law enacted in 1975 establishing warranty
requirements. The Act provides that: “Warranties, written or implied, cannot be
conditioned on the consumer’s use of any article or service identified by brand, trade, or
corporate name.” This prohibition against conditioning warranties on the use of
authorized items or services can only be waived by the Federal Trade Commission if two
specific factors are found: 1) The Federal Trade Commission is satisfied that the
warranted product will function properly only if the article or service so identified is used
and 2) The Federal Trade Commission finds it is in the public interest. The Federal Trade
Commission in determining what is in the public interest, seeks and accepts comments
from the public.
What does this mean to you? Purchasing and having accessories installed in your vehicle
does not void your warranty unless the manufacturer has been able to convince the
Federal Trade Commission that the installation and/or service will cause a malfunction to
the vehicle and the restriction is in the public interest. These are difficult tests to meet,
especially since the public is economically and technologically ahead through third party
accessory options. If your manufacturer or dealer tells you that your warranty is void or
able to be voided due to third party accessories or service, ask him for the Federal Trade
Commission determination supporting the claim. You may even want to call the FTC
yourself.
This overview was written by our corporate attorney after research into the Magnuson-
Moss Warranty act. It is an explanation of the law in plain English so that our customers
may understand their rights.
For the complete Magnuson-Moss Warranty act go to this website address:
http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/buspubs/warranty/toc.htm
This text was taken, verbatim, from the Website of the Mobile Electronics Retailers
association.