Hello,
I have been looking around town and I just talked to one company, they have a really good reputation in town.
They are offering to install a Viper alarm system, for $299 with keyless entry.
I do have power locks but one of them is busted so I am just gonna have them do all of it.

I wanted to know if this is a fair deal? They said they are the best installers in town, they solder all connections. Nothing is "tapped" or osmething like that.

They are a little higher priced then other people in town, but they admitted that right off the bat and said it was because there install methods are far superior. They offered me to drive over and we can go over everything and give me a paper estimate.


To me the consumer it sounds awesome but I could just be a sucker lol.

Thoughts?

 

It depends on what viper system it is.. Check out the retail on it first.. Unless they want 300$ just to install it. Ask to see some of their installs, some of their customer cars or even their cars to get an idea of the install.

 

Take it to a Best Buy and get a quote. Basic install is included in the price of all our alarms, you would just have to pay for extra stuff if your car needs any relays, resistors, or diodes. I'm not sure what they consider superior install methods, but neither I nor any of the other guys at my store have ever had a car come back because of a workmanship issue. It's not rocket science to install alarms. And actually the strip, poke, and tape method is much better than soldering and is actually the recommended procedure in the MECP manual. This is where you strip off the insulation, use a pick tool to make an eye through the strands of wire, poke the new wire through, and wrap it around. Then tape it up and secure it with a zip tie. Let me know what kind of car you are putting the alarm in and I'll give you a good estimate as to what it should cost.

 

Yeah I'll second what stroked383z28 says. Alot of times alot of people will give Best Buy a bad rap cause its a big retail chain and granted there are some installers that shouldnt be working as installers, but talk to the technicians. I also was an mobile installer for bestbuy and we never used T-Taps, or just taped crap together. Like previously said my team would do the "strip, poke, and tape method" but we would also solder, then tape it then use a zip around the tape. May seem like overkill but you know that wire is not comming off, and nothing is worse then opening a the install bay to a clients car on a tow truck because it couldnt start.

Usually for camaros/firebirds you need a relay for the locks. you said one side didnt work. They can possibly just replace the acuator in the door if its bad with an aftermarket one. When i used to be an installer we charge 20 for the acuator and 50 for the labor. If its a remote start then you have to bypass the VATS system. Which unless you get the module that has all the resistance codes in it, will require another relay. the materials fee will cover the small things like diodes and resistors. However alot of the DEI alarms come with a 451m relay and a resister pack.

Finally they have all those other little accessories, and add-ons like trunk release, alarm trigger for trunk, hood. peizo sirens for the interior, proximity sensors. they can order other sensors as well like glass break and tilt sensors.