As the coldest time of year approaches, we wanted to take a moment to show some love for one of the most-appreciated features on our new luxury cars for sale here in South Dakota: remote starters.
Factory-installed remote starters have been around since GM introduced them to the market back in 2002, but the luxury playing field hasn't been exactly level.
In August 2015, Mercedes-Benz became one of the first German brands to offer its own factory-installed remote start on vehicles sold in the U.S.
Why the delay? Germany keeps tight regulations on vehicles for safety and environmental reasons. For example, it's currently illegal in Germany to start or idle a vehicle with no one in the driver's seat. Thus, no remote starters. While we in the U.S. have the luxury of warming up our vehicles before even putting on a coat, our (tougher) German friends still have to frieren.
Here is what the Luxury Auto Mall has to offer.
Remote Starters for New Cadillacs
Every new Cadillac now comes with a built-in remote start system which works up to 200 ft. away. While this is suitable for most, many will want to upgrade. How big of an upgrade can you get on a Cadillac remote start? You can go from 200 ft. to anywhere you have a cell phone signal.
With the available OnStar subscription (approximately $10/$15 per month), new Cadillac drivers can use a smartphone app to start their vehicles from virtually anywhere. Plus, this Cadillac remote start app – called RemoteLink – also serves up real-time diagnostic information about the vehicle. Things like fuel economy, oil life, tire pressure, and even the location of your vehicle are all delivered to the palm of your hand. #nice!
Remote Starters for New Mercedes-Benz Vehicles
As we mentioned earler, Mercedes-Benz is one of the first German automakers to introduce a factory-backed remote starter system. It's called mbrace® and it's getting rave reviews from our clients.
Similar to the OnStar RemoteLink app offered on Cadillacs, the Mercedes-Benz mbrace app allows you to start your vehicle and more with your smartphone. The mbrace system also allows you to send Google Map locations from your phone to the in-dash navigation and show you the location of your parked vehicle with the touch fo a button. Every new Mercedes-Benz comes with five years of complimentary mbrace Connect services.
Remote Starters for BMW Vehicles
Here's where things take a hard turn. As BMW owners are well aware, BMW does not currently offer it's own factory-installed remote start system. In fact, they never have. As we mentioned in the intro, Germany is strict when it comes to idling laws.
But, that doens't mean BMW drivers have to shivver. Several third-party remote starters are available for BMWs of all ages. Plus, we expect BMW to introduce their own remote start technology in the near future to keep up with their competitive cousins over at Mercedes-Benz.
All new BMW vehicles currently come with the innovative BMW ConnectedDrive system has a smartphone app that has virtually everything we've talked about above except– as you probably guessed – a remote start function. But keine Sorge, BMW fans, because we're confident that a BMW factory remote start sytem is coming soon.
Remote Starters for Everything Else
We don't want you to be cold. If your vehicle has an engine, there's a good chance that our Parts Department can find and install a remote starter on it. We have access to factory-brand systems as well as trusted third-party remote starters.