[nellborg]

My dealer in Minneapolis emailed me yesterday and said my 148 XLT Low roof family van was built on Jan 7th - we're now just waiting for delivery to the dealer. I've three concerns now:

1. I noticed on the dealer invoice that was just sent to me, that vinyl floor covering is NOT listed, even though it was on the order print-out that the dealer sent to me in October. This isn't a deal killer since I've waited so long for the van, but....what would my options be at this point? It doesn't seem to me like converting new carpet to a full vinyl flooring would be easy to do (but, what do I know...) Or, do I want to use up the carpet and figure out some kind of vinyl flooring conversion after a year or two?

2. I suspect the dealer will try hard to sell me on fabric coatings, paint coatings, rustproofing, pre-paid oil changes, extra warranties, etc. I usually don't fall for this stuff, but I did buy the 60k oil/service changes for my 2012 F150 - which I later regretted as it was overpriced. Is there anything that I should get? I've seen posts about rustproofing, but couldn't find anything that seemed more than just isolated opinions of local rustproofers elsewhere.

3. I forgot to order the remote start. The dealer says they've got "lots of aftermarket options" - which worries me because I know nothing. All I want is to be able to look out my kitchen window at the van in the cold Wisconsin winter mornings and push a button to pre-heat the van for 10 minutes. Anything to get / not get?

Thanks for any info.
EB

 

[airmengarrettm]

My dealer in Minneapolis emailed me yesterday and said my 148 XLT Low roof family van was built on Jan 7th - we're now just waiting for delivery to the dealer. I've three concerns now:

2. I suspect the dealer will try hard to sell me on fabric coatings, paint coatings, rustproofing, pre-paid oil changes, extra warranties, etc. I usually don't fall for this stuff, but I did buy the 60k oil/service changes for my 2012 F150 - which I later regretted as it was overpriced. Is there anything that I should get? I've seen posts about rustproofing, but couldn't find anything that seemed more than just isolated opinions of local rustproofers elsewhere.

Congrats on the final build!
That stinks that you may not receive it with the vinyl floor covering as you desired!!!

I can't help you with your first or last question, but concerning the dealer add-ons you're asking about I can tell you this. First, a dealer would not sell it unless they made some profit off of it. I'm not saying that dealers only sell things that earn a profit all the time...but most of the time they need to make a profit when they sell a warranty or add-on or used/new car, otherwise they wouldn't be able to stay in business. Now, my viewpoint is that if I take care of my vehicle exactly as the manufacturer's maintenance schedule suggests, then I shouldn't need any of the dealer add-ons, at the same time some are obviously nice like the rustproofing and fabric protectors. What I would suggest is this, if after thinking of the pros and cons you decide that you do want some of the dealer add-ons, shop around. It turns out that many dealer add-ons can be purchased from other dealers. By shopping around you can use competition to get a better price on an extended warranty and some other things. Here is my favorite resource for car shopping knowledge: realcartips.com

However, for your specific question just read this: http://www.realcartips.com/guide/warranties.shtml

 

[nellborg]

Thanks for your thoughts. I haven't seen that site before so I'll take some time to read through it.

 

[slomo]

On Q#3: you can get remote starts installed after the fact. On my 2015 Transit, I installed a viper 2-way remote start for $249 via BestBuy's GeekSquad.

Ford wanted $344 for their remote start, and dealer wanted $200 more to install it.


Sent via Jedi Mind Trick

 

[nellborg]

I was inclined to just have the dealer install the Ford basic remote starter thinking that the vehicle computer is so sophisticated that they'd do a better install than a place like Best Buy for a similar price, but maybe I'm wrong. I'm not interested in anything more than warming up the van from 25 ft away when it's cold out.

 

[jbgriggs]

Do your homework on aftermarket remote starts!!!!!! I recently spent HOURS trying to get back into a customer's pickup after I parked it in the shop for a simple brake job. I parked it, shut the door, and walked across the shop to grab some tools. Halfway across the shop the taillights flashed and the truck locked me out! ALL#*%^#*#^> day it pulled stunts on me from locking itself again to flashing lights steady to disabling the ignition until I hit just the right combo on the key fob. Errrrrrggh. I wasn't the most pleasant mechanic to be around that day.

From what I've seen, Ford's remote start doesn't have the longest range but it is fairly basic and simple. FWIW

 

[Budsky]

I'm somewhat amazed by the range of the remote lock/unlock- is the remote start worse for some reason?
I'm anxiously awaiting the appearance of DIY schematics or "kits" for the remote start- I'm actually not interested in remote start per se but I do want to tap into the means to leave a vehicle running, locked, A/C on, no keys in it, can't be driven. We need this to keep the dogs safe and comfy while we grab lunch or something while traveling.
I built my own systems to do that on my other 2 vehicles, the CAN bus stuff has me a little leery on the Transit though- a mistake can cost thousands of dollars in blown modules.

Oh and jbgriggs- when I ran a cellular installation shop 30 years ago one of my rules was ALWAYS roll down a window in EVERY customer car pulled into the shop. The other rule was if I EVER see a screwdriver or tool in a tech's back pocket you are gone. Very expensive to buy a Mercedes seat due to a hole punched in it. In the early days of all installed cellphones the high end cars were 90% of our business, not that a Ford seat is cheap by any means.

 

[Wmillette]

helpful info....

the after market remote starts are very bad........ because they opperate on the can bus line.... it interferes with the body control module on ford... and causes lots of unusual things to intermittantly happen....

i had to remove my viper system from my 2014 ford transit connect and on my new transit its being built with factory start


however ford factory does not install the remote start! its done at the dealership during pdi .

so you can purchase a factory start on ebay and install it yourself as it is plug n play!

but stay far away from aftermarket using can bus methods.

anyone want a top of the line viper x510 alarm remote start like new! i have it

 

[nellborg]

I went ahead and bought the Ford factory basic remote for 469 installed - probably overpriced, but it's done and in and I no longer have to think about finding the time to find something less expensive.

For flooring, I bought 3 sheets of 4' x 6', 3/8" thick premium rubber mat from RubberFlooringInc.com. I'll chop it to fit the passenger flooring area, cutting out holes for the seat legs and we'll see how it works out. For the front, I bought a Husky X-act contour mat and like it - it's better than the Weathertech one that I had in my F150. Similar in shaped and design but the Husky has a softer and grippier surface.

 

[thegreatgumbino]

Resurrecting an old thread. Anyone confirm if the 2016's had the same problem with after market remote start as Wmillette mentions? Seems like the $495 for factory remote start and more $$$ for a less than optimal alarm would be better spent on the $200 Viper LCD remote start / alarm option. I especially like the LCD remote displays the interior temperature when using the remote start.

https://www.amazon.com/Viper-5706V-...&keywords=viper+lcd+2-way+remote+start+system

 

[Spec]

I also want to resurrect this pretty old thread. Now that people have had time to install and use some aftermarket remote start/alarm options, what has been your experience with certain brands and models?

I'm right on the verge of making a decision to either buy the Ford OEM RMST system and install it myself, or have a local outfitter install a Viper alarm/remote start combo for about $450.

Bottom line, have people been having issues with aftermarket installs due to canbus and BCM problems?