I know several of you 5Genners asked me about my impressions of the Autopage 750 and even went and looked at them. I think most everyone was very impressed. the only downside with this alarm is price and complexity. I forgot everyone who asked, so I'm posting this.

I can buy this alarm retail locally for $300-350. Obviously some healthy markup. Now installation with autostart is about $700 easy. There are 7 pages of programming options alone (on the quick reference sheet). Its a monster. But obviously the feature list is a mile long. At this GD price, I'm going to tackle it myself (minus autostart). (I dont want anyone else working on my car really)

As for this seller, I've heard nothing but good things. It was recommended to me by someone who also had good things to say. However, I have never bought anything from them. I cant say for sure. I'm suspending my distrust of all things internet long enough to give this a shot.

http://www.groupbuycenter.com/buy.asp?row_id=6225

 

Tempting, but I'm thinking I'll wait for you to write a How-To on installing it.

 

tim you know i want this... or, at least a lcd alarm/starter. have you looked at the compustar and aladdin systems? compared them all with the autopage, etc. you still think the autopage is superior?

why?

argh, to ask the question simply instead of writing a bunch of crap, ahhh, did it just agai...

why did you choose the autopage instead of the others to start a gd?

 

Our biggest, most professional stereo shop uses the Autopage 750 almost exclusively. Of all the shops I went to that carried it (3), the owners had the 750. They happily gave me demo. I suggest you take a few mins to see one of these things in action. They are NOT that cheesy crap on ebay. The display is VERY functional. not just a gadget. again, you have to see it in action.

I always liked the high end Alpine alarms of a few years ago. Alpine has left the high end alarm market for now. (they do sell 2 low end models). Autopage made the alarms for Alpine. I was told that if Alpine was still marketing a high end alarm, it would be the Autopage 750. Anyway, Autopage sells it direct. The Autopage brand has been sold for 10+ years. They used to sell the pagering alarms (and add ons) WAYYYY back in the day..

I suspect that the highest Clifford may be better on some levels, but I kinda like the window tap page, inside temp info, realtime status, and zone reporting on the fob.

 

I'd get the autopage, but there's only ONE authorized dealer\installer in Houston. In a town this big, if there's only one place that carries a product, I'm kind of nervous about it. When I called the place, the guy on the phone was joking around the whole time. Should I think this is an easy going place with nice installers, or should I be worried that they're a bunch of scam-artists and slackers who will do a shotty job on the install? They quoted $350 for the alarm\remote starter and the install... a lot less than you've seen it for, Tim.

If I went in on the GD, I'd still have to depend on this one dealer to install it, since I wouldn't be able to do it myself.

 

there are 4 dealers in Little Rock.. and a TON in Memphis.

hmmmm.....

 

and the 5gen maxima with the autostart wired is a full day install for a shop. some shops (the cheaper one) it was a 2 day install. obviously, its as complex or as simple as you wish to make it.

Again, I saw this thing, I've laid hands on it.. I didnt look cheap or toy like to me. But I agree, if you have no support around, consider that.

 

This unit reminds of the compustar I looked at a number of months ago. Is it somehow the same thing?

 

but they do look similar. They are too dissimilar to be the same thing.

 

Timmeh, Interested for sure. And Alex, I will do the writeup for you if you want.

First off, read the specs, but dont see how many channel alarm this is? It only talks about an auxilary output channel 2. That is kinda low unless they dont have it listed.

I wanted at least a 4-6 channel output, so I could in the future do window roll down, window roll up, sunroof open, sun roof close, etc. Each one takes a channel.

Dixit

 

while on the topic of paging alarm systems, how is this one by aladdin?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...tem=1844386926

i've never heard of them, but my friend wants to buy this system. is this a reputable system?

 

MaximaZero --

i called the Aladdin people a few months ago and they told me that a few of the options are not available in the USA... yet? the 'In-cabin temperature display' on the LCD pager is not available and the one-touch etiquette (car-driver paging) is not availabe in the US. something to do with the FCC regulations? if it werent for the lacking of this in-cabin display feature, i think i would have bought the Aladdin system. it just looks amazing! now only if it were a cell phone too!!

the thing that puzzles me though is, i looked into the autopage system too and i have called a shop that was an authorized installer for them and they verified that the autopage DOES have the 'In-cabin temperature display' on the LCD pager!! so how does autopage get around this FCC thing while aladdin has not?

 

Yall do realize that the Alladin LCD pager is not small by any means? I dont want to carry something that is almost 1" thick and almost as big as my flip cell phone.

Dixit

 

Well, there's also only one Compustar authorized dealer\installed in Houston, so it's not too strange that there's only one Autopage dealer too. The Compustar is $600 installed, so I'm guessing the Autopage should be around that much too, but they're only charging $350 installed, so I'm kind of nervous.

 

unless they were pricing the install separately. The very cheapest I found (and this shop is very low rent) is $450. The 3 other dealers were all in the $700 range, but they also offer a lifetime install warranty and generally do great work.

I've read that these are not the same as alladin. and that whatever Alladin is selling in the US is junk. Just what I read.

Seriously, everyone has a whole month on this deal, go by and see the autopage for yourself. Yes, the fob is large, but not huge. I dont see any problem carrying it. You should try to see one first tho.

 

i emailed the guy selling that aladdin system on ebay:

i'm going to call that shop that's selling and installing the autopage and find out how much they sell the system for separately.

i'll let you guys know.

 

Are you referring to Houston Car Sterio as the only authorized Autopage installer? I was looking at their webpage.

 

okay, i called a shop today and they quoted me $450 installed for the remote start/alarm for the autopage. they told me $299 just for the system itself so you guys are saving a bundle if you get in on this group deal.

if youre installing this thing yourself or have a very experienced friend to help you with it, good luck. if not, expect to pay bucks for the install! the guy told me it's a 4 hour job. he may have exaggerated how long it takes to install the thing, but if i did get charged that much for labor on the install i might as well just have it done for $450 installed.

also, both the shop and a distributor of the autopage verified that the "in-cabin temperature display" was functional on this model. that's all i needed hear. i made an appointment for tomorrow morning so... heh. cool.



btw, the guy at the shop told me that the install was quite difficult on the maxima's because of our key and a few other things he said. well, im not versed in all the technical stuff so i cant really repeat what he said, ive forgotten already. you guys know way more about cars than i do so i hope you can handle it! but just to be sure... if youre planning on doing the install yourself i'd call and ask them ahead of time. it could possibly be cheaper to have them do it all. unless of course, they charge $500+ installed for the whole thing, then youre better of buying the system through the group deal and having it installed later.

 

<---has a compustar. . .hehehe

 

I used to install alarms 10 years ago.. and alot has changed.. I dont want to fry my SECU. I know it has factory arm/disarm, so I think the door lock thing wont be a big deal. And I wont be hooking up the autostart. (I know, kinda of a waste.)

I dont really know what to do.. Some of these shops act like they've never done a maxima but all they have to do is call the alarm makers for info. Thats not exactly the answer I was looking for. I wish there was some definitive guide on the 5th gen. I'm hoping the DEI chart will be *mostly* correct with my 2k (I know its way off on 2k2)

 

fyi, my install took 3hrs+ and they had problems w/ the auto start, we finally had to ghetto rig it. . .but i've had it since beginning of Jan and no probs at all. . .

 

myktek, where in Houston did you get it installed and how much did they charge? thanks.

 

the autopage is now installed, guys.

omfg, it's really damn cool.

but, for some weird reason, after i drove all the way from michigan to chicago to get this damn thing installed, the guy tries to convince me to buy a viper alarm instead! he says that the autopage is crap and that the starter on the viper is way more advanced that it automatically adjusts for the tach on the start, etc.

eh, i got the autopage anyway and i don't regret it. however, one thing that concerns me and i suppose this might be what the guy was talking about... sometimes it seems like the car is cranking too long when its started up by the lcd remote. *button pressed*, car cranks, engine catches, still sounds like its being cranked though? anyone know a lot about starters because i dont and im assuming that this is normal? is it?

i bought this system mainly for the security so i wont be starting it like this on a daily basis. anyone have any input?

Tim?

 

after reading through the audio/electronics section, I pretty much gave up on the autostart. My max is hard to start with just me turning the key sometimes, much less an alarm starting it. What I gathered is that ALL makes of autostart can be alittle flaky on a max.

I really dont consider the Viper better than the autopage. It's been a long time since I really messed with a viper, but I could tell you horror stories. Like my friend that had his windows and sunroof opened in a storm. Lightning struck really close and everything opened up. not good. I'm sure alot has changed tho. Back to the point, I think only the Clifford is a higher quality alarm.

 

Why do you want the cabin temperature? Will the car autostart and run the A/C if it gets to a certain temperature? If so, sign me up, I'll dump my Clifford cause it is hot as a desert out here . If not, aren't you just setting yourself up to be dissapointed when you get into your sweltering hot vehicle?

Big Dog, getting the sunroof to open/close is going to be a pain in the you know where. I think that this is standard with all alarms, but as soon as I open my door and remove the key from the ignition, all accessories that get ignition switched power turn off. To get the sunroof to close when you arm the system you are going to have to get power to the switch long enough for it to close. However, if you can do this our sunroof is very nice to work with since it has the auto open/close feature you merely need to pulse that signal and it will close. I know this is another however, but you should know, if your sunroof is in the vent position when you try and do this, it will not respond.

True. DEI (owner of Viper) bought Clifford and has started implemementing Clifford technology in the DEI lines. On my clifford the remote starter gets tach information. This was tricky on the max because we couldn't get it to work off the wire that leads to the dash. They send some kind of funky voltage to the instrument cluster that the autostart could not interpret. Lucky for me, the installers where I go are really frickin good and he tapped into a wire near one of the injectors that gave the correct signal. Before this, we just used the timed crank and sometimes it would either overcrank or not enough. Found that the car takes longer to crank when it is low on fuel. With the Clifford, it reads the car starting and waits for the rpm's to stabilize. If it cranks for a long period of time it stops and tries again. I know that it doesn't have all sorts of bells and whistles, but what more do you need than remote start, windows up/down, CODED VALET SWITCH, and deductible coverage in case of theft. I'm going to take some video of the car in action and post within the week.

Viper is much better now that they bought Clifford and borrowed their expertise. Read above about starting and why clifford/viper would solve your problem.

 

Already taken care of. Check the "How To's".

Just rewire the FRONT/REAR door switches. You'll lose a few "features", but nothing really important.

 

your how to or .org how to?

 

Delay Headlamps Rewire for 2000-2001
Credit: warrlocked

 

no it doesn't do this and really, i dont see a need why this function would even be necessary. the remote works from as far as a 1/4 mile away, just start it when you're at the checkout line or waiting for the cashier at the grocery store... this should give your car sufficient time to cool. if you had pets that lived in your car that could only live in a specific temperature range, well, then you're out of luck! hehe.

this is all true. the salesman told me all this and the whole tach thing nearly swayed me... viper is even releasing a lcd remote alarm/starter soon. i still stayed with the autopage though, ive only remote started it 4x so far. im training myself not to abuse the starter. its mostly for the winter mornings anyway!

 

from the value standpoint, are you happy with the alarm?

Does it have priority unlock on the drivers door? I forgot to ask them about that.. I forgot how many channels it had.. after trunk release, do you still have a channel open for windows?

 

Well I figured it wouldn't because that would mean your car would be running a lot! So I'm a little confused why the inside cabin temperature is so important?

I know this is kind of counter intuitive, but Clifford sells the IntelliStart4 as a standalone unit that you could add to the AutoPage for ~$150 that would include the tach lead.

If so, I am extremely happy with my alarm. And no it doesn't have priority unlock. Clifford is expandable by daisy chaining extra modules. However, you spring for an AG4, there is no accessory you can think of that the thing can't do. If you weren't asking me...Sorry.

 

2 way is important to me.. I'm a 'double-locker'... I need that status screen or will think I forgot to lock it. The idea of paging also interests me.. even the glass tap page is pretty cool..

 

my friend does installs on the side, he specializes on compustars. . .price i can't tell u since he gave me the friend rate. . .

compustar has some kewl features.. . like AUTO. . .where u walk 50 feet away and it locks by itself, or use PASSIVE, locks after like a min or so. . .has a TURBO Timer, etc etc. . .check it out. . .www.compustar.org, if u want we can meet up sometime and i can show u my alarm.

 

Would your friend like some cash to anonymously do a little writeup for us? Door locks, trunk release and such? I would be happy to send him some money.... maybe some others would too.

 

he really doesn't have much time anymore, he's in medical school. . .

 

When you guys look at these systems remember there are only a few that are FCC authorized. Some of these companies are going to get shut down and you will have no support or warrantee.

Autopage is one of the first comanies to do this, and they are FCC approved. It will also support multiple channels, ie. windows up down all around. This system will do everything.

I know about these because I talked to my stereo shop that I trust 110%. They are running these systems now. They have done a few installs and said they are relaly cool. He also sells the whole Viper line. He said Viper is supposed to come out with a unit that matches this one, but there is not "in store" date set yet.

I am getting the AutoPage installed in my Max and my new GTI-337. They are charging me 650 for each car. That is hood trunk, doors, front windows up/down, autostart. Sounds like a good deal to me.

Plus if anything goes wrong they fix it or sorrect the issue with no questions asked.

Anyone in the NOVA area need a good shop, let me know.

 

for the most part, i am happy with it. however, i am a bit disappointed with the range of the lcd remote. i hoped it would reach a bit further than it does! heh.

yes, it has priority unlock for the drivers door. autopage refers to it as the: "two step door unluck." anyway, i'm looking through the operation manual now and it says "additional installation required for this feature" so make sure your installer, heh, or you know what needs to be done.

i dont know how many channels it has.

the boys in the shop told me to have my windows done would require buying another module for $50. so i'm thinking the answer to your last question is a "negatory." he really pushed me not to get it. he spouted off some horror stories about windows going haywire and how its dangerous... windows coming down in the rain because of a lightning strike, hahaha.

*shrug*

well, i decided paying another fifty bucks for the ability to roll my windows down was kinda lame so i didnt get it.

 

if the there was the capability of adding it, that there is a channel for it. Most alarms have to have a $50 module each way up or down.

And yeah, I've seen that lightning strike window roll down.. not pretty.