It was a pretty mild winter and I was even able to take the Miata out a couple of times (once with the top down) but I admit I had times where I’d forget to start it. Once the battery was dead and I had to jump it. The battery for the car is in the trunk for some reason, I’m sure the japanese designers thought was a good one, but that worked out because I had parked it at the top of the driveway nose in.
Another time I drove it up to Church and left the lights on— had to jump it again. All of my cars since my beloved Pontiac have had automatic car starters but I didn’t think I needed one in the Miata because lets face it, it’s old. But after the mishaps of the winter and the fact that one of the two key fobs I have for it doesn’t work and to replace it was going to be $250 so I figured why not put it towards an automatic starter.
In the past I’ve gone to Sun N Sound for all my car starter and stereo needs but honestly the last visit was not amazing and when #2 son went on my recommendation to get his installed he wasn’t impressed, and later on he had troubles with it so I decided to turn to YELP and see who got the best reviews.
Enter MOBILE CAR PRO in Shrewsbury. I emailed them using the standard form they had and asked for a ballpark price. Rayco in the populated section of Shrewsbury was having a special of a $450 system installed for $300— but the reviews on YELP made me want to avoid Rayco. One of the perks to Rayco would be I could walk over to Whole Foods and wait for it* but again I wanted it done and done right so I opted to go with MCP.
They’re also in Shrewsbury but on Route 20. Route 20 is one of the longest highways in the United States, stretching from Boston to Newport, Oregon— 3500 miles of road. For such a major road there are a lot of areas that are pretty desolate and MCP sits in one of those sections. Located just past the Hebert Candy Mansion if you’re coming from Worcester or some ways past the Christmas Tree Plaza if you’re coming the other way there is nothing around it besides the Baseball Academy, Harvey Remodeling and a Dance Studio— so unless you’re in the market to improve your fastball, buy new granite counter tops or do some basic toe spins you’re out of luck. MCP is hidden in the back of the complex, you won’t see it from the road but as you pull in you’ll see their flags down around the back guiding you to their location. There is a Honey Dew Donuts in the gas station at the lights about a ½ mile away but you can’t walk Route 20 even on the best day.
I opted to swing by and grab a coffee and an egg wrap which I brought with me over to the shop. I pulled in and they quickly came out and took the keys and got the whole process going. Now Sun N Sound has a pretty elaborate waiting area— with so much James Bond type stuff for your car that you can be pretty entertained while you wait. There is also stuff nearby so you can walk over and wait at any of three coffee shops.
Not so here.
The waiting room is pretty sparse— it’s got flyers and a few demo models but not much else. I did bring some work with me and I made myself comfortable at the table and stools in the corner while they worked.
The process took about two hours and when it was done the owner came out and walked me through how the new Key Fob works. It’ll start the car, it’ll lock and unlock the car, it’ll open the trunk, it can make it so I can keep the car running while I take the key out to pop into a store on cold days. He also set it so the radio wouldn’t come on until I put the key in the ignition. This was above and beyond because the car has an antenna that rises up when the radio comes on, and I’d rather that’s not standing up in the cold wind and snow while it’s warming up.
The bill was shy of $400 and I was really happy with the work— highest recommendation. Let me tell you, from experience, there is NOTHING like getting into a warm car on a cold day— it makes scrapping much easier if you remember to leave the heat and defrosters cranked— and ditto on a hot day getting into a nice cool car— yeah even though it cools off pretty quickly when you put the top down it still gets hot on the warmer days.