Trying to get auto dealer to lower an option price, do I stand a chance?

I posted the following text in a Honda forum. I haven't got any answers there, maybe you guys might have an opinion.

I bought my 08 Honda Fit basic in July of this year. At the time the business manager gave me the hard sell on a Prestige brand keyless entry/alarm/remote starter package. When I said I would stick with the keyless entry alarm system for now and consider the remote starter later, he said ok and we completed the deal. The literature that came with it says the remote starter is an option and the keyfob even has an extra button designed for the remote starter. I called up the Honda service department today to enquire about the cost of the remote starter upgrade thinking it was a simple upgrade on an existing system. He stated it wasn't just a simple upgrade but used an entirely different module and he essentially would have to replace the whole system. He quoted me a price of $500 and said this was even a discounted price. I later called an independent auto security place and they basically agreed with what the service manager told me.

I then called the dealer business manager who sold me the system and told him at the time I declined the remote starter option part of the package but expressed an interest in possibly accepting it for the future, I should have been told that if I did not have it installed at this time, it wasn't a simple upgrade but rather a complete different, expensive package. Had I known that information I probably would have then had it installed at that time. He didn't agree with my logic and I got the impression, he didn't realize that either but he would see if he could get me a lower price. This was early afternoon and I never received a call back so I think he may have blown me off. I'm considering writing the dealership owner a certified letter and explaining my situation and see if he'll lower the price. Do you think I have a leg to stand on or should I go about this a different way? The independent security place I called said he would replace it with a different system that included the remote starter for $450, but I forget the brand of the system he quoted. It kind of sucks in either option of additionally replacing a perfectly good alarm keyless entry system in order to get the remote starter but considering I already paid close to five hundred for the original system, I'm not going to pay the same amount just to get a remote starter but boy that would be nice as I already have to scrape the windshield in the morning.

This pretty common with factory systems. I doubt he was smart enough to know that you could not do that and if he did he just didn't want to lose the possible sale by confusing you. You could easily just get the alarm place to add an entirely different system to your current one that only has the remote start function. The downside is 2 remotes but the upside is my dad had this done for 100 bucks on a Ford that had factory wireless entry. A really slick install shop might be able to make the factory remote work with the additional module in the car. Call around, alram shops range from backyard to complete experts, so be careful.

If that's a possibility of having a secondary remote starter system that co exists with the current keyless entry/alarm system then I would consider that. I would most likely only use the remote starter in the colder months and hence could just keep the second remote in my jacket pocket rather then have two hulking remotes on the keychain. I am going to visit the auto security place (supposedly a decent reputation) next Saturday and I will discuss this idea but meanwhile as mentioned, I was wondering about the possibility of the dealer having sympathy for my cause and significantly lowering the cost but I suppose that's wishful thinking.

I was thinking some more about this. Can a secondary remote starter system co-exist with an existing alarm/keyless entry system particularly if they were from different manufacturers? Doesn't the alarm system arm the ignition as well? As I park my car in a community condo parking lot, I would not want to disarm my alarm system and have the doors unlock in order to remotely start the car. I would need to be able to start the car and keep the doors locked.

I don't think you have much of a leg to stand on with the dealership, sorry. They pretty much have you at their mercy now since you've already bought the car, and declined the option when you ordered/bought the car. Even if you didn't understand the implications of the cost being less by getting it then vs now, most customers don't understand nearly everything about their cars at the time of purchase. Unfortunately I doubt you have much cause for any action based on legal, ethical, or moral grounds. I've been in similar situations, and most of the time the dealer knows they have made money off you with the sale of the car and at that point they don't care as much about future customer satisfaction.

I would say it depends on the dealer. Some will take care of it and others won't. A little different scenario but we bought a Buick Regal used with no warranty from a dealer in town. After about 3 months the brakes started making noise and we took the car in and it needed new rotors etc you get the idea. Car only had 11k on it so who knows? But after some pressure they fixed it. Hopefully you can get them to take care of it, mention future purchases and word of mouth too. Good luck.

Honda can't do anything for you.

There are excellent aftermarket remote starter kits available for less than half of Hondas product

FYI, I did have an aftermarket Avitel system put in from a reputable shop for $375. The remote starter is nice and I'm sure will be very appreciated this winter. It already came in handy this week as a quick five minute warmup while drinking my coffee enabled the frost to melt so I didn't have to scrape.