I recently found out that I am moving to Rochester, NY for four years and told myself if I moved to more cold weather (in Pittsburgh, PA right now), I would have a car seat warmer and automatic car starter. I don’t want to get rid of my amazing 1994 volvo 850 sedan without weat warmers in it, so I was wondering what people think are the best option. I saw that there are plug-in seat warmers, but does anyone know which ones are the best? Also, any suggestions on automatic car starters to warm my puppy up? Any advice is appreciated! Thanks.
with cloth seats it’s not a problem .Amazon.com has a good one for about $20. Search Cartalk site for info on after market auto starters…lots of problems with them…
Thanks for the response. I should add that I have leather seats and wonder if that makes a difference? Or I could put on a liner then a seat warmer…
Rochester isn’t much colder then Pittsburgh…However they do get a LOT more snow. Snowiest city in the US it’s size or bigger.
You might avoid the complexity of adding seat warmers by putting on sheepskin seat covers, they’ll be way more comfortable than leather.
If you add a block heater, you won’t need the remote starter or the seat warmer. Besides, warming up your car is usually a waste of fuel. If you park your car in your a garage or your own driveway, please consider a block heater instead.
Yes, leather will pull the heat right out of your glutes when you sit on it. Cloth insulates better. I recommend a cloth seat covering for the cold weather.
I am strongly considering a block heater but that all depends on where I live. If I have to park on street, then I am looking into seat warmers and automatic starter. If I have my own driveway or garage, block heater. I just have had it with the cold and want to get into a warm car when I am leaving for work at 4am. Keep the suggestions coming - I really appreciate it!
Just get a place with a garage and forget the seat warmers and car starter on a car of that vintage. I never use mine in Minnesota.
Sorry, another question to this - if I were to get a block heater - what would pricing be? I have a dealer in the area but they have a tendency to be fairly expensive. As I am currently a student and have a negative income with very little pay in the next four years, cost is unfortunately an issue. Thanks again to all the quick replies - this has been very helpful.
I strongly recommend against a remote starter, especially on a less than perfect car. You can easily ruin your flywheel, and you will waste a lot of gas
I went to university on the shore of Lake Ontatio, and the winters were brutal. My car, parked outside, had a block heater and an in-car warmer, which is a little heater of about 300-400 watts with a fan in it. It mounts either under the dash or on the passenger kick panel. Your local shop (not dealer) can install one cheaply ($50) and the block heater will run you about $100 or so installed with a HD cord. If the landlord objects you can have a timer to go one 2 hours before you leave; that’s sufficient time in NY state to warm things up.
When you plug it in with the block heater, the car will be warm as toast in the morning, and the engine will fire up right away and produce heat quickly.
The sheepskin seats are strongly preferred over heated seats. You have not told us what you would heat the seats with if you can’t plug in. They quickly drain the battery if the engine is not running.
I don’t like remote starters either. The biggest problem that I have seen over the years is that the manufacturers of these devices usually go out of business the week after you buy one. They tend to eat flywheels as mentioned earlier.