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Cost Effective Remote Dealer?


Hisma

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Obviously, we want the best but we don't want to pay top dollar for it.  My current dilemma is that I am buying a new home and spending a lot of money.  I went all out of pre-wiring my home for a very advanced distributed system.  My initial idea was to build a DIY system.  But at looking at what c4 can do, and the fact that my local dealer is able to offer it to me, I think it might be a path I can go.  

I am thinking of doing one of two things -

- acquiring gear on ebay, installing the hardware myself, and then hiring a remote programmer to do the initial work

- buying the hardware from a trusted dealer, installing it myself, then hiring a remote or local programmer to do the initial work

I honestly want a system I can fully maintain myself.  I am a controls engineer by trade, and I have been doing industrial automation for nearly a decade now.  I do home automation as a hobby, and I am not intimidated at all for having to set up a rack and switches etc.  However, I also understand that many people do this for a living, and even though I could learn the capabilities of the system, it is still no replacement for bringing in someone that knows the ins and outs of this system and can program it properly to get the most out of it.  

So, is there a solution for someone in my situation?  Could someone sell me the hardware without crazy markups for installation costs, but still be willing to do some remote programming?

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  • 2 weeks later...

I have used two different guys here on the forum. @AK1 and @StroTek LLC -- I could not be happier with both. I exclusively used AK1 for a while, but StroTek, while not a local dealer, is close enough that I can visit face to face if needed or pickup hardware. I am very happy with StroTek.

I would recommend getting at least a base system installed by a reputable dealer.

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I did exactly what you mentioned "

Quote

- acquiring gear on ebay, installing the hardware myself, and then hiring a remote programmer to do the initial work

Was getting quotes from local dealers from 50k-100k. Ended up piecing it together from forums/ebay/cragislist/auctions etc, used a remote dealer on this site to get me setup probably came in around 20k for everything

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  • 4 weeks later...

Don't do it, the on-going costs of the system and changes are outrageous.  Dealers use the lock-in to virtually extorted you with outrageous rates in my experience.  I can't find a dealer will to do anything for under $150 an hour.  USe Savant, wish I had.

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2 minutes ago, Alan Texas said:

Don't do it, the on-going costs of the system and changes are outrageous.  Dealers use the lock-in to virtually extorted you with outrageous rates in my experience.  I can't find a dealer will to do anything for under $150 an hour.  USe Savant, wish I had.

obviously not had work done with any of the one of us remote dealers here. I do not even charge that much per hour for local on site jobs.

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Don't do it, the on-going costs of the system and changes are outrageous.  Dealers use the lock-in to virtually extorted you with outrageous rates in my experience.  I can't find a dealer will to do anything for under $150 an hour.  USe Savant, wish I had.

I've never had that experience with my dealer. Now I'm set up, it's all done online.

Yes you need a dealer to instal hardware. You can use HE for lots of the programming.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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I've never had that experience with my dealer. Now I'm set up, it's all done online.

Yes you need a dealer to instal hardware. You can use HE for lots of the programming.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Ps. There are no ongoing costs. You can subscribe to 4sight, or you can use VPN for remote access. You just lose notifications.

You can decide to upgrade the OS when it comes out. You may have a minimal charge. Your choice

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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3 hours ago, Alan Texas said:

Don't do it, the on-going costs of the system and changes are outrageous.  Dealers use the lock-in to virtually extorted you with outrageous rates in my experience.  I can't find a dealer will to do anything for under $150 an hour.  USe Savant, wish I had.

I'm apparently not charging enough to subsidize my future Ferrari.  I don't charge that much for onsite work, and due to the flexibility of remote work, it's even less than on site.  Mileage may vary, there's a wealth of help here on the forums.  

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OP, both Matt and Neil have done remote work for me and I wouldn't hesitate to use them again.  In fact, I may because my dealer is telling me it's a 4-5 week wait for jobs of a couple hours end more then that for a larger physical install project I want to do.

 

i absolutely *despise* the C4 model that protect poor dealers at their customers' expense and probably would not have installed C4 had I understood it better before I committed.

 

Now that I'm stuck, I'm greatful that there are a number of dealers here willing to do remote support at far more reasonable rates (backed by knowledge and experience that seems to be better than that of any local dealer I can find).    If you need a truck roll, you probably need local help.  For anything else - look here first.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I have 5 years experience with C4, and 12 years in the home automation industry (Elan + HomeLogic previously).  I am excited to now be offering remote services, tech support, and programming. In addition to home automation, I can program networks from start to finish, setup unifi, etc. I'm also a certified installer/programmer of security systems, most of my experience is with 2gig, GE, Vista, and DSC panels.  I'm located in Annapolis, MD and offer local services in addition to remote programming.  PM me if interested!

Thanks,
David

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  • 1 year later...
On 12/28/2016 at 5:14 PM, jfh said:

i absolutely *despise* the C4 model that protect poor dealers at their customers' expense and probably would not have installed C4 had I understood it better before I committed.

Are you any happier with C4 now?  What system might you have used instead?

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On 12/28/2016 at 8:14 PM, jfh said:

i absolutely *despise* the C4 model that protect poor dealers at their customers' expense and probably would not have installed C4 had I understood it better before I committed.

 

I don't believe the c4 model protects poor dealers.  Almost every major market (in the US) has at least 5 - 6 if not dozens of dealers...

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21 minutes ago, msgreenf said:

I don't believe the c4 model protects poor dealers.  Almost every major market (in the US) has at least 5 - 6 if not dozens of dealers...

I live in a pretty big market.  Every dealer I contacted (except one) other than my initial dealer showed little or no interest in doing work for me as soon as it was clear I already had a system and they were unlikely to sell me a new system for tens of thousands of dollars.

The one exception is a dealer that posts here (who I now consider my dealer).

The only people that think that the current C4 model doesn't protect poor dealers are those that don't need a dealer in the first place. ;)

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