Hmm that's weird. The Viper 790xv and Clifford Matrix RS3 both come with the remote start hardwire. It's up to you whether you want to wire it up. Trust me...they both are the same functionality wise. So your friend was wrong. Also, retail install price is 500 installed with the remote start, and I found plenty of socal shops doing it for that much. A couple I'd recommend are Audio Industry (Ben Stereo) in City of Industry and Stereo City in Culver City. Might wanna shop around and find the best place possible.

EDIT: Actually, if you don't hook up the remote start, the unit is easier to wire up (much like most alarms) so any decent place should be able to do it. It's just how clean the install is. For example, whether they can hide the brain somewhere else other than under the dash on the driver's side.