The local Circuit City (Rancho Cucamunga, California) just skrewed up my install. After giving them $1000 to install a nine.1, nine.2, 6500s, 16 O.v2, 120' of edead, and a eclipse 8545 (two amps, one set of 6.5 components, 1 sub, 120" of edead, and a headunit).... i have a car that sounds like poop. I told them i needed the nine.1 installed using 4 guage..what do they do, they run four gauge and break it down to 8. Im sooooooooo ____ed atm. here are some pics of the install. btw they also messed up my door sill and broke plastic tab on the wiring harness and a tab on my ac dash piece (pics of door sills in a sec.
what is wrong with this picture
http://www.icixsound.com/vb/icixnation/images/2602_12.jpg
Hey fred, lets not mount this voltage meter and see if he notices
http://www.icixsound.com/vb/icixnation/images/2602_13.jpg
my headunit
http://www.icixsound.com/vb/icixnation/images/2602_15.jpg
hmmm 4 gauge in and 2x 8 gauge out??? wtf hmm gotta love 2x 60 watt fuses on a 1200+ rms amp... bastards
http://www.icixsound.com/vb/icixnation/images/2602_17.jpg
did i mention the whole install was like $1000. God i could kill someone atm
jallamas
08-31-2005, 04:36 AM
That sucks, Is that the store thats on Foothill, if it is they are dumb azzes. You have some nice stuff. Go down and _____ at them like a _____ would.
John
jallamas
08-31-2005, 04:40 AM
That last post should say go down at _____ at them like a _____ would. The first picture withe the LED fuse holder should be mounted on the fire wall or some place you could actually read it. Take the door sill off and beat them over the heads to get the dents out.
John
jallamas
08-31-2005, 04:43 AM
Ok, it was edited for the words used, sorry. You get what I mean.
ChicagosFinest
08-31-2005, 06:35 AM
screw that.. take it straight to cooporate..
CC just messed up my alarm on friday. I had them install a python 881xp in my tC.. Surely enough they messed it up. only it was the dumbest mistake ever. bastards wired the parking light wire (flashes the parking lights when armed or disarmed) to the headlight wire. this cause the headlight switch to fry.. now my car is at a Scion dealer (a well trusted one) getting fixed.
best part of that is that now they are denying fault. Their labor is covered with a lifetime warenty... and now I might have to take it above their heads (I know people who know people).
As of right now this problem is going to cost roughly 140+ out of pocket, and the time it will take to get that money refunded by CC.
I hate to say it, but that looks like the sloppiest install job ever.. I could have done that exact install for $40 + materials. I actually wouldn't have charged you for it if it came out like that.
ChicagosFinest
08-31-2005, 06:38 AM
oh, and 1200+ to an 8 gauge wire.. I thought that was kinda dangerous. maybe they use a magical wire?
joescionwv
08-31-2005, 07:17 AM
gosh this is such crap Im so tired of circut city doing such crappy jobs on customers cars I wish that you would have come to my shop and got it done correctly! for a thousand bucks we could have made your tc look amazing. If don't believe me click on my link to carstero.com and telll me what you think also go to the webshots and click on ryans box. that has to be the sloppiest job I have to have seen in a long time FROM NOW ON FIND A REAL AUDIO SHOP. Oh and I would most certinly go to corperate and tell them they need to hire installers that know what the hell they are doing
SCI_TC_GUY
08-31-2005, 11:29 AM
and yet another reason circut city and best buy don't touch my stuff.....
Piston
08-31-2005, 11:34 AM
Ok, not to be to much of a jerk, but why did you go to circiut instead of a small shop, most likely you were trying to save money. I work for a small shop and I have tons of people that come to me after they went to a major store complaining that they got screwed, and that they didn't come to my shop, cause I would be more expensive. Well your right. I do cost more after you go to CC, and then I fix what they did for $75 per hour.
For me it sucks. Cause I would have charged you less overall, and made it a much better install.
Your equipment is good, but the install is not. Install make for the whole thing to be good. Sound like you nee dto go somewhere and get charged more to have it done right.
Also, have you looked in the doors to see how they mounted the speakers, and where are the x-overs, I am thinking that CC put them in the worst spot, The doors.
Jason
ChicagosFinest
08-31-2005, 01:24 PM
I'm with piston...
I'm not completely against Circuit City.. but stuff like this really is making me question their knowledge. I know about four good installers at various circuit city's.. but I guess their reputation can't account for the company's.
Lonely_Raven
08-31-2005, 01:47 PM
I've seen MUCh worse installs. This one is very clean considering.
But really, I'm with Piston. Why did you go to CC for a custom install?
violent_b
08-31-2005, 02:09 PM
Circuit and Beat Buy for the most don't do "custom" installs. if it doesn't go into the factory location, it doesn't go in. they need to mount the fuse holder in the engine compartment. that looks like crap. I would have my name on that install.
I worked for CC for almost 11 years as an installer and assistant manager for the Roadshop. I took pride in my work and made sure my customers saw what i did and how I did it. I had customers come back and ask for me to do the work. I made sure the other installers did the same quality work and if they didn't they had to redo it. you have a hard time finding good installers that care about their work nowadays at CC. the company really has crapped on the employees and the morale is in the crapper.
If you want custom work, go to a custom shop. if you want a basic install go to CC or Best buy. the only advantage with big stores is that you can go up the management ladder to complain and get things done. with a small shop, you're as far as you're going to go.
Max
08-31-2005, 02:14 PM
They screwed up my install as well. I now have a nice, shiny new dash.
I don't see the problem with running 8 gauge to and amp that only has and 8 gauge input. I think you should be reimbursed for your door sills though. $1000 to install all that sounds steep but it takes allot of time to remove all the interior pieces to install the edead. Your install would look allot cleaner if they loom those wires going into your amp.
neckbonenick
08-31-2005, 02:42 PM
Also it might sound crappy cuz your rca's are strapped to your power wires.
mandos
08-31-2005, 02:50 PM
I don't see the problem with running 8 gauge to and amp that only has and 8 gauge input. I think you can stop whining about that. I think you should be reimbursed for your door sills though. $1000 to install all that sounds steep but it takes allot of time to remove all the interior pieces to install the edead. Your install would look allot cleaner if they loom those wires going into your amp.
He's upset because they ran 8 awg wire to an amp that accepts 4 or even 0 awg. The Nine.2, 8 awg is fine, and he knows that.
But you do NOT run 8 awg to a 1200 watt amp, THAT is what he's upset about. Hell, if you look at the hole on a Nine.1, it's the size of normal 4 awg w/ room to accept the wire jacket as well, or normal 0 awg with no jacket. 8 awg, if he could get a pic dead on, would look beyond retarded in there.
BTW, the eDead was only $225 of the total cost...$800 for the rest of that is a bit of a rip off.
DibujoB
08-31-2005, 02:52 PM
Seems to me you should at least be able to get the damaged parts replaced.
neckbonenick
08-31-2005, 03:09 PM
Sorry I didn't know that edesign amp accepted such a high gauge of wire. I can't imagine the store manager would have a problem correcting the problem since you spent all that money.
mandos
08-31-2005, 03:26 PM
No worries man, that whole thing just has me a little ticked....hate to see my customers end up w/ installs like that :(
JUMBO
08-31-2005, 03:42 PM
I used to work at Classic Stereo and Video in Kalamazoo, MI. We charged more than everyone, but like I used to tell my customers:
You get what you pay for.
It sucks that your amps are crooked, your door sill is fubar'd, and the wiring is whack, but the morons at Circuit ____ty and Death Star (BB) are working to the level that they pay them to. Nothing more. You're just a number.
Small, reputable shops may cost more, but there's a reason for that.
eujin
08-31-2005, 04:41 PM
another reason why you should let the audio junkies in town work on it, since they specialize in it.
killermethod
08-31-2005, 04:53 PM
How many times does this happen to people .!!!!!
Come on if i had a dime for everytime someone went to Best Buy or Circuit City for a crappy install i would be the rich!!!!
freeflowing
08-31-2005, 05:14 PM
your right that is a crappy job they did but whats even worse is you could of did it yourself for it would have probably looked a helluva lot better for less than 1grand. those people cant even install car alarms right much less a stereo.
the wiring looks a hot mess it should have been hidden alot better .
it doesnt looked like they mapped out the install at all. all someone would have to do is break your rear winshield and be out in less than 5 minutes top and your whole system system sitting in the rear like that.
my advise is to invest in proximity sensors and a fm pager so when the break in does happen at least you call the proper people to salvage and save your ride. Ive personallly lost over 2 grand so i hope your not thinking im talking out of my behind on this subject.
did you even question them for the reason behind breaking down for breaking down the 4 guage to eight because if im not mistaken they did it based on the overall volatge that a battery can output otherwise wouldnt it kill your charging system even with a capacitor in place.
give us some feed back on what they said to you
jaydub
08-31-2005, 05:24 PM
I hope this doesn't come off the wrong way, but IMO that's what was bound to happen by having it installed by a chain store like Circuit City. They're in the business of getting people in and out as quickly as possible, so they aren't going to take the time and care that a dedicated private shop would take.
It seriously looks like some amateur installed it, I'd be raising hell over it if I had paid that much.
freeflowing
08-31-2005, 05:33 PM
most the people working in those install shops at the chain stores are teenagers with no real experience at all.
Smoses799
08-31-2005, 06:43 PM
okie.... here is whats up.
1. i went to cicuit city because it was a large chain and i figured that if anything went wrong, it would be easier to get problems fixed.
2. im knowledgeable about car audio products, but know absolutely nothing about installs.
3. i went to circuit city because i wanted it done "professionally" i told them that money wasnt a issue and i wanted the install done correctly. I also told them that i wanted atleast 4 guage wire going to the nine.1.
4. ive gone to stereo shops that have done worse jobs then this before, i figured that meybe something as large as circuit city would atleast be decent.
Smoses799
08-31-2005, 06:46 PM
by the way, if i cannot get circuit city to fix their problems... i will gladly go to anyones shop if they have any recomendations.... I live in Claremont, Ca. Id perfer to not drive further then 50 miles , but Im also willing to do whats neccessary to fix this.
freeflowing
08-31-2005, 08:18 PM
my friend if you type and browse the internet then you can easily do your own install. there are countless articles of how to do a proper install. its really hard to screw it up. i used to do it for a while to pay down some of my college expenses i knew completely nothing . just stop in at any local shop in your area ask a few question they maybe willing to help you doit for free. thats how i learned personally.
by the way whats the wattage rating of your amps nine1 & 2.
you stated 1200rms i hope thats peak because you may be able to blow your window with that much bass or at least the sunroof. a meember here has already done so but i dont recall the system she had in it
mandos
08-31-2005, 08:32 PM
my friend if you type and browse the internet then you can easily do your own install. there are countless articles of how to do a proper install. its really hard to screw it up. i used to do it for a while to pay down some of my college expenses i knew completely nothing . just stop in at any local shop in your area ask a few question they maybe willing to help you doit for free. thats how i learned personally.
by the way whats the wattage rating of your amps nine1 & 2.
you stated 1200rms i hope thats peak because you may be able to blow your window with that much bass or at least the sunroof. a meember here has already done so but i dont recall the system she had in it
And realistically, blowing out windows does not happen....very rarely to SPL competitors, yes, to an average person, it's a story about their friend/cousin/brothers, friend/cousin/brothers dog.
DynomyteSW
08-31-2005, 10:08 PM
thats some mickey mouse B.S.
I would not have taken delivery of the car if thats the way it came back... should have told them to take it all out and get a refund.... and not to sound like a broken record research a reputable audio shop!
freeflowing
08-31-2005, 10:33 PM
my friend if you type and browse the internet then you can easily do your own install. there are countless articles of how to do a proper install. its really hard to screw it up. i used to do it for a while to pay down some of my college expenses i knew completely nothing . just stop in at any local shop in your area ask a few question they maybe willing to help you doit for free. thats how i learned personally.
by the way whats the wattage rating of your amps nine1 & 2.
you stated 1200rms i hope thats peak because you may be able to blow your window with that much bass or at least the sunroof. a meember here has already done so but i dont recall the system she had in it
And realistically, blowing out windows does not happen....very rarely to SPL competitors, yes, to an average person, it's a story about their friend/cousin/brothers, friend/cousin/brothers dog.
well im not an average person ive won several comps so i know a little something there. was a case posted here a week or so ago who she stated that her sunroof shattered as a result but to me it was specualtion . she stated she was sitting in her car bumping her favorite tunes and it started raining glass. another incident ive personally seen was a hatch that was blown open and a front windshield that seperated from soo much bassss while i was in college.
im not gonna dwell on that story besides it kinda off topic.
any way the 1200 x 1 is that peak? i believe its peak watts your talking so realistically its half in even if it is in one channel mode. a real amp (not to put your system down or nothing) has a dollar/watt ratio.
so amp that produces 500 watts peak realistcally produces a good wattage rating of 250-290 watts without over working itself. i know what your thinking why does it have a 1000 watt rating well the truth is its a marketing gimmick thats been used for decades now. which would you you rather see a big or small number for your dollars?? a thousand watt amp should cost you close to 1,000 bucks unless they(manfac) switch the game on me in the past 4 years and made stuff a helluva lot cheaper. i know in depth about this topic because it was a class project.
crutchfield.com has videos on how to properly install amps. heres also a chart for those wondering why circuit city broke it down to 8 guage wiring.what they should have given you was a least a 4 gauge distribution block which based on the specs and the chart you should have gotten for the amount of amps your drawing. also see how long your ground cables are. the shorter the ground the harder the bass hit. also are you using gold connects or patch/rca cables?
these tips im giving you have won me and several other guys alot of trophies.my hearing is what its used to be so i quit.
. feel free to drop me a pm if any more questions about car stereos setups.
pic of what your install should have looked like
http://akamaipix.crutchfield.com/ca/learningcenter/car/amp_install_guide/11-connections.jpg
thanx crutchfield for the free info stuff
one last thing 64% Efficiency vs power is another ratio i would pay attention to.
is it CEA-2006 compliant?? it should be !!!
Smoses799
08-31-2005, 10:55 PM
no that is the rms rating.. 1200 rms @ 1ohm on 12v ... 1500ish @14.4v
as far as doing the install myself. 1) i work to much to do it 2) i dont want to do it 3) i dont feel comfortable doing it 4) i dont have all the proper equipment to do it.
www.edesignaudio.com <--- read up. why would I be ____ed that a 250 watt amp was wired with 4 guage and broken down to 8
btw the nine.1 draws a max of 130 ampres
Smoses799
08-31-2005, 10:58 PM
thats some mickey mouse B.S.
I would not have taken delivery of the car if thats the way it came back... should have told them to take it all out and get a refund.... and not to sound like a broken record research a reputable audio shop!
i took delivery assuming that it was a setting issue... however, its not.
mattssi
08-31-2005, 11:40 PM
your right that is a crappy job they did but whats even worse is you could of did it yourself for it would have probably looked a helluva lot better for less than 1grand. those people cant even install car alarms right much less a stereo.
the wiring looks a hot mess it should have been hidden alot better .
it doesnt looked like they mapped out the install at all. all someone would have to do is break your rear winshield and be out in less than 5 minutes top and your whole system system sitting in the rear like that.
my advise is to invest in proximity sensors and a fm pager so when the break in does happen at least you call the proper people to salvage and save your ride. Ive personallly lost over 2 grand so i hope your not thinking im talking out of my behind on this subject.
did you even question them for the reason behind breaking down for breaking down the 4 guage to eight because if im not mistaken they did it based on the overall volatge that a battery can output otherwise wouldnt it kill your charging system even with a capacitor in place.
give us some feed back on what they said to you
Can't do alarms let alone stereos? In my experience and my bro's (installer) experience, alarms tend to be way more involved that stereos. Stereos are simple in cars like the tc.
Its funny, my bro has been an installer for years and years at CC...however, he does some good work. He's been to AV schooles, custom install schools, etc... not sure why he hasn't started somehwere else. He did some cool work on his teg and my IS when I had it.
anyway
WeeMan
08-31-2005, 11:58 PM
I went there but didn't get their insatll. i am an avid wirer, and completely installed my entire ride grounding to frame, using the correct gauge++ for everything, and taking my time to run them where they won't get damaged, heat, or where they could pick up outside sound. (enough of my jobs)
I Hate Circuit City.
I bought a cheap amp and sub set there for my old car. a crappy 92 dodge colt, and i opted to go for the Extended Warranty, that says if i should ever blow anything they would replace it for the same item, or slightly better (if they didn't have it in stock). This warranty lasts two years. Well a year later my amp goes. so i bring the Amp in mention down to the Circuit City (Palm Dessert, CA) and ask for them to bring up my account, they took pages of information from me when i bought the damn thing, i figured they put it into their computers, and stored me in some file. NO ONE EVER TOLD ME TO HOLD ONTO SOME FORM OF RECIEPT, OR WARRANTY CARD (never got one anyway). They couldn't find me anywhere! so i spent an extra 50 bux for this warranty and they don't do SHIZZLE! (edited for Scionlife.com) OHHH I was ____ed. never go to Circuit City again. I spoke to their manager, he didn't do anything, i wrote to headquarters, they were sending me "coupons" whooopie! haven't got them yet
i told them i will never come back to circuit city, and tell everyone i know not to do business there. I haven't been back in close to two years.
Moral of the Story, if you bought that extended warranty thing, you just lost 50 bux
jallamas
09-01-2005, 12:00 AM
:come: Get your butt down to the CC and talk with the people who installed your stuff. Let them know thats not what you were thinking about how the install was going to be. If you do not want to do this than I think you should just live with it and fix it when you have time. Remember advise is free, screw-ups cost you money.
John
CF_KC_WIDETC
09-01-2005, 12:23 AM
:eyes:
DynomyteSW
09-01-2005, 12:57 AM
what a $h!ty deal.... hope you can get this straightend out in a timely manner!
misslis
09-01-2005, 01:21 AM
i work at a small shop in reno that my boyfriend owns. and just like everyone else...WE ARE SO TIRED OF HAVING TO FIX OTHER MAJOR SHOPS MISTAKES!
they charge almost 3 times for their product and offer "free" install. what is that crap! and people frown on us cause its $40/hr for installs here......sorry we want to make it look good, dont want to charge you up the bumm, and dont use tons an tons of eletrical tape.
just cause you care about your car doesnt mean they do.
-sorry your installed sucked
Smoses799
09-01-2005, 05:44 AM
okie talked to the assistant manager.
This is what they are going to do for me
1. replace my door sill
2. replace the headunit kit (they broke one of the lower connections.
3. rerun all wire. they offered to run 4 guage to the nine.1 that would be free, id just need to get the 160 fuses.. I mentioned that the manufacturer suggestion was to run 0 guage...they dont carry 0 guage or 160 fuses.... so, he said that he would redo all the wiring with 0 guage to the dist block, then 4 guage into the nine.1 he also will use the old 4 gauge for the nine.2.
so, it will cost me $88 of knuconcepts stuff to fix this problem
however atleast it will be fixed i hope
boxista
09-01-2005, 05:47 AM
as far as doing the install myself. 1) i work to much to do it 2) i dont want to do it 3) i dont feel comfortable doing it 4) i dont have all the proper equipment to do it.
I dunno man, you know exactly what CC did wrong, you know what needs to be done, sounds like you need to make the time and DIY so you know it's right. I'm far from competent in these things, but you certainly couldn't do any worse than they did. It ain't rocket science, do your research, use this forum as tool for info, and go for it. My $0.02
Steve
Smoses799
09-01-2005, 05:47 AM
also. yea its going to kill my alt.. .but i already knew that
Smoses799
09-01-2005, 06:01 AM
Smoses799 wrote:
as far as doing the install myself. 1) i work to much to do it 2) i dont want to do it 3) i dont feel comfortable doing it 4) i dont have all the proper equipment to do it.
I dunno man, you know exactly what CC did wrong, you know what needs to be done, sounds like you need to make the time and DIY so you know it's right. I'm far from competent in these things, but you certainly couldn't do any worse than they did. It ain't rocket science, do your research, use this forum as tool for info, and go for it. My $0.02
Steve
14 hr shifts 4days a week= no time.
at this point $88 for 0 gauge and the right fuses= system works properly and i can just forget this whole thing ever happened....
However, if i ever run into this guy in a dark alley, i might do something that could cause me to be arrested.
mandos
09-01-2005, 02:24 PM
my friend if you type and browse the internet then you can easily do your own install. there are countless articles of how to do a proper install. its really hard to screw it up. i used to do it for a while to pay down some of my college expenses i knew completely nothing . just stop in at any local shop in your area ask a few question they maybe willing to help you doit for free. thats how i learned personally.
by the way whats the wattage rating of your amps nine1 & 2.
you stated 1200rms i hope thats peak because you may be able to blow your window with that much bass or at least the sunroof. a meember here has already done so but i dont recall the system she had in it
And realistically, blowing out windows does not happen....very rarely to SPL competitors, yes, to an average person, it's a story about their friend/cousin/brothers, friend/cousin/brothers dog.
well im not an average person ive won several comps so i know a little something there. was a case posted here a week or so ago who she stated that her sunroof shattered as a result but to me it was specualtion . she stated she was sitting in her car bumping her favorite tunes and it started raining glass. another incident ive personally seen was a hatch that was blown open and a front windshield that seperated from soo much bassss while i was in college.
im not gonna dwell on that story besides it kinda off topic.
any way the 1200 x 1 is that peak? i believe its peak watts your talking so realistically its half in even if it is in one channel mode. a real amp (not to put your system down or nothing) has a dollar/watt ratio.
so amp that produces 500 watts peak realistcally produces a good wattage rating of 250-290 watts without over working itself. i know what your thinking why does it have a 1000 watt rating well the truth is its a marketing gimmick thats been used for decades now. which would you you rather see a big or small number for your dollars?? a thousand watt amp should cost you close to 1,000 bucks unless they(manfac) switch the game on me in the past 4 years and made stuff a helluva lot cheaper. i know in depth about this topic because it was a class project.
Actually, those are RMS ratings, sorry, forgot to mention that part.
The game really has changed in the last 4 years. Yes, it was about $1/watt back then, but now, the only reason you're paying that much is you're buying a brand name, or a bunch of pointless extras in the amp. Hell, even the JL 1000/1 is only $750 authorized. RF is selling amps around $.50/watt or so now too. My first system, yeah, those were the days of $1/watt being CHEAP :)
Didn't mean to sound doubtful on the window glass thing, I've just heard it from too many people to believe anyone saying that unless they can back it up. I heard about that more times in high school than I can count...and I've seen it happen twice, on cars doing somewhere around 155 or so.
As far as the sunroof...that one is actually understandable, since it's not quite as detached from the metal as a windshield, if the roof flexes majorly, it'd snap. It's just windshields/hatch glass that don't shatter too easily.
freeflowing
09-01-2005, 03:09 PM
the effiency rating on that amp is kinda low compared to a couple of top brand name amps
Smoses799
09-05-2005, 06:32 PM
UPDATE:
waiting on knukoncepts wiring to arrive.
Ill be taking my tc to the shop of an acquaintence that i met on the ed forum. The plan is that he will let me know all the fubars that CC did and what should be done to fix them. After cc fixes the system, ill take it back to his shop for tuning :P things are looking better i guess
sciontc_mich
09-05-2005, 07:09 PM
i'm glad Smoses is getting everything corrected.. but for the people who read this in the future DO NOT TAKE YOUR TC TO BB OR CIRCUIT CITY FOR INSTALLS! If you don't have the cash, save up to take it to a good audio shop.
I have seen here on the ICE section how someone's brother or cousin is a good installer at BB or CC.. Fact is that's not the case 100% of the time! It's safer NOT to go there at all.. Why take the chance with your ride? This story has been repeated many many times here, PLEASE DO NOT TAKE YOUR TC TO BB OR CC !! you'll only be more frustrated..
Sometimes it works out, but the fact is I agree with everything said here about the quality of the installs, small audio shops would've done better. That's all they do is custom work..
eBasik
09-05-2005, 08:07 PM
I do my own installs, saves me a $1000 :P
Harmonic_tC
09-06-2005, 04:11 AM
yes, a majority of the big box stores are the last place to go for installs. But keep in mind that small shops can be just as bad! They need money too and if that day they happen to get a bunch of business after being slow, they will rush through your stuff just like a big box store. The better part of the big box store is that if you go through the rediculosly long process, youll get your money back. I used to work at Besy Buy and my install lead is very experianced and was very strict on training new hires. they would not touch a car by themselves for about a month. I knew what i was doing when i was hired but still learned a lot. i never took shortcuts of any kind. id rather deal with a customer thats ____ed cause im taking too long than one ____ed cause i jacked up his car. Ive never had a damage claim and we did a all high quality installs. Our top managers would drive states away to get thier stuff done by me and one other guy only. Best Buy had cars a few years back in the autoshow, they were brought to us to wire them seperate from the entire vehicles electrical system to run on power inverters.
All in all, your best bet is to talk to the installers and get a feel for the place. its not the store, its the emplyees that make the difference.
I have a website link in my sig, its to display a handful of my installs. I normally didnt have my digital camera with me so i never took many pics. But youll get the idea
Prototype_xB
09-06-2005, 07:07 AM
wow, alot of hardware for poop! Why not just bite the bullet, and buy some 4ga. wire and replace all the 8ga. yourself?
sciontc_mich
09-06-2005, 08:21 AM
Best Buy had cars a few years back in the autoshow, they were brought to us to wire them seperate from the entire vehicles electrical system to run on power inverters.
All in all, your best bet is to talk to the installers and get a feel for the place. its not the store, its the employees that make the difference.
i am glad you're a good installer and your care for the customer shows.. but also you were only a couple people out of the whole company picked to wire corporate vehicles for an autoshow.. shows that in the rest of their company they lacked the ability to find someone on equal level.. good for you for being that good, it also backs up our claim that they aren't always the best palce to go to.. since out of all their stores they only found a handful of guys to wire up some show cars.. (not knocking your ability!)
and yes i will agree with you that some small audio places can screw up your car too, not all are created equal.. that is very very true as I have seen that myself. But most of the time the best buys and circuit city places on average aren't that good and that's what we're saying..
The solution to the problem? Learn to install the equipment as a do-it-yourself project! At least that way you could take care in the project, since it's your car! Some people on here dislike crutchfield.. I started out using their ideas and their help, now it's no big deal for me to install an amp, headunit, etc.. But for the beginner I think Crutchfield.com is a great resource to learn and start at...
WeeMan
09-07-2005, 09:06 AM
ahh the good ole days of finding out for yourself....(reflects back) i am glad that so many people care and share the pain of a few peoples unfortunate happenings... i have read a couple of fuming peoples replies to this topic, and also realize that many newbies are gonna be reading this forum also so i am hoping they will find this reply and come to a conclusion themselves...
i have been shopping at all the major places, BB, CC, Fry's electronics (my favorite) etc etc. and i will go back to them (except CC read past post) after i decide what i want to do and purchase the products to install myself. the great thing about those places is that they have "specialists" who can tell you about some of the products, their features, and "what else you might need (yeah right)"
After going to BB a couple of times and speaking with different salesmen, they all pointed me in different directions for which is the best headunit, amps, speakers etc... to my surprise (sarcasm) They didn't know anything besides what was in their car, or what they could read on the boxes. But they did point out what features one did compared to another, and for the most aprt they have a simple return policy in case anything goes wrong.
I am also a fan of Crutchfield (one they ship to Guam) but they also have those step by step installation guides, and information on what each item does for you car audio and performance.
so please make your own decisions what you would rather do, you haven't heard much from the people who LOVE the big name stores. (they are out there).
(not saying that you should have installed yourself smoses799, i understand you are busy etc.)
hahajoey
09-07-2005, 10:08 AM
just to let u know.
i know for a FACT that the circuit
closest to my house hires people who
aren't certified in anything to do car installations
my friend got hired there and he has NO idea
about anything to do with cars or car audio.