[KineticsReborn]

question, i dont know if this question has already been asked. i looked through some old and newer posts and didnt see the question so here goes.

i plan on installing new headunit and better speakers in my 2001 zx3 5spd. the thing is, it looks pretty tricky on doing it right and w/o rattleing. so i got to thinking. what if i took it to bestbuy/circuit city and bought speakers and had them install it. i would be more than willing to pay an extra 25-100 dollars to make sure it gets done right. but then i thought, they do a bunch of cars a day, and they probably get sick of doing it, so they do it as fast as they can to get it over with, all half assed. what if they do just a shitty job as i would have if i try to do it my self?? so i wanted some opinions, do it yourself or take it to bestbuy/circuit city.

 

[madmark10]

ive had really good experiances with best buy, all excpt one time when they cut my antena wire and didnt fix it until i complained about it.

But i think when i put my door speakers it started to make noises at idle =\i just thought about that. They do really good work they dont seem to rush because it takes a couple hours on almost everything they have done to my car

 

[SharpFocus]

BestBuy/Circuit city...No. I would take it to a local shop that specailizes in car audio. No offense to Circuit City/ Best Buy employees.... I've just had better luck with specailized shops. But hey, that's me.

 

[blazinzx3]

it really just depends on the store. each store is going to have their "senior" installers and thier newbies. luckily my store has 5 seniors and one new guy. a good rule of thumb is to ask if they have any pics of thier work. if they'll take the time to show you previous installs, they most likely take pride in thier work and don't half ass it. also, if you speak to the car audio manager (s&i) they are usually pretty cool guys who will make sure you're taken care of. CC and BB are like any other store and install company, they want your business and they want you to be happy so you "spread the word"

 

[svtguy88]

Installing a head unit in our cars is super simple. The factory deck pops right out with the 'special Ford tool' (i.ei-3 dollar removal pins from Wallmart/BB/CC), and the new one pops right in with the dash kit. The hardest part is connecting all the wires, and even that is super easy.

The speakers are also relatively simple, IMO, especially the fronts. All you have to do is take off the interior panel (you don't even need to take it all the way off, you can squeeze the speakers in and our without taking it off all the way). The rears are where a lot of people have rattling issues. Just position the speaker correctly and test it to check for rattles before putting the interior all back together again.

If you don't want to do it yourself, then, by all means, have it done by an installer. BB/CC do pretty good jobs overall, but if you are concerned, then talk with the manager before hand and they will get you taken care of.

 

[installman]

If you want quality work, go somewhere that does does car audio, not everything under the sun. As soon as the guy at BB or CC knows what he's doing he's hired away by a specialty store. Why make $8 when the you can make $20 p/h???? When we hire someone from a big box we spend almost as much time re-training them as we would training a newbie. It's not that they don't WANT to do good work, it's just that they're under so much pressure to produce volume you have to cut corners. Spend the extra few dollars and have it done right the first time. [thumb]

I'm not saying that all of their installers are bad, some really do care about what they do but when you're asked to do 4 hours worth of work in 1.5 hours, ya gotta do what ya gotta do! Watch Unique Whips and you'll know what I mean. I'm sure they're capable of great work but when you have a week to build a show car, s&%t is what you get.