After having a few issues with an install shop that have all but guaranteed I will bring my car elsewhere for the remainder of the system, I decided to go over my bill a little more closely - and see that I was charged $85 for a Pioneer Dual Aux adapter, and another $25 to plug it in. This is the CD-RB20 RCA to IP-BUS INTERCONNECTOR - and the highest price I was able to find it for was $45. I will call my credit card company to see if this is grounds for a partial dispute - but I am going to assume that it isn't. Has anyone ever experienced this? I guess my mistake was trusting him when he said that was how much this part costs, but there is no way I can know in advance about something like this - it was a part I didn't know I needed. What do you guys think I should do at this point? I am pretty pissed , but don't know if $40 is worth a fight.

 

sorry, but your out of luck...

200% mark up is not uncommon and legit... buyer beware.

 

Car audio installers/dealers can be very distrust worthy. It can go the same with some mechanics. The problem is if you don't know what you're doing(which most don't) then they really can charge you whatever they want and you can't say much about it.

Though I'd suggest for car audio, read up on it and figure it out yourself since it's really not that hard. Unless you want some custom panels as that can be hard to do it yourself. You can read up on fiberglassing as its not too hard but can be a pain in the butt sometimes and often tedious. Everything else from HU install/speakers/amps/subs/sub box building is all pretty simple if you have some basic tools at hand. Hell walmart has 4guage amp kit for $15 or something like that, cheapest I've ever seen.

 

If you order it straight from Pioneer direct it would only cost $75, which I doubt they did. This is what you bought:

At Best Buy we carry a part that does the exact same thing and it's $35. It's not a genuine Pioneer product, but it's not junk either. The install price is right if you were to come to me with this part and I had to take your radio out, plug it in, and put it back together. If I had your radio out already, I would probably only charge $15, the time it would take me to run the cable so you have access to it. I can order that exact part for $45+shipping, so take that for what it's worth

 

This probably wouldn't be a huge deal by itself, but combined with several other dishonest tactics and sloppy work will send me to another shop for the next phase of the install. I just don't know how shops like this stay in business or ever get people to come back. This time I am going to pay more to get the work done at a higher profile shop in the center of town.

 

same as the guy above i charge more if i have to pull the deck out connect it and put it back together. if i am doing the deck at the same time its only a small fee to run the cable. that sucs you were charged so much. hope everything goes better next time.

 

The problem with car audio...if you know what you're talking about, what you need, and what needs to be done, you're probably going to install stuff yourself. The people that go to audio shops usually have no idea about how any of this stuff works or what they need.

 

I bought all of the equipment that I thought I needed, and there was no way I would have known beforehand that I would need that adapter because car audio just isn't something I am an expert on, like you say. However I don't see how I could have done anything differently, unless I would have told them beforehand to call me with any parts that you need and give me the stock number and price before continuing. In this case he was already a day later than he promised, and I had a rental car so I needed it done as quickly as possible. I hate being taken advantage of and not only did this schmuck charge me too much, but he installed one of my head units so that if you press the eject button accidentally, the detachable face will disconnect and cause you to have to take apart the entire car to reconnect it - so basically I have a useless MP3 player installed in my mail slot right now - and of course I am not going back to him. Sigh.

 

Wait...if you try to eject a cd the faceplate of the stereo comes off?

 

No - though if my main head unit had a detachable face that is probably what would happen. I was referring to the Fosgate Omnifi that I had installed (not that it really matters since I will never be able to figure out how to get it to work the way it is supposed to, synchronizing with my home network). They built a trim panel around the unit that holds it in place, which I understand - but they should have figured something else out. I can't leave it like this, because I know it will happen again (it has already happened twice - once by accident and a second time when I actually tried to remove the face). So if a passenger tries to work it or someone at the car wash bumps it - whatever - you have to take apart the entire car to get behind it so that you can put it back in place. I am going to have to get it redone at another shop. What a mess.

 

Sorry to hear about your luck man. Wish you were around my area b/c I would easily be able to refer you to some very reputable shops that would probably fix it for you at no charge for the shear fact that alot of the shops around me know each other and HATE when someone tries to give their industry a bad reputation. Its unfortunate, but for some reason people just don't give a Flying F*** about their work or the person who's car they're working on. Very Sad indeed. Hope the best in getting someone who you can trust. I would go to a local show and check out some of the cars, when you see someone who has something done exceptionally well, ask the owner who did it. Most will tell you immediately b/c many shops don't advertise and the best way to keep their client numbers growing and maintaining them is by showing it off. Not to mention, most guys who do customizing (generally) know each other very well. If you have someone do work on your car (no matter what it is) and they do great work, ask them who they knows and recommends. Remember, alot of these guys work off reputation and that means everything to them.

A majority of the BEST installers/customizers I have ever met, usually stay relatively hidden because they have their clients, stay busy off their customers word of mouth referals, and don't need to go out and find random customers like a "store" or retail establishment. You need to ask some people who know the local customizing industry in your area. Thats the key.

 

That is what blows my mind - the whole industry runs off of word of mouth, and a friend of mine had a good experience with this shop, so I gave them a try. I intentionally did it in stages, purposely not giving this guy my speakers, amps, etc. to see how he did on this "little" job first. I was treated like garbage from the very beginning, they ignored my written instructions and then complained when they did it wrong, missed appointments, lied to my face about when they said it would be completed, etc. It was like he was trying to force me not to come back for the rest of the system. Customer service was just not important, and because they are a busy shop, I guess they figure they don't need my business. Obviously a stupid way of thinking that will never grow their business. I toured another shop recently and even though they charge top dollar, I think I am going to give them a try for the speakers/amps. I am doing some custom work, so I need a reliable shop that will stand behind their work. I know for a fact that if I went back to this original shop and asked them to fix the MP3 player, they would charge me. After discussing this some more with you guys, I think I have worked up enough of a steam to go ahead and attempt to partially dispute the charge with my credit card company. I feel like a moron paying for that "custom trim panel" on the bill when I will have to pay for it to be completely re-done later.

 

Unfortunately, I guess it goes back to the Old saying that "you get what you pay for". Very sad, but very true in alot of cases. But in your case you can look at it this way. The shops I know that charge "top dollar" for their work charge that much for a reason. And they do it to weed out the BS people who want minimal work done for the "BEST PRICE THEY CAN GET" and you hear "Come on man give me a deal". Usually at a shop like that you will pay the "Top Dollar" the first time and when you become a regular you don't pay that and you get good prices along with the Top Quality work they are capable of. Once you get in and know some of the people it becomes much easier to network and find good people who you can trust to work on your car. Best Luck Man, but until then be very cautious of people working on your whip.
Ever since the F&F all the idiot people who think they can work on cars came out of the closet. They will die off eventually and what goes around comes around. Unfortuantely as soon as one goes out of business another idiot shows up, so you can never really win unless you know people in the industry.
I mean seriously look at some of the work done to these kids cars! Some you just look at in amazement, like ....You have got to be joking.

Also, look for installer certs, ask where they learned from, and to see pics of other work they have done.