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nightmare at the shop

Printed From: the12volt.com
Forum Name: Car Audio
Forum Discription: Car Stereos, Amplifiers, Crossovers, Processors, Speakers, Subwoofers, etc.
URL: https://www.the12volt.com/installbay/forum_posts.asp?tid=125710
Printed Date: March 28, 2024 at 8:38 PM


Topic: nightmare at the shop

Posted By: 9960xlt
Subject: nightmare at the shop
Date Posted: January 17, 2011 at 8:06 AM

Hey everyone,

I'm new here on the forums, and just wanted to share my experience with having my new system installed this week. I have a few questions about the issues im having as a result of the poor quality work and lack of attention to common sense practices that the shop i used applied to my truck. anyway, to start off, i have a 2006 Ford Expedition XLT. Before this install i had the completely stock ford 4-speaker (no sub) stereo. Heres basically what went down at the shop. 

Things i provided:

1) Alpine PDX 4.150 4 channel amp (for doors)

2) Kenwood Excelon 9960 Nav/HU

Things i bought from the shop/included in install, and things discussed to be done:

1) JL 13w3v3 Sub (they gave me the 8ohm model, i assumed they were giving me the 4ohm since thats what the amp they sold me is rated for)

2) Alpine PDX-M6 mono amp (for sub)

3) dynamat all doors/under sub enclosure

4) 1 pair Focal KRX2 Power components for front, 1 pair JL C2 coaxials for rear

5) running power to amps and installing head unit

6) wiring speakers, straight new runs from amp to speakers

7) removed half of 60/40 split third row seat and installed wood sub/amp box in floor

8) install door amp under driver seat

9) tune system

So here is what they did after having the car a full 7 days :

For power: they ran 4AWG from battery hot to inside dash in car, split to 4AWG to each amp. they used the same 4AWG from the amps to chassis ground. they did NOT upgrade the chassis ground wire from the battery, which from the factory is still 10AWG. inline with the 4AWG from the battery to amps, they installed a 250A wafer fuse in a fuse holder which they installed right under the hinge of my hood, which now does not close fully. also by installing the base of the fuse holder where they did, the lifted the left side of the bezel that seals the engine compartment from the hood to keep out water, breaking the seal.

Speakers: they used 12AWG speaker wire from amp to sub, but for door speakers, they ran the same 12AWG from the 4 channel amp to the crossovers (which they didnt mount, but threw behind my headlight switch just flopping around by the wires). from the crossovers in the dash, they went 12AWG to the tweeters directly, and then 12 AWG from the crossovers to the stock speaker wires from the factory harness, connecting them to the factory speaker wires with a drop of solder and a few twists of tape, using the stock wires in the doors for the woofers from the KRX2 Focal set.

Lastly, for some reason, i have a nasty engine noise coming out of only ONE speaker (the pass rear door), the rest are clean. when i went to check the connections on the amp, i couldnt because they mounted the amp too far foward and then jammed the seat back in, crushing most of the wires on the connection side of the amp with the front rail of the seat. i have a feeling this has something to do with my engine noise, but havent had time to diagnose yet.

anyway they charged me about $5000 including labor and all the equip/parts that they provided. i feel like i got taken for a ride.. i see multiple issues with this but just want to make sure im not crazy before i go back there... any input is appreciated, thanks




Replies:

Posted By: 9960xlt
Date Posted: January 17, 2011 at 8:07 AM
also, when i got the car back i had no heat. they forgot to plug the connector back into the fan switch and i had to take my dash apart at 10pm in 10 degree weather to fix it!




Posted By: soundnsecurity
Date Posted: January 17, 2011 at 9:46 PM
they were just very lazy and careless. i would be very mad about smashing the amp terminals though. these type of stories are what made me start learning to do this stuff myself because you just cant trust anyone with your car anymore. especially now when cars have more electronics in them than they have mechanical, its too easy to fry things nowadays.

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Posted By: stevdart
Date Posted: January 17, 2011 at 11:46 PM
Well, you went to the boards, now go back to the shop with your complaint.  You can't get it fixed by sitting around here.

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Build the box so that it performs well in the worst case scenario and, in return, it will reward you at all times.




Posted By: lvtintmaster
Date Posted: January 18, 2011 at 12:15 PM
I can only say one thing....as a shop manager for a reputable shop...if my installers pulled that crap...they would be fired...it sounds like they half-***ed it. Also ...they took 7 days to finish the install? I get something like that done in 4 to 5 hours..who do they think they are West coast customs? Sorry you had to go through that..but definitely take the truck back and tell them to re-wire everything..If they don't shoot me a text...i'll see what I can do for you.

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LV Tint Master Shop Manager
~702-371-1617~




Posted By: soundnsecurity
Date Posted: January 18, 2011 at 12:19 PM
can you post any pics of their install?

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Posted By: 9960xlt
Date Posted: January 18, 2011 at 1:24 PM
Tell me about it. I finally had time to rip some of the car apart in the freezing cold, and let me tell you it only got worse. I am definately going back there after work to have a little chat with them. I am an audio engineer myself and the only reason I didn't do the install myself was because it's been 9 degrees out and snowing here for a month and I have no garage to work in. I've installed many car stereos and seen many installs done by everyone from 18 year old rookies to 20 year shops, and I've never seen anything like this. You will understand what I mean when I post some pictures later tonight, I'm at work right now but I'll make sure I get them up there when I get home. Thank you everyone the anger in your words makes me feel slightly better, when I complain about this kind of thing to my non-techy friends I feel like I'm talking to the cat! Check back tonight pics will be up, and maybe a response from them.

On a side note, he also screwed my friend at the same time, told us they were viper experts and tried installing a 5901 in my coworkers 2010 vw jetta and it is totally screwed up. He's been back 5 times and just as an example when the car is running an you close the trunk it locks you out of the car and the factory alarm goes off.. This guy should be shutdown! All they do is try to talk circles around you and laugh like it's a joke, pretending to be friendly.




Posted By: ben d.
Date Posted: January 18, 2011 at 1:28 PM
lvtintmaster wrote:

I can only say one thing....as a shop manager for a reputable shop...if my installers pulled that crap...they would be fired...it sounds like they half-***ed it. Also ...they took 7 days to finish the install? I get something like that done in 4 to 5 hours..who do they think they are West coast customs? Sorry you had to go through that..but definitely take the truck back and tell them to re-wire everything..If they don't shoot me a text...i'll see what I can do for you.



I agree. My shop manager would whoop my ass.. I also agree on the timeframe. Unless they were doing some serious fiberglass work that 7 day timeframe is absolutely ridiculous. That install should have taken no more than a day at max.

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2008 Dodge Ram 1500
MECP Certified Advanced Installer CEA 191700




Posted By: 9960xlt
Date Posted: January 18, 2011 at 9:33 PM

Hey guys, well here are the pictures i have so far. ill try to get more of the speaker and door wiring and how the crossovers and my sirius receiver are just thrown hanging by the wires behind the dash when i take the dash apart again another day, too cold out. this will pretty much give you an idea though. they are pretty self explanitory. i also added another hand drawing (sorry its kinda crappy i used paint) to illustrate the means in which they got power from the battery to the amps, using about 15 feet of extra 4awg than neccessary. anyway cant wait to hear what you have to say now, ill be back with more updates later, any questions let me know!

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Posted By: z03mz03m
Date Posted: January 19, 2011 at 12:46 AM
this has to be a joke! wow man thats not cool at all. I'm in disbelief that anyone could possibly think that they could charge that much for that work and not expect to be called on it! posted_image

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Dodge Magnum in progress:
Pioneer DEH-80PRS - PPI Amps - Dayton Subwoofer(s) - Exodus Anarchy's - Vifa Tweeters - Kinetik Battery




Posted By: teenkertoy
Date Posted: January 19, 2011 at 2:14 AM
If someone screwed me that bad, I'd give them back all the parts and get a full refund. Then pursue a chargeback using the credit card if they refuse.

But Stevdart said it best, go kick their ass.
...and let us know how it goes.

-J

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Malcom: "This is the captain. We have a...little problem with our engine sequence, so we may experience some slight turbulence and then...explode."
Jayne: "We're gonna explode? I don't wanna explode.




Posted By: Velocity Motors
Date Posted: January 19, 2011 at 7:58 AM
What I would do first is go back to the shop with your pictures and tell them that this is not up to your standards as far as what you expected a $ 5000 job to sound and look like. If you start getting static from them, then initiate a claim against them through various channels ( BBB, Your City Business Chamber, Ripoff Report, Consumer Affairs, etc ).

With each claim make sure that they get a copy of it as well so that they know that your serious about this. If we would ever have a customer complaint against us, we would address it when the customer comes into the shop, but we are also a reputable business..... is the shop that you gave it to " reputable " ? Were you referred to them or did you just go there because they were the only business in the area that could do this work?

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Jeff
Velocity Custom Home Theater
Mobile Audio/Video Specialist
Morden, Manitoba CANADA




Posted By: 9960xlt
Date Posted: January 19, 2011 at 9:09 AM
No it's def not a joke! But it does feel like one just from looking at my own pics! Well my plan of action is to go there today and see what his reaction is to me demanding my money back. That will ultimately determine how far I take it depending on what he says. Yea I thought about the bbb and consumer affairs, and my family is also full of lawyers, so taking him to court wouldn't cost me anything either if I had to. Hopefully It won't come to that.

As far as picking the shop, they were refered by a few friends who had things done before. then again I never really tore their cars apart to see what they really did either. Trust me there's 100's of these kind of shops in the area, that's why it's so hard to find someone who would work up to the quality I expect. I mean I understand it's a shop it's not their car so I wouldn't expect the attention to detail to be 100% but this is just crazy. I'm def going to ask for my labor back and a new subwoofer and if they have a problem with it then I'll take it from there. I'll update soon!




Posted By: gabedemelo
Date Posted: January 19, 2011 at 11:46 AM
wow im sorry to hear all that, i saw wiring and that looks like a fire hazard,... tell them your dealership wants to charge you to properly remove and that your lawyer will be contacting them! hehe see what they say, then ask if the techs are certified and properly trained.

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GreenGables




Posted By: 9960xlt
Date Posted: January 19, 2011 at 6:54 PM

Well i didnt make it to the shop today, i got stuck working (still here), but my friend with the volkswagon did to complain about his alarm. when he told the owner of the shop that he was scared to even bring the car to the dealer for its scheduled maintenance because it regularly locks him out of the car because the viper and factory alarm are not communicating properly, the owner of the shops reply was "oh dont worry, dealers always leave the windows open anyway, so come back friday and well figure it out." wth?!? WHAT PLANET ARE THESE PEOPLE FROM!?

On a side note though, it just keeps getting better and better for my truck. I went to throw some equipment for work in the car by putting the back seat down and found another thing they did. It looks like they couldnt find a better place to cut the carpeting for my sub enclosure that they built than RIGHT ON MY BACK SEAT... they completely slashed the back of my seat, including digging into the plastic, so they must have been pressing hard with nothing under it. Im so angry at this point that slashing tires sounds better than talking to them, but of course im not going to do that.. i can fantasize cant i haha? it looks like ill have a hole at work tomorrow afternoon so im def making sure i get there... i cant hold it in anymore. anyway here are the pics of my seat slashed for your enjoyment... ill update you guys as soon as i know whats going on..posted_image

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Posted By: soundnsecurity
Date Posted: January 19, 2011 at 9:07 PM
so, just a random slash in the back of your seat? no purpose at all? jeez! personally i think one of their installers, or maybe all of them, might not have gotten their morning crack fix.

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Posted By: 9960xlt
Date Posted: January 19, 2011 at 11:12 PM
That's exactly right, I bet a couple of crackheads would have done a better job if the price was right....




Posted By: 9960xlt
Date Posted: January 21, 2011 at 3:57 PM
Well here we go, just got out of work on the way to go talk to these hack jobs... stand by for updates tonight..posted_image




Posted By: j.reed
Date Posted: January 22, 2011 at 8:54 PM
BUMP for an update! Anything new?

I would be getting a full refund or court would be my next step. Very sorry to see such poor/dangerous work actually being charged for. 4 gauge is only rated to handle 150A safely so that 250A fuse is already got you in a major safety issue. let alone the nice spliced power wires!..... Yikes

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Posted By: 9960xlt
Date Posted: January 24, 2011 at 5:17 PM
Hey man, yea tell me about it. Well the other night when I stopped there the owner was already gone for the day, so I told the manager my complaints about everything and he agreed I should be upset and said he was going to talk to the owner and "look at security footage" to see what happened and call me back. Well the owner called me today and told me "theyre sorry for the inconvenience and he wants to redo everything for me in one day and that the person responsible was taken care of." well interestingly enough they only have two guys working on the cars besides the owner and I know for a fact the owner did half the work because I saw him wiring the speakers and he told me he did himself BEFORE I found all the problems, now he's trying to blame it on one person, who I'm sure didn't really get in trouble which is why I don't want them to fix it and I want to do the work myself. I already ordered and received all new 1/0 and 4awg power wire, speaker wire, RCAs, battery terminals, and distro block from KnuKoncepts anyway.. So I just got out of work and I'm meeting him at one of his
other stores to have a chat about what the resolution is going to be, I'll update later!




Posted By: 9960xlt
Date Posted: January 25, 2011 at 4:39 PM
Well met with the owner and looks like they're gonna rio apart everything, take it out, and use my wiring and do it over. They also agreed to let me supervise the whole re-install.. I'll take pics of my setup when it's all done! Gonna shoot for Monday!




Posted By: lvtintmaster
Date Posted: January 25, 2011 at 4:41 PM
Where do you stay? I would say forget that shop...have them cover the expenses of having another shop do it. Shoot me an email with your phone number and I will try to help you as much as possible...lvtintmasters@gmail.com...my name is JD...

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LV Tint Master Shop Manager
~702-371-1617~




Posted By: j.reed
Date Posted: January 25, 2011 at 10:33 PM
I agree. FULL refund plus the cost for the seat being fixed and nothing else is what I would do. PERIOD! No way hell they would ever touch my vehicle again. You are a very brave man to let them attempt to do it right.

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Posted By: j.reed
Date Posted: January 25, 2011 at 10:36 PM
MOD plz delete double post.

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Posted By: silverbullet555
Date Posted: January 30, 2011 at 1:07 PM

j.reed wrote:

I agree. FULL refund plus the cost for the seat being fixed and nothing else is what I would do. PERIOD! No way hell they would ever touch my vehicle again. You are a very brave man to let them attempt to do it right.

That would be me too. It sucks that we can't trust shops to do decent work. The upside is I can do all my own installations, my own trouble shooting, know the quality of the work and only have myself to blame. It's also why I do all mechanical work on our vehicles that I can possibly do.

Good luck getting all this fixed.



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James





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