Pro-Installation vs. Do it yourself

What's the real difference between having "BEST BUY" or other services have it install it for you versus "Do it yourself" installation?

If it was your choice, what would you rather chooe?

What are the pros and cons?

I'm  just curious what really goes on in the back when they install your equipment for you.

The difference between having an installer put in equipment, and doing it yourself,  from the companys stand point, is to not have you returning stuff because it was improperly installed and burnt up.....and to make a few dollars in the process.....and well i would say if you know what you are doing, then by all means do it yourself

I would do it myself, because most radio installs are a piece of cake

and as far as what goes on in the install bay, that probably depends on what kind of car you have..ha

Yeah jeff is right. If you wanna keep ur warranty. But if you get things by other methods like flea markets (my favorite), or like freinds and stuff then i would defininitly opt to do it urself if not for the cheapness for the experience. Cuase then ur freinds will be like "dude can you install such and such and what not" and you can be like "dude pshhhh, of course . . . 20 bucks" and they will be all like "Hrmmm . . . OK!"

Be sure to go to a good install place though if you go that route. I've seen some pretty odd and not so safe things done from cars that have returned from Best Buys install bay. I'd suggest like circiut city, car toys, or mobile one. I personally have never gone to any of them but several freinds of mine have gone to them and they seem to have done a pretty good job.

So I take it most people who come to this fourm can "do it themslef" eh. That's pretty cool.

The other day when i went to Best Buy to buy a HU, the salesmen ask me if i wanted the deck to be install by them. He suggested so many things to be installed cost to be about $50 and the labor would be another $50. I was "daym, i can do this myself." Don't BB usaully offer "FREE" installation? I always thought that they did. Salesmen there told me that I had to get a mounting kit in order for me to install it into my car which i didn't think i need it. And sure i was right. I don't need it. It fits right into my car without a problem.

Those of you who are professinal installers, what do you look for when installing? Is there a certin way that you install your equipment? I'm sure there are many different ways to install a HU, but what is the "PROFESSINAL" way of installing it without having to go to a professinal installer?

Be careful about the quick "professional" installs.  I took my car to a shop that carried decent equipment and went ahead and paid them way too much for a head unit install.  This was fine with me as I realized I was simply buying the warranty from Eclipse.  However, for $75 from a decent store, I expected the job to be professional.  When I removed the deck to do the rest of the system a few weeks later I learned they did a quick and dirty install.  It was messy, the deck wasn't very secure, and they didn't even bother to put electrical tape on the ends of the rca outs. 

Years ago, when I had another install done at another shop, I popped off the doors to examine the speaker install.  They didn't create a seal between the speaker and the door metal and barely crimped the speaker connectors on. 

Having said that, I went to another guy years ago that was excellent.  I was a repeat customer and gladly referred others to him.

The moral of the story.  What's the best way to ensure your stereo is getting the care it deserves?  Do it yourself. 
The second best way for the diy weary?  Ask around.  A LOT.  Ask about stores and specific installers.  Inspect the install before you leave or right when you get home.  Don't be afraid to bitch when you didn't get what you paid for.

Many employee installers suffer from the same problem many other employees all over the world from.  They simply don't care if they don't think it will matter to their reputation, jobs, or pockets.  It is the same reason the girl at McDonalds doesn't care if your burger is burnt.  In my opinion the chance of this lack of care happening is greater when you go to the mass install stores (best buy), but it can certainly happen at the small businesses too as my first example demonstrates.  

The right , and the only right way to install any deck is to solder and tape the connections, ,this way they wire becomes one with the other.  Crimping is sloppy, and creates a big clump of un trustworty plastic that you have to cram in your already tight opening, ,if you tug hard on a crimped connection it will break where it was crimped, , , if you tug hard on a soldered connection, , it will definately not break at the connection, it will take about 10 times the tug to break the wire iteslf, but if you had that kind of force, you would break the connector right out of your deck before that happends.

Definately stay away from the big stores, , there basically the back yard kids with tax deductions,  theres a few pro's there.  Mostly the real pro's are the guys that are installing 1or 2 brands of products and are certified by those brands.

I just did my current install by myself because when I first got a system I went to a shop and this is what happened

https://wwwstu.tcu.edu/~baborthwell/pics.html 

Those cords would be my rcas and remote turn-on wire...after they snapped while I turned left one day.  Before I did my install I read this forum left and right, and it helped out alot.

   well i consider myself  a pro and the right way is to make sure u have every thing u need before u start .for example wire harness for both the new head unit and ur factory wiring and make sure to us the right fitting to get them together currectly.I always cap off wires i dont use with butt connector or schrink rap it works well.(cause u never know)As for mounting them i try to stay pretty close to a factory look so i do use mounting kits.because some times if u just replace the units with out them u get a gap here or its a little off set on one side and stuff like that.As for welding wire,its pretty much if i have the time and if the customer askes for this wish is not so often.hope thsi help.xavierny25

by the way make sure u have the right tools the are very inportent when u do this stuff i ve been to many shops where they look like they know what there doing and try to put connecters on with a channel lock.there is alway the right tool for every thing and that not it.hope this helps

Some installers are excellent, some just plain suck.

I just fixed a bad ground on my sister's GM starter-kill gizmo......professionally installed at the dealership!! I bet my dad payed $500 for that piece of junk and the crack-head who installed it!

The AAA guy thought the battery and alternator were bad and the starter solenoid was stuck all at the same time......Duuuuuhhhh!!!!  He even had some fancy machine to tell him all of that!

Professionals either cost too much or they just suck.

I find myself fixing lots of messed up wiring and doing systems on the side. I make decent money, alot of people see my work and realize that they would never get the same results at big name stores and quick-shops. Even with the worlds best installers in the bay, the management doesn't let them do the right thing all of the time. It's a market like that that leaves lots of room for 'independents'

You just have to watch out, I only deal with people who seem cool. I always back up my work, but I refuse business from people who drive $50,000 cars and want something done for extra cheap, that always seems suspicious and I don't want to be taken to small claims court over some bs claim. Maybee I'm just paranoid, but I've known a few 'indi' mechanics who were accused of nonsense like "my brakes don't work anymore" after they changed a lightbulb for the brake light!  So, if you seem like one of those people, I won't even deal with you, go to circuit city!

depends on your experience, the quality of the work that the installers do at the shop you plan on having the installation, return policies of the store you are buying it from, and the liability of screwing up your vehicle

i guess the end result of this is to know your own limitations.... if you feel confident planning and executing your own install then by all means do it..... but if you dont feel confident then it is best left to someone else....

one of the rules i live by is.... every one has their forte... do what you do well and leave what you don't do well to someone who does it better.....

i cant remember who's bio signature line was... " jack of all trades, master of none " but that seems to sum things up in my opinion

i do most of my posting helping guys in the Remote Starter section and i cring at the number of posts from guys who just dove into a complicated remote starter install without a sniff of what they were doing... if you respect your vehicle, only attempt what you are confident you can do safely and properly.... if your not sure, leave it to some one who knows.....

whats up guys, so far you guys got mixed reviews about whether or not we should go with professional installations or do it ourselves. In my opinion, we should definitely do everything ourselves because 99.999% of the shops are rip offs. If any of you guys live in southern california, you should stay away from Fry's in Anaheim, Rainbow Sound in Westminster and the rest of the shops around there because they are all craps. They call themselves professionals but their works resemble something assembled in the dark. Installers at Fry's even used clear scotch tapes to cover their wires and they charge like $70 for the whole installations. Dont you guys agree, wat the f*** is that? So, in conclusions, do not bring anything to shops unless you are totally clueless about what you are doing, but not to be biased, I also agree that there are a lot of honest and excellent shops with very damn good installers. So before you think about going to a shop for anything, ask around for the quality of the installers or the rep of the shop. these two factors are very important when choosing a shop.

i would certainly disagree with your blanket statement that 99% of install shops out there are rip-offs....

what i recommend is that if you are considering getting work done at a specific install shop, ask to view the install area... the work area, benches, office etc..... if all the benches are clean and organized then i would suspect their work will be too.... if their install shop bench areas looks like a cyclone just went through it,  this is indicative of the pride they take in themselves, their work environment and most likely the work they do.....

boiled down, a sloppy shop is most likely the one to do sloppy work........