Long story short, the handsfree bluetooth that the dealer installed for me was a pretty terrible system, so I'm getting it pulled out (with full refund). I'm thinking about getting a F900BT (or similar unit) instead, but I don't trust my own ability to mod and would like to find a good shop that will install at a decent price.

I'm not really sure how to even start searching for a shop. Do I just Google "car audio" and start reading reviews, or should I look for a shop with a broader focus? What questions should I ask? Are there any reliable chains, or should I stick with mom-and-pop? At this point I don't want to ask the dealer, because I think they just outsource all their custom projects to Car Toys (blech). I'd like to find a place I can stick with if there are other mods I want to do later on.

Thanks in advance for helping out someone who's never had an interest in modding until now!

 

Try and find a dedicated car audio store. If not, I'd go to Best Buy or Circuit City. See who charges the least. And be there while they do it if possible. I watched TK Performance install my 50mm exhaust. It's a learning process. I dunno how people can wait inside and watch tv while their car is being worked on lol

 

I've never seen a good review of Circuit City/Best Buy installs (seems like people usually get ripped off), so I'm trying to find another option. I found a dedicated car audio place that's not too far from where I live, seems to be an independent operation. I might give them a call.

 

Best of luck to you

 

I disagree.......for several reasons.

-Experience-
Few shops (if any) will have experience with the 09 Fit, and there may be a bit of a learning curve for the installer. The principals may be the same, but still, every car is different, and you need someone you can trust.

-Accountability-
People who work for the big box stores have no accountability. You may not even meet the installers, it's possible they may not give your install the care and attention it deserves because it's is a dime a dozen...it's not his problem if you're not happy, or if you have issues down the line after the install.

-Support-
Whether you want to modify your existing setup, upgrade to something new, or troubleshoot a problem...the service may be better coming from a smaller shop...their image and personal references likely make up the majority of their business.


I'm not much into the car audio scene, so what I did is called around and found out who charges the most, gave them each a quick phone call, asked a few questions about my install, and ended up going with the one that answered my questions accurately, explained everything clearly, offered alternatives and other ideas, and genuinely had an interest in my inquiry.

I found a smaller owner/operator car audio shop which ended up being a great experience...in fact the owner performed the installation himself, while I paced around inside the bay asking questions every 20 minutes. Good luck!

 

I meant if I was him and didn't want to do it myself. When I get the Pioneer GPS, I'll do it myself. I think the OP should, too. Just follow directions to a T, take your time, and you'll be fine. I never had an issue installing anything with directions.

 

Point taken. Maybe by the time I can afford the system, I'll have the time to give it a try. (P.S. I'm a her, not a him.)

 

Thanks, I like the idea of a sort of "quiz" to see how much they actually know about the system/car. I'm definitely looking for a smaller shop, so this helps.

 

not many shops know about Fits for some reason. I went to a Midas to get aligned, and they were like "we don't have the specs for that...what was it...Fit?" lol turned out I couldn't get aligned anyway because I'm a noob and didn't know that by changing springs, I could only align the toe and not the camber...whatever yo. And sorry for calling you a him!

 

No biggie, hard to tell online . Yuck, I don't want to have to go to the dealer for basic maintenance. The Midas down the street has treated me pretty well (back in the days of my Saturn), so I'll have to see if they know the Fit.

 

Car aduio shop?
Go to local car forums and see if anyone can recommend you local shops?
do you know anything about car audio at all? if so, go around to each shop and ask questions and see what they got to offer, and see if those guys actually know their stuff. and than take your car to the most knowledgeable and friendly one.
u want to go to a shop that is actually into car audio, and not in it for the business to make money. try to find a shop that does it for passion (yeah its gonna be hard) but if you do, it will be really helpful, those kind of people tend to take better care of you.
im sorry if you already know this stuff, but it might be useful information for other people who looking for a car audio shop

i personally would stay away from chain store( bestbuy, circuit city, car tyos, etc)
i would lean toward a mom and pop shop.

 

That's exactly the problem; I don't know much about car audio, so it's hard for me to vet potential shops.

 

if you buy from crutchfield.com they send you EVERYTHING you need, plus an install guide for your specific car (check on that actually, I've just heard that) and they have toll-free support and such. And if you have any guy friends or someone that's into cars or more importantly, an audiophile, get them to help you

 

Ouch!

 

o damn...than i sorry.....might want to start doing some research online about car audio
or u have any friends that know anything?
Car Audio Forum - CarAudio.com might be better for ur help
a lot of car audio freaks there

 

;/ what do you expect from me lol you could be older than my mom, or younger than me

 

Ill add my two cents on Crutchfield. My experience has been great with them. I purchased a head unit and they give you the necessary wire harness and antenna adapter. It was also half off the dash kit because of the head unit price (above $130 i think). They provide wonderful black and white (well it doesnt really matter) pictures of every step that needs to be done with instructions. It also included how to change the door speakers even though I didnt order any (which was nice). They also had a section about running the necessary wires under panels. Their customer service is excellent. You can reutrn anything within 30 days and they pay the return shipping. I did not like how the head unit's (Pioneer deh-p6000ub) random feature functioned. I called customer support and within a few minutes of speaking to the guy he had already asked me what other head unit I would want to swap it out with, placed that order and placed the return order for the pioneer. If you do decide to do it yourself having some friends that have installed a stereo before would help. I did it with just my dad but we dont give up easily.


tl;dr : Crutchfield FTW!

 

Crutchfield is all fine and good for DIY, but there are quite a few car audio shops that frown upon installing one's mishmash of car audio parts from eTailors..FYI. Definitely another question for your future installer. I am so glad I went with a singe JL12w3 in a sealed enclosure. Anything less and I would have regretted it. But I do have a history in car/home audio upgrades so...to each there own.

 

Just a followup, I think I'm gonna try and do all this myself. I might as well learn as much as I can about my Fit!

BTW, I'm not going with Crutchfield. Their prices seem to be significantly higher than anyone else, and they don't even have the model of the HU I want. I'm going to try sonicelectronix.com; they have what I want at a good price.

 

I've found that shops that are authorized Memphis Audio installers are usually a cut above the rest. Try using their dealer locator.

Memphis Car Audio Dealer Locator Search