best buy car installation?? good? bad? (1 Viewer)

[Alan Erceg]

hi guys/gals,

Just recently been thinking about replacing the stock cd player in my 2003 cavalier. Its not going to be anything fancy just something better and more customizable than the stock cd player that is in there now.

I was looking at best buy the other day and saw some decent decks in my range, and i see the offer free installation w/ decks 99$ and up.

ANyone had any bad/good experiences with installation of a car cd player at best buy??

Thanks in Advance,
Alan

 

[Carl Johnson]

I haven't had much experience with best buy auto install but I came away satisfied. The first car stereo I bought was years ago in my parents station wagon and a couple of years later Best Buy transferred the system to my own vehicle for $20 despite the fact that I had lost the receipt.

 

[Alan Erceg]

Carl,

Thanks for the reply. I havent had any experience with them either, as far as the auto dept, and neither has anyone ive known, thats why i figured someone here on HTF would have had an experience, good or bad.


any more stories keep em coming..

 

[Jeffrey Noel]

I want to let you know that they will still charge about $40 for parts, which they do not include in the free installation. The only thing I would ever let Best Buy install is a headunit. Very hard to screw things up. If you know how to connect wires and are not colorblind, headunit installation is a piece of cake. I've installed over 10 headunits(6 of those were mine) and the only difficult part, sometimes, is taking off the dash panel.

I'd let them install it, but just be prepared to pay about $40 extra for the parts. I don't see how in the world they charge that much for the dash kit, wiring harness, and, if a GM car, antenna adapter. Oh well. At least it's guaranteed.

 

[Tim Morton]

Free Installation?? Trust me you get what you pay for...you are better off buying from crutchfield and installing it yourself. You will get a better deck, for a better price, and the mounting brackets are free, shipping is 5 bucks and when or if you have questions there tech service is ussually top notch. YMMV.

 

[Alan Erceg]

Thanks for the replies.

Im a computer guy..not a car guy...lol.

I would have my dad install it for me, but he is very apprehensive about messing around with newer cars etc.(He put a head unit in my first car, and old 87 chevy celebrity).

Could i probably install it myself if i had to, yeah, i guess im also a little cautious about messing up my new car. I know it isnt a lexus or anything, but its all i got and i cant afford to mess it up.

I was just going to by a headunit right now, speakers would come later down the line, im not looking for a "thumping" system, just a step up from stock.

Alan

 

[Leila Dougan]

I had a local company install my cd player into my 1998 Cavalier.

When I picked up my car they were spitting mad because it took them a really long time. . .I guess the Cavalier dash is insane to take off. Apparently you have to take the WHOLE thing off. The guys said they do them all the time because it's a popular car, but they hate it because it takes a really long time.

 

[Alan Erceg]

Looking at my dash in my cavalier(2003) it looks almost identical to my g/f's 2001, and ive heard that that year's model was a pain in the ass to get off and stuff....


really dont want to do the install myself if i dont have to, i dont mind paying extra money for a better install somewhere else though...

 

[Shane Bos]

The worst install was my old 1980 GMC Vandura. I had to cut the opening in the dash to make it fit and rig up a mounting bracket for it since I couldn't find one to buy there was no place to attach the headunit into the dash. However my truck is super easy to install.

 

[Jason L.]

I have had 2 car stereos installed by BB with the free installation. The materials will cost about $30, I believe.

I was very happy both times. You can't beat the price. However, I am not a rabid audiophile.

 

[Reginald Trent]

Even tho I can figure out wiring, my problem is removing car parts without breaking/messing something up. Therefore, I had them install head units and amps for me and I'm satisfied. However, YMMV.

 

[Scott L]

Generally Circuit City is better than Best Buy when it comes to everything car audio, even installation. CC has been doing it for much longer than BB and has tougher standards the techs have to go through before getting the job. Plus they have them attend regional seminars, or at least the CC my brother worked at did. You might wanna visit and talk to the employees at your local stores to see how professional the techs are.

No bones about it installing yourself can be a pain, even though that's what I have been doing for some time now. I can understand that you'd prefer to have it done by someone with experience.

*edit- forgot to mention when my first car stereo (installed by Circuit City) crapped out I drove to CC without an appt., they stopped what they were doing and fixed it on the spot.

 

[Shayne Judge]

My wife wants to replace the front speakers in her 92 Honda Civic EX. Any idea how difficult it would be to install them if I did it myself? Is it basically take off the speaker grill, remove speaker after disconnecting the wires and re-connecting the wires to the new speaker?

Also, any speaker recommendations?

 

[Christ Reynolds]

I guess the Cavalier dash is insane to take off. Apparently you have to take the WHOLE thing off. The guys said they do them all the time because it's a popular car, but they hate it because it takes a really long time

i used to be an installer at BB, and we did these all the time too. any installer worth anything should be able to do a headunit in this car in 30 minutes, easily. you do have to take the whole dash off, but its only difficult the first one or two times. as a rule, i'd stay away from any big box stores. many of the installers i worked with didnt know what they were doing. every store has their local horror stories, it all depends on who you ask.

CJ

 

[Clinton McClure]

Is the Cavalier one of the new breed which requires the factory head unit to be moved to the trunk area because some ass-hat decided it would be best to route some essential electronic functions of the car through the head unit?

 

[Leila Dougan]

Is the Cavalier one of the new breed which requires the factory head unit to be moved to the trunk area because some ass-hat decided it would be best to route some essential electronic functions of the car through the head unit?

For my car, no. I have the stock headunit sitting in my closet as we speak. But my car is 5 years old so newer models may be different.

 

[Alan Erceg]

Thanks for all the replies...


I might just go the crutchfield route, as they are having some great deals going on right now...and then find a local installer, to do the install. There are quite a few audio shops that specialize in car audio around here so ill check them out and see what installation would cost.

Thanks guys/gals
Alan

 

[David Preston]

Hey Alan did you read Clinton's comment? You might want to call the dealer and ask them about that. I think on some cars this could be a possibilty. There is probably a way around it though.

 

[David-S]

Is the Cavalier one of the new breed which requires the factory head unit to be moved to the trunk area because some ass-hat decided it would be best to route some essential electronic functions of the car through the head unit?

Yes, it is :frowning: sorry man...

 

[Philip_G]

When I picked up my car they were spitting mad because it took them a really long time. . .I guess the Cavalier dash is insane to take off. Apparently you have to take the WHOLE thing off. The guys said they do them all the time because it's a popular car, but they hate it because it takes a really long time.

My boss used to manage a car toys, now he works part time at BB (for the discount )
he said something about the cav is REALLY weird and it's super easy to trigger the airbag while doing a HU, didn't go into details though.

he says BB should be avoided at all costs for installs.