What to get....

SportsFan

brettw22 wrote:

The grand total ended up coming to $530 and change. Here's how it broke down (for those that care or are looking at having it done):

Deck - $45

I'm guessing that either Best Buy didn't install this...or this is the cost for the "parts" (install kit and wiring harness) rather than installation. Either that, or your particular Best Buy wasn't offering "free installation"...."

brettw22 wrote:

Wire harness - $15
Deck kit - $20

Oops, well...so much for that....

brettw22 wrote:

Front and rear speaker install - $80 each

Wow! Am I reading this correctly??? $80 EACH??? I had front and rear speakers installed for $60 total (both front and rear) in a '98 Accord sedan. Hope that was a typo and should be TOTAL rather than "each"

brettw22 wrote:

Speaker wire upgrade (fronts) - $45
Speaker wire upgrade (rear) - $25 (they halved <almost> the $45 charges because the amp is only 5 feet max from the rear deck speaks)
Amp install - $70

This all seems about right....and fairly reasonable

brettw22 wrote:

4awg wire upgrade - $30 (no idea why they charge more for running 4 awg vs 8, but whatever)

That may have been the difference in the cost of the wire, since 4 guage is more expensive than 8 gauge

brettw22 wrote:

Replace AFS fuse with ANL holder - $10 (at this point I was practically throwing my hands in the air)

LOL...seems kinda like a little "extra" that they "justified" charging you for, but perhaps that is the cost for the part itself (and the part was necessary)

brettw22 wrote:

Custom labor front speakers - $20 (had to cut the holes wider for the 6500's

WOW! The 6500's shouldn't need ANY additional "cutting to fit" (according to Crutchfield) if this was for an Accord. I had a pair of db650s which (according to Crutchfield) SHOULD have had the speaker baskets cut to fit for installing in my car, but they didn't cut anything (other than a small sized hole for the wiring, but they sure didn't charge "extra")! I think they may have screwed you here, because I believe the 6500s are supposed to fit an Accord without ANY cutting being required!

brettw22 wrote:

Custom labor amp mount - $30 (amp was mounted to cloth covered MDF for support - this one I have no problem with.....it looks good)

Well then what was the "$70 AMP INSTALL" for??? Maybe this is the cost of the materials...who knows.

brettw22 wrote:

Then I had a request to have a 1/8 cord hanging out so I can either plug in my MP3 player or my laptop when I'm on the road. Those charges were:

IPBUS to RCA adaptor - $35 (apparently the 860 doesn't have an aux rca jack)
Belkin 8' RCA to 1/8 mini jack - $20

??? Head scratcher. I don't know what to say here in regard to this.....maybe that's perfectly legit(???)

brettw22 wrote:

So, as soon as I get the replacement 400.4, I hav to go back and they'll do an install on the amp and then I should be good to go.

They're not going to charge you for ANOTHER "Amp Install"....are they? (I hope not). After all, it's not YOUR fault the part was defective, and you've already paid for an "install"...so hopefully they'll be understanding and have a little heart, and not so much greed....

brettw22

I slept with no one, and paid plenty......Somehow in moving with my company, I actually made money doing it.

The install was done at Tweeter, not Best Buy.

The $80 each is per pair of speakers. They charge more for the coax speakers and I did call around and that was about going rate for some of the other shops. Granted, it would have been more expensive if I had them install the tweeter up in the dash with the mid down in the door, but this is ultimately a temp install (1-2 years of further ownership of this car).

I supplied ALL parts, with the exception of the Belkin RCA to 1/8 jack, wiring harness, deck kit, and IPBUS adapter cable.

They aren't going to be charging me for another amp install.....just going to swap the one I have for the replacement. I just have to go back in there when I get the replacement and they'll swap it out and test it (no more than 20 minutes I'd guess).

SportsFan

What matters, Brett, is that you are pleased with the installation, think they did a good job and believe that you got a fair price. I know that "labor cost" varies from area to area, and it sounds like you did your homework by calling around, etc. So if you are happy with it, don't mind the cost, and think that they did a good job (that justifies the cost), then that is what is truly important and all that really matters.

Good luck with the "new" amp (LOL) and system, and I hope it all works out for ya. Rock on!!!

cam5860

That is crazy to pay over 500 bucks to put that stuff in no thank you. If i did not know how to install a system i shore would be learning if i had to buy the damn book store out. I cannot imagine having to spend 500 for a install. Hell i could almost buy a set of sr's for that price.

exalted512

"Deck - $45"
thats what we charge

"Speaker wire upgrade (fronts) - $45
Speaker wire upgrade (rear) - $25 "
we'd do the whole car for like $30, especially if youre doing that much stuff

"Front and rear speaker install - $80 each"
$80 and you had them mount em as coaxials? We install components for $90 anywhere you want, coaxials are $45

"Amp install - $70"
ours is $90 for a 4-channel, $65 for a 2-channel

"4awg wire upgrade - $30 (no idea why they charge more for running 4 awg vs 8, but whatever)"
did you provide a 4awg kit? I dont know where that charge came from.

"Replace AFS fuse with ANL holder - $10 (at this point I was practically throwing my hands in the air)"
was that labor or parts?

"Custom labor amp mount - $30 (amp was mounted to cloth covered MDF for support - this one I have no problem with.....it looks good)"
our charge would have been about the same

"Custom labor front speakers - $20 (had to cut the holes wider for the 6500's"
that wouldve probably been the same for us. If its the same opening as my g/f's civic, theres a lot of cutting involved...

"Wire harness - $15
Deck kit - $20"
wiring harness is the same, our kit is $5 less. You probably couldve gotten both off ebay for about 15 shipped to your house though...

"apparently the 860 doesn't have an aux rca jack"
that is correct

Good think Polk provides that 6x9 to 6.5 adapters, they wouldve charged you for that too.

I'm glad you like it, but damn-they didnt cut you any slack. With a job like that, we wouldve probably had you out the door for under 400, but im not sure how our economies differ.

Glad you like it, just wait til you get the new amp in. Save up some more money and buy another 400.4 and bi-amp em.
-Cody

brettw22

I think the biggest reason for them charging for EVERYthing is that I didn't buy any of these components from them at all. Had I done so, they probably would have looked past some of it, but I'm not entirely sure. The salesperson, before reconsidering a charge, went out to the installer to ask if it was ok. The guy that had installed my system has been doing installs for somewhere around 25+ years.

If I'd had them mount the speaks with the tweets up in the dash, there would have been a 'custom labor' charge and it would have been more for that type of install comparatively.

I did provide the amp kit, and I just got off the phone with another Tweeter in the area and the guy said that they wouldn't charge any more or less for an 8 vs. 4awg kit. I'm going to follow up on this one with them when I have them replace the amp.

The $10 charge for the ANL was the labor for having to go through the arduous task of cutting the AFS holder out of the cable and swapped wtih the ANL that I had purchased. They ended up being about 3' short on the power cable to the amp since it was in the trunk at the very opposite corner of the car from where the battery was. For some reason they didn't charge me more for the wiring on that one.......I'm a bit shocked.

Jstas

brettw22 wrote:

They ended up being about 3' short on the power cable to the amp since it was in the trunk at the very opposite corner of the car from where the battery was. For some reason they didn't charge me more for the wiring on that one.......I'm a bit shocked.

They shouldn't charge you. It was thier screw up because they assumed without measuring that the kit would provide enough wire. Add to that the fact that a written quote can be held legally binding. If they already gave you a written statement of the work order and thier standard charges, they are pretty much contractually bound to that statement of work unless an issue arises that goes beyond what is covered by the original statement of work.

Say, for instance, you brought your car in and they were expecting to be replacing a stock stereo but instead they were met with some other loony's hodge-podge of a botched install and the stock harness was all mutilated. They would have to repair the damage done by the pervious monkey before they could verify that thier install worked properly. (If they actually did it that way, some don't care and would install over that anyway) Anyhoo, if they have to do repair work that was unexpected and they already wrote a statement of work, then they can call you, tell you there is a problem, explain it and tell you the extra charges. You can deny the work and at that point, they can tell you to come pick up the car and your gear because it would be a liability for them. However, if all they did was measure once and cut twice and ended up 3 feet short, that's on them and a mistake in thier estimation/installation process and entirely on them to swallow. Then again, 3 feet of power cable costs them a whole what? A buck eighty-nine? Hoo-boy! Somebody go and tell the stock holders that bankruptcy is imminent! But **** up a measurement in how long the power wire should be, that's covered under the installation and not outside the quoted work statement.

Other than a few charges that seem unscrupulous, I can see how itemizing and charging for each individual job would be a CYA thing for the installation department. That way, they can define a process for each listed task, give a cost and a short description that references those processes on a customer bill and gives them accountability for not only the work done but quality control. It also cuts down on liability issues because if a customer comes in claiming that Tweeter screwed somethig up, Tweeter has an accurate representation of the work done through those defined processes but also has a reference, likely in duplicate or more, of the exact work done. Keeps them and the customer honest.

So yeah, it sucks that they got you for five bills but, when you don't know or are unwilling to do specialized work like that, it will cost you to get someone to do it for you. My install in my truck was quoted by a Tweeter install guy as being roughly $675-800 because I had to build a box and a place to install electronics behind the seat. I saved roughly $720 doing it myself because it cost me about $80 for materials and an afternoon in the garage constructing what I needed to construct. Was it worth it to me? At that price, hell yes! I've learned something in each install I've done and I value the experience much more than any monetary value that can be put on it. Yeah, the first time was hard but I got through it, learned alot and saved myself a hell of alot of money. Installing can be alot of fun but it does require patience and it can test even the most patient person of any of us at times. That's not an excuse to try something yourself. Besides, if something does get screwed up, it's easy to find the jerk who did it, just look in the mirror! Alot less people to be mad at that way too. But hey, if you never try, you'll never know if you can.

brettw22

Agreed......had I been looking at the charges as $500+/- I probably would have second guessed the whole thing. What irked me was it climbing as soon as I got there for every little thing that, IMO, they should have had defined prior to my coming to the shop the day of the install. I'd asked about that and mentioned stopping by, and the sales guy said that I didn't have to pay for anything until it was all installed, so no need to come in for a special trip like that. In retrospect, I'd insist on that trip because once the car is in there and being worked on, you're kinda in a weird spot to say I'm takin off.

The amp kit only came with 18' of power cable, and going from front right to rear left apparently it was short so he spliced in some of his cable. There was no fault on them for the kit being shorter than needed for that run....

By no means am I complaining about the work they did.....just seems a little odd the way that they went about it. The installer is the one that, after he'd had the driver door panel off and things starting to be placed, asked me if I'd been quoted everything. When I told him just the flat charges for the fronts, rears, deck, and amp, he stopped, went to the front and wrote out everything and then came back to me.

Knowing that in the next car, I do want the install to be a more show/functional thing than this (where the initial plan was to mount to the back of the seat) I might look at getting more involved myself and trying it.......

Jstas

Yeah, that's an awkward position to be in. That's also one of the issues I have with the Tweeter sales staff. they are so bent on making commission that they will leave out things like installation details that they aren't required to list on the sales invoice just to make the price more attractive and get you in the garage bay to get the work done. It's kind of misleading and I know it probably bugs the hell out of the install guys because then they look like the **** running up the price but again, it's a CYA thing. They have to charge you for what they worked and by the guidelines. It ends up sucking for your wallet but then again, that installer guy has to make a living too. We wouldn't expect our customers or boss to think that we would work for free for them, we shouldn't expect the same from the vendors we interact with as a customer. It just sucks when the vendor/merchant-customer relationship is violated by what seems to the customer as shady business practices.

exalted512

Theres a lot of minor stuff that you can do to cut down on costs. Running the power wire and RCAs, doing the radio install yourself, mounting the rear speakers, etc. That in itself would have saved you quite a bit of money and is all very, very easy. I can understand not wanting to take on an amp, but in all reality, a head unit is harder to install than an amp, just doesnt take as long.

And besides, if you need any help you always have the forum...
-Cody