Here's the deal. One of the local car audio shops in my area basically wants $650.00 to install.....
JL 500/5 amp
JL XR650CS (Front)
JL VR650CX (rear)
JL stealth box (sub)
Alpine 7892 (head)
along with all the hardware and cables etc along with removing the stock system. Is this price up to par? If I get all my componets from onlinecar stereo.com I'll be saving approx. $200.00> The advantage of getting everything from them and having it installed by them is having the manufactors warranty closer to home and not have to worry about charges should something need to be done and then mailing it back to Calif. to Online car Stereo. Summary: 1873.45 (online.com/install) or 2068.80 (by them componets/install) What do ya think? Too steep or go for it. The work on Corvettes so that wouldn't be an issue, they know what they are doing.

 

$650.00 is very reasonable. You looking at a FULL day, maybe 2 to have it done properly. Where are they mounting the AMP ? on the rear wall or in a Amp rack ? If they are building a rack for you, 650.00 is definately worth it !!

 

It sounds reasonable, But I'm very pretensiuos about my car. In reality you really don't need to coaxials in the rear but that goes to personal choice as well. Go for it, at least if there is a problem the shop will be able to address it and keep you happy in the end :yesnod:

 

IF YOU LIVED NEAR ME, I WOULD HAVE DONE IT FOR A TWELVE PACK, J/K :jester :lol:

SOUNDS LIKE A GOOD SET-UP....ENJOY IT! I LOVED THE JL XR'S IN MY 98! :yesnod:

 

sounds like a deal to me! :yesnod: Thanks all for the response. By the way they are mounting the amp on the wall in the rear deck. Thanks again.

 

I see that you have probably made up your mind and are going to do it but what do they charge for an hourly rate? Depending on how they want to milk the job or if they are going to cut corners to get your job out and bring another in. I would say how well the techs are will determine if it is a good deal or not. Have they done a new vette, how careful are they going to be with your trim pieces, etc. If it were me I would do it myself and save the cash. If you have any understanding of electrical and are a bit mechanical then you could do it. Having the tools necessary is a big help too. Plan ahead and get all the materials you need up front as well.

Just my opinion though :p:

 

I say go for it...The shop I got my stuff installed at charges like $350/day standard, but if you're getting you're gear from them and more than just a trivial amount, they work with you...all in all, $650 flat to install it sounds good. My approach was why skimp on the install in a beautiful car? Yeah, you could probably find a place that'll do it cheaper, but IMO, most shops in that price range are serious about their installs.

Also remember that as long as you keep a friendly relationship with them, they'll help out whenever you need something. I've had my car back a few times to tweak some stuff and to replace the amps. They didn't charge me a dime for the labor on it. Basically treated it like they were making their own adjustments. All said and done, they've probably done an additional 6-8 hours of work that they didn't charge me for. I've heard similiar positive experiences from other seemingly expensive install shops.

I also bought all my gear from the store. It was a LOT more expensive than the cheap online places...Two things affected my judgement. First was the one you mentioned. If something goes wrong, I just drive to the shop to get it taken care of. The other thing was I paid with an AMEX that had a price guarantee. Pay the local price, fax amex the receipt and the published online price...4 days later I got a refund check for the difference :). I HIGHLY recommend doing the same if the option is available!

Sounds like a badass setup! The JLs were first on my list until I heard the DynAudios that I went with.

Jesus that was long winded :D


[Modified by luminary, 1:31 PM 9/10/2002]

 

One other thing to mention in case you don't know about it...Online stores are NOT authorized distributors of JL equipment. If there is a problem, JL will not warranty it. Not sure about Alpine. Many online places offer their own warranties in place of the lost manufacturer warranty. As with everything, some people have had no complaints and some people have had nightmares with the replaced warranties.


[Modified by luminary, 1:33 PM 9/10/2002]

 

Thanks again everyone. I'm going to let them take care of everything and yes they work on new Vette's. The owner has one and a few of the sales people do. They work on Vette pretty regularly so I'm not worried about it.

 

What's an AMEX :confused:

 

American Express card, I presume.

 

:yesnod:

Only on the Gold and Platinum cards....they discontinued it on the Blues.