Randy, can I come down there and slap you too
What makes it bad is that almost every screw-up in an install will be spread all-around the forum but in reality there was a 1000 good installs at the same time and only one of those gets posted. For instance, watch the news. They glorify diasters, murders, bad weather, etc. but they rarely talk about good sameritains (sp?), when the cops do a good job, and good weather. As humans we would rather bitch than praise, espically in America. (don't get me wrong, I love the USA and have served in war for her :flag )
Bacically this has nothing to do with the original post but it does show to some extent that you need to shop around to avoid the "non-pros and hackers" and find a quality installer. They "might" charge more but it will be well worth it in the end. I hope he finds one of those quality installers in the DC area. Good luck

 

:shocked:

OK, point taken from both sides. Ironically, it's for this exact reason that I posted this. And also it's why I've stated in my posts that I don't mind paying for professional work. I only have one estimate in writing so far, and it's much more than what I feel is a fair price. On the other hand, I have seen their work, and I can not dispute that it looks very professional. I was just hoping to get a few more estimates so I can make an informed decision. I hope no one got their feelings hurt by anything in this thread. If anyone else has any advice, or can recommend someone in the DC area, please let me know.


Greg



[Modified by YELLOHHH, 12:36 PM 6/12/2004]

 

Jeepers guys, group hug. I have friends who work in car audio shops who have horror story after horror story about their own installers.


I've had installs done that were much better than I ever could have done. I still stand behind my statement though that you can do it yourself in a C5 with all the good info on the forum. :flag

 

P.S. I always have good day.

Except for the time I took my wife's 57 chev into a body shop (an automotive service) for paint after I had done a frame off restoration. I lovingly sanded and primered and sanded and primered and took out every ripple. Then one of those guys who didn't care as much about my project as I did drove a car into it, didn't tell me, hid the car till I threatened to report it stolen, lied about it when I confronted him, lied about clear coating it and none of the chrome fit where they hashed it back together. There was a ton of overspray in the engine compartment. By the way that shop was the guy who makes Avalate corvettes.

I also had a bad day when my daughter's wheel fell off her truck as she was getting off the freeway after a flat repair at an automotive tire service shop. I guess they didn't care to check if the lug nuts were tight.

I had another bad day when my rebuilt $4,000 stroker motor lost all the main bearings. That was a six month rebuild. I dumped another $2000 into it through another builder.

Oh yeh, I was a little upset when the dealership I bought my C5 from refused to warranty it because I put a Blackwing on it.

But I also had a good day when my mechanic swapped my 2.73's for 3.42's while I was having throat surgery and it was done a day early.

And I had a good day when Team ZR1 did a power tune that worked the first time and my tires break loose getting on the freeway now.

The guy who set up the rearend in my 55 chev has probably forgotton more than I will ever know. I programmed up and manufactured a nameplate with his name that he can replace the chevy nameplate on his El Camino.

I have heard of pride in my workmanship and you obviously do too. If you ever get to the Seattle area stop by, I'll pay for the beer and pizza.

 

Man, you guys are killing me.
Free pizza and BEER on both coasts with me stuck in the middle


I seen lots of your kits on the forum, they look nice

 

Jay, my brother is currently going to school at Des Moines University. You head over there, and I'll make sure he gets you all the pizza and beer you can consume. Then, on his next trip back home, you tag along and I'll put you to work. Oh, and I'll have more pizza and beer here waiting. Sound like a plan?

 

Boy o' boy, I' be so fat and drunk

Is he going to med school out there? I can't see why else anyone would want to go to Drake

 

Exactly.

 

I've worked with vrumvrum's HU and speaker mounting kits. They are both simply flawless. Between those and Mike76002 stealthboxes, C5 owners should consider themselves very lucky to have such quality accessories as such resonable prices.

 

 

C'mon Greg, Road Trip! http://forums.corvetteforum.com/zerothread?id=841912

 

Man, I'd love to make it for that, but with my schedule, it's just not possible. Make sure you guys post lots of pics. I'm very jealous...

 

I haven't worked in the install buisness in 2 years but I would estimate at a shop, around $1200, and if you get someone without going through a shop, around $800. If you don't know your installer well, I'd go to the shop because they have the ability to pay up if an installer damages your car, but a private installer may not.

 

This is the exact range that I was expecting. If there is a quality installer in the DC area who is interested, please contact me via IM or email.

 

 

 

so what's the verdict on this? Sounds like you have enough equipment to do some damage.

BTW if you go with Lars or Randy be sure to drop by Knoxville. I'll certainly be happy to drink beer and eat pizza with you