Went and got some quotes from Circuit City and Frys for stereos. Circuit city said they would do it for $340 with everything included and then raised the price to $440 after I brought my car back to look at. So should I got ahead and have them put the new unit in, or should I try to have the original Bose system repaired?

 

Please tell us what you are having done to the car? What make/model stereo? Speakers? Amps?

 

I always try to keep everything original if possible, so if you can fix it than you should it. But if you cant you dont want to get cheap with your car, get a quality sound system and a professional to install it.

 

I was going to have the Pioneer In-Dash Player (DEHP2900MP) installed along with Jensen 6x9 (JPS369) tri-axials installed in the rear. I would replace the door speakers with a pair of 4 inch Pioneers TSG1041R. Should I go ahead and install it or have the stock one refurbished?

 

Wouldn't that really depend on how much you value sound quality from your music...or if you want originality... Personally I'd like to do a complete stero redo in my car...something not overly large but a entry level competition system... Good Luck with your decision

 

I do my own installs and I use Crutchfield (www.crutchfield.com). I do not have the Bose system in my 86', but I doubt the Bose system would be enough for me. It may be fine for you.

The items you specified from Crutchfield cost:

Pioneer DEH-P2900MP - $119.99
Crutchfield does not sell Jensen speakers, but you can get a set of Polk db690's for $89. (I am a big fan of polk speakers).

The point in all of that is to say that for roughly $250(shipping included) I can get the same items you are spec'-ing, which means that the install fee is roughly $175 (I am adding a little material cost for the wire runs to the rear speakers).

I have replaced the seats and carpet in my C4 so I know what it takes to run those wires. To me $175 install fee seems a little steep for a reciever and 2 speakers, but I am a "do it yourself" kind of guy. If it is worth $175 to have someone else deal with it, then it is a decent deal.

 

Thanks everyone for the replies. How hard is it to install a stereo by yourself? If it isn't too hard, I would like to put all new stuff in.

 

dang $175 labor I would help you do it for some pizza and a drink if you lived closer. It really isn't all that hard to do. time consuming: yes. hard to do: I didn't think so.

 

As I mentioned, I have had good luck with Crutchfield.

Crutchfield always gives you instructions on how to get your old stereo out. When you pull the stereo out, there will be 1 or 2 connectors on the back plus the antenna connector. Crutchfild supplies connectors that plug into these factory connectors. The Crutchfield supplied connector has the factory plug on one end and individual raw wires on the other end. You buy a decent wire tool ($12 at lowes/ home depot, do NOT buy the cheaper one, it is crap), and a box of 16-22 guage butt connectors ($5 at the same place) and you connect the raw wires from the Pioneer stereo harness to the Crutchfield harness. Crutchfield always supplies instructions, but most of the time the wires are color coded to an industry standard, so you just match them up.

Once you have the wiring harness assembled, you will need to install the adapter brackets that let you mount the Poneer reciever into your dash. Again, Crutchfield supplies all of this with instructions that are specific to your car. With the bracket in place, you plug the harness into the dash (it disconnects from the Pionner radio as well), stuff the jumble of wires in a convienent corner in the back of the dash, connect the radio end of the harness to the radio and slide the radio in place (it is good to test everything before you actually install the radio in the brackets. After that you reassemble the dash and install any cover plates provided to give the new stereo a finished look (i.e. no holes in the dash).

All car stereo shops can sell you these items, but I have found Crutchfield to offer the best quality kits, and clearest instructions. Basically they have always given me the right stuff every time. I have probably installed 10-12 stereos over the years from them in different cars.

Oh yeah, while I know my thread sounds like a commercial, I do not work for Crutchfield, I am just a fan of the way they do business.

 

One other thing I feel obligated to mention.

Because you have the Bose system, you will need to run speaker wires from your Pioneer radio to the 6X9s. This will not be difficult, but it will take time. There are a lot of trim pieces to remove to lift the carpet up to run the wires under. I would schedule a few hours for this project. I am pretty certain this is why they raised the price. Once they saw how the trim pieces overlapped, they could see how many they would need to remove.

I have seen worse, by the way. To install a stereo in a 1988-1992 corolla, the first step is to remove the driver side door sill plate (seriously!).

 

I owe you an apology. I forgot to see that you also spec'd front speakers ($50 from Crutchfield) making the actual install price $125, not $175. This makes it a significantly more attractive proposition, and unless you like doing your own work, I would probably go for it. Sorry for the confusion.

 

A lot of teh price, from what I have heard, depends on whether teh speakers are in the doors!

 

speaking of crutchfield- they have a stereo that fits the hole for about $250 looks real nice with no adaptor plates

 

I had Best Buy install a 1-1/2 Din Alpine head unit that I bought from a guy here on the forum. They charged me over $600 dollars but I also bought $150 worth of speakers that was included with the install. I had a sub and enclosure installed in the storage bin behind the passenger seat that I bought on the forum too. Everything works great