Celica Forums General Discussion Exterior Bestbuy Horror Story (kinda long)

I decided to have Bestbuy (had a gift certificate to burn) install 4 speakers and run an amp to them (from a previous car). I dropped my car off Saturday morning 9 am and they stated I should return at 12 to pick it up.

I showed up at the designated time and they informed me that my amp was broken and thus they could not install it. I inquired as to when they discovered this and why they didn't call me sooner to convey this to me (so I wouldn't have to take a trip all the way down there if the car wasn't going to be ready). They apologized...

They already ran amp wires through my car and I therefore had to pay for the amp install and kit even though they never installed it. I agreed as long as I could bring an amp back in the near future and not have to pay to have it installed (since they were going to leave the amp wires throughout the car but hook up stereo wires to the deck so I could listen to music in the meanwhile).

So, I waited another THREE hours for them to finish. I got back in my car and shut the door. NO SOUND!

I went back inside (quite angry because I had other things to do then to spend my ENTIRE day at Bestbuy) and demanded they fix it. They said it was most likely a grounding problem and they would look into it.

I finally left there at 9. The next morning I went to clean my car and notice deep gauges on my console where they were working (I'll post pics soon). So, I drove back to Bestbuy and asked them wtf they did to my car. They said that they would fix it and three hours later they kinda restored some of the cosmetic look.

After waiting there another 3 hours I got back in my car and guess what?! NO SOUND!

So, since I had an appointment that could not be broken, I figured I'd just bring my car back there when I had an amp to install.

I went to my local Alpine service center to have a bench check of my amp. NO PROBLEMS WITH THE AMP!

So the next day and $25 later I went back to Bestbuy and showed them the diagnostic evaluation of my amp. They installed it and it works (for now).

I then went back to my Alpine service station and paid another $25 for them to do an inspection of all the work to ensure they didn't mess with anything (I cursed a lot last time I was at Bestbuy and at this point didn't trust them whatsoever).

Anyway...moral of this story is DON'T HAVE YOUR STEREO WORK DONE AT BESTBUY!

In better news, I finally installed my new gauge cluster (RJ Autoworks) with blue LED's and it looks sick. I'll post pics when I get the chance.

i would say always have you stereo shit done at a real place that knows what they are doing...best buy and circuit city probably don't.

i'd call best buy corporate and complain about that store...some stores just have shitty installers

Yeah. Amen to that. I'd NEVER get work done there again.

I had my amp installed there, and it was a mess. First off, the guy in the store sold me the wrong wiring kit. So I had to go back in and wait in line to return it. Then the guys tell me that I need a cap for an amp this big, after I'm already back out at the install garage. I tell them to just install it without one, and they say that they won't do it for "vehicle safety resasons". My ass. So I decide that I might as well get one, it can't hurt and will save a ton of arguing.

Long story short, it got done... but somehow they ended up with THREE EXTRA SCREWS! The guy hands them to me and says "these came from somewhere in your dash or console... but we don't remember where".

Plus, they went ahead and charged me $24.95 to "install the subwoofers". What the hell is that? All they did was screw them into the box and plug the speaker wire into the back. I actually ended up flipping off the install techs as I left.

i work at circuit city and it is just a bunch of kids that take an internet training course that do the install. your better off getting all of your stuff through www.crutchfeild.com [crutchfeild.com]

The guys at Circuit City where I live did a great job with my system. No complaints and it works great. You just gotta get a good installer.

i just got my head unit installed at circuit city, the guys that install there are pretty knowledgalbe cause they are my friends and no just about every about sterio equipment! no problems with mine

tweeter is much better...

well that sux!!!

ditto, def go to an audio shop to do sound work. haveing work done by the lowest bidder (people who don't know what they are doing) is a bad idea...but what happened to you was a bad dream that turned into a nightmare.

sorry to hear that bro, that does suck like nothing else.

ya those places really don't know what they're doing.

sorry to hear what you have to go thru with bestbuy. The last time i had circuit city install my head unit i ended up going back to them 3 times because they don't know how to hook up the memory wire, then they ran a red wire(i'm assuming 12V+) from the fuse box under the steering wheel to the in-dash<<what the hell was that. Then when i push the button on the stereo the whole unit and the installation kit fall backward, i paid like $80 for the installation that was worthless i ended up making a custom kit that hold the stereo in perfectly, until some jackass stole it while i was inside the restaurant eating. That's f*cked up.

yup dude i totaly feel ya... best buy messed my car up too. messed up my door panels where my doors wouldne even open.. i wouldnt take a hot wheels car and let those fucktards work on it. best buy

Well it depends on the best buy, a TSgt at work is an installer at best buy and has worked there for 5 years. He's the man I goto if I have questions, he knows what he's doing too.. Has some the best setups I've ever seen.

Here's an update...

Front speakers don't play the radio and I can't adjust the fade/balance (even though they were supposed to have installed that capability...

Back to Bestbuy I go...

Oh ya, they also disconnected my power mirrors.

Nice.

Here is a pic of my gauges. Sorry about the quality, it's from my phone. I'll post more later.

man, if I were you I think I'd kill someone over there out of sheer frustration

bad installers

make 'em pay

Well I used to intern for the Attorney General's Office of Consumer Frauds and I currently am a paralegal at a law firm, but honestly I don't feel as though anything would come of it.

Today when I went back to Bestbuy I told the "manager" that he could simply refund my $$ for the amp kit & install and I would gladly take my business elsewhere, but he flat out refused so I had to give them another shot at correcting it.

I told him that I was losing time from work having to return here day after day and that eventually I wouldn't be so understanding (especially after they damaged my interior).

I'm giving them one last chance before I file numerous complaints (Better Business Bureau, etc.).

If they are unable to perform the tasks I ask of them (simple amp install shouldn't be out of their capability ) and refuse to refund ALL of my money for services that haven't been rendered, then I'll be forced to get all their information and pursue some sort of legal relief (and from my experiences people generally hate to give their full name, address and phone number to someone who is going to get them in trouble).

Hopefully it won't come to that, but I'm cautiously optimistic...

good luck bro, here's hoping they actually do their job right this time

I used to work for circuit city. They have no Idea what they are doing!!! That is why I install all my own stuff. That way you know exactly what is wrong!!!

never buy anything or have stuff installed for your car at best buy. i only get cd's and dvd's from there. have two friends that used to work at best buy in the install dept and even they admit the stuff they had there were POS, as well as there useless co-workers. (one of them now owns his own custom car audio business, so he wasn't a noob talking about stuff he didn't know)

Hey, FUCK ALL OF YOU! I am a CERTIFIED 1st CLASS Installer at BEST BUY in federal way WA. SO fuck all you haters. My install bay is one of the best at best buy, you may have had shitty installers, but not all best buys have shitty installers. I actually turned down Cartoys, and a few other places because they do shitty work, they work as fast as possible taking short cuts and shit. I do the job great and ive had very few mishaps. Also Best Buy has reasonable prices too, you had a fuck up, SHIT happens doesnt mean best buy installers are shit so FUCK YOU ALL.

^ that time of the month?

some of "us" believe that it was bad installers & that not every Best Buy is like his. Chill bro, you'll live longer

Loving the Gauge...but not feeling BestBuy

I had bestbuy install my amp, 4 speakers, and a headunit...The broke a piece on my door sill and the headunit rattle

My bro also install his stuff there and whenever he turn the music on loud( not that loud by the way)..the amp stop working Went back to bestbuy and they told him to turn the music down will help What the fuck

If you feel as though Bestbuy can do a decent install, why don't you take a trip to NY and fix my car. Until then, I wouldn't recommend having anything important done there.

i've never had a problem with best buy installing anything into any vehicle i owned, other than the out the ass install charges.

That sucks, man. I'd be just as pissed as you.
Personally, i'd NEVER have BestBuy do anything to my car.
I knew a few people that worked at the Best Buy near me. Heard m,any stories of them installing something on someones car, then taking the address the customer gave them and using the knowledge of the alarm that THEY installed, and breaking into the car. Fuck that, i'll do it myself.

Dont know if this is true, but you can get a job in install bay as long as you graduate high school. No experience require...

for real, of course there are exceptions to every rule...

unfortunatley you got guys that "know how to hook up a system" "i used to do all my friends stuff" type of installers. that sucks. i started out my proffesional install career at circuit city. and now i own and run a high end shop. it's not where you work it's who does the work. you should never do anything to your car just because it the cheaper way to go. make sure the shop knows WTF thier doin. MECP certified is one thing. ask to see a "look book". ask to see their cars.

yeah sorry to hear that man. I had bestbuy install my face after i got confused with the amp, and they did a great job. I guess its the luck of the draw but again sorry

Bullshit, ive heard that from cartoys and never from best buy. but whatever.

Come to seattle and ill even do it for free

FALSE, all best buy techs are mecp certified, id like to see if you could get that, did you graduate? Also after that try and get 1st class certified.

Agree, you had a shitty lazy installer, no reason to say all the BestBuy techs are shit. Most of the installers at best buy in wa are great, ive personally met the majority of the techs in wa best buys, they all are pretty experienced. i reccomend best buy for reasonable install prices and for great work done on cars.

Best Buy is where all of the losers that dropped out of my highschool work.

NuF sAiD!

Fuck you

I'm sure that you don't work at the one I'm talking about so...
Fuck you.

Anyways, kinda funny how you are so defensive over where you work.


Kinda like the people that go crazy when you make fun of McDonalds because they work there.

Did you go to a class over the weekends to get that kind of title, or did is it a doctorate degree you can acquire at a college.

Just because you are certified doesn't mean that you necessarily know what the fuck you are doing.

Reason why i said "fuck you" was because you said "Best Buy is where all of the losers that dropped out of my highschool work." and that pissed me off. i dont even care anymore i was just tryen to stick up for where i work because its a great place to work. also there are bad installers everywhere and i feel sorry for all who have had fucked up installs at best buy and anywhere else.

My bad slidr, i read it wrong you said at your best buy. I appologize

ok... this went in the wrong direction funny how that happens sometimes

thanks for forcing us to close this post