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'07 TL Type-S: System Replacement Quote: Is this fair?
This is a pretty decent premier shop in the Boston area that does high quality work. They gave me the following. $4,218 for a system replacement but keeping and integrating with the factory Navi unit.
Most important question and the response you will get here is, what is your budget.
That seems ridiculously high to me IMO.
Earlier this summer I had a system installed by a reputable installer that consisted of rainbow speakers up front, stock oem rear fill, focal sub and amp with some sound deadening and it ran me a fraction of this estimate. It was all integrated with the oem radio.
You're paying for 18 hours labour, which comes to $1530 + tax. Although the amount of time might be justified, stereo installs aren't rocket science, especially with the amount of stuff you're getting done.
You can find how to do nice, clean installs all over the net and copy them. Not sure what your capabilities are, but I myself have definitely enjoyed doing stereo installs in the past, with nothing more than some mechanical knowledge and inclination. I'd say if you have a friend who's done installs before, they can also give you a helping hand. Plus you have this whole forum at your disposal to ask questions, which I'm sure many members would be able to assist you with.
The hardest part is making everything look clean, which isn't impossible, but can take a bit of careful planning. The beauty with this also is if something craps out, you'd be able to trouble shoot your own work, as you know what you did and where.
Long story short, I would have a hard time paying over 1500 for labour. I'm sure you can find that stereo equipment cheaper online too.
What specifically are you looking for? More bass or just iPod/iPhone integration? The base ELS system (to me) is actually pretty good, so the only upgrades I've done to mine were just the USA Spec adapter and a BT AUX adapter. The list you showed may give more punch and better sound, but $4K is a bit much for probably not much reward.
lol a system that is worth 1/3 of your car... reminds me of people who spend more on the wheels and their car is worth.
What difference does it make? So putting 4k of stereo equipment or wheels on a 50k is all good? That 50k car is going to be worth 12k one day too. What's the difference then?
If it's a piece of shit, burning oil, with creaking suspension and trashed interior/exterior, then sure.
However, if everything else on the car is up to par, maintenance and reliability wise, who cares? It'll get years of use. That's what counts.
I see 22.5 hours of labor on that quote. To me that seems a little steep especially if it is all stock locations for speakers. That said, it isn't so far out of line. I'd quote components, rears, lc6, 5 ch amp, and full sound deadening being somewhere between 12-16 hours of actual working time depending on the level of install they are performing.
I'd have gone a different direction with the electronics which would save some time also.
As TacoBello said we all started somewhere. If you want to learn and get into it you can. Then you get the confidence to do bigger mods. That's how you get bit by the "mod-bug".
But of course I totally get how some people don't have time or want to deal with mishaps and would rather just have someone experienced do it quick and easy. In that case see if you can find an installer that does clean work but provide the parts for him. You can buy all that equipment online cheaper and I'd say you'd save yourself 25-50% off that quote.
Im not telling you to do it yourself, but you more than welcome to shoot an attempt.
Few things i know about TL, if you run a processor or any dsp, i heard there the radios have a nice flat output without any distortion on the top end. You will need to get a DSP Sound processor, amps, and speakers, custom box. and so on. Long story make it short, keep shopping around see what people will give you...
I'm going to start on my install soon, 3 amps, 3 way active setup up front, Illusion audio, dont know about the components yet, maybe Illusion Audio or Daynaudio, or some other goodies, PHD,,, who knows we will see..
As for sub I'm using Illusion Audio C12XL
To my knowledge, you dont need rear fill, I would focus on front stage only!
Go to a shop that know what they are doing, do active setup with processing in place, and your ear will melt of hearing Active setup with properly tuned.
Update: Over the past month, I have been able to acquire all of the equipment in the quote for $1,170 between Amazon and eBay. This includes the same Focal components, same Focal rears, same sub, same amp, and LC6i.
Self installation isn't possible. We all have expertise in this world and while I definitely have mine in the computer/engineering/tech sector, I don't even want to attempt this install. So, I need to find a place to get it installed. Of course, they would be supplying the Dynamat, enclosure, relays, wires, etc, etc.
I fired off a request to about six shops around the Boston area and waiting for replies. On that note, any idea what would be fair for a good quality install given everything I just wrote?
P.S. Also got a killer deal on a new Viper 5706V 2-way Security System w/Remote Start (w/extra tilt and audio sensors) and need that installed too.
Dont buy high end stuff from ebay like Focal, they are fake!
Amezon is ok, but still you could get better deal if you go to well knows shop that does car audio.
2. I would go with some what different brand like Zepco, Arc Audio, Mosconi, old school PPI, Zed Audio, Zuki Audio, and so on.... most of these brands you might have never heard of.
3. Go to different shops, hear other components, see what they got to offer, what brands, post them here, i will do my best to help you.
Cheap focal speakers - tweeter will sound harsh and anoying to your ear, around 4khz would drive you crazy, trust me,
Look at Hybrid Audio, speakers, or JBL, JL, Helix,
if you need help please PM and i will help you out, i will give you my number if you wanna chat..
10-15-2014, 12:50 PM
