Learned valuable lessons today!

[panhandler62]

$635 is pretty cheap for an installed system like described. You may be dealing with "what you paid for" there.

On the contract issue; a 15 year old should be able to walk into a place of business and purchase something with cash in hand but any sort of credit is a contractual obligation. Upsells after the fact may not be legally enforceable.

[slowcpe]

That stinks but I think with following bustamante's advice and posting your results, you've got a wealth of knowledge on this board to get this ironed out on your own. I know that's not what you originally paid for, but sounds like the install may need to be chalked up as another lesson learned. Especially on buying used car audio gear.

Car stereos are actually pretty simple setups so tracking down the culprit in a truck shouldn't be bad. Making sure you have power to the amp is the big ticket and check fuses/grounds first.

[Gotenntitans]

Just got home from visiting with the owner of the shop. He said that the woofer was damaged most likely from "heating up, then cooling down." That's tech talk and I just don't know much about electronic equipment. I point blank asked him if there was any chance at some of the stuff that his friend "just happened to be wanting to sell" was possibly stolen. He assured me that it was not. He said that he usually doesn't warranty ANY work on electronics, but since it's been less than two weeks, he would get it taken care of. He and I are going to split the shipping on the woofer being sent off to be repaired.

He and I were talking when a mutual friend and long time business owner, Jerry, showed up at the shop and called us both by name and stayed a bit and shot the bull for a while. After Jerry left, I told the shop owner that if he was friends with Jerry, then that made me feel a lot better about this stereo deal that was just seeming to be going sour. He said he felt the same way and after seeing that Jerry and I are also friends, he agreed that he felt better too.

I think this will get resolved now for sure. GTT

[ptc]

Originally Posted by Gotenntitans

He and I were talking when a mutual friend and long time business owner, Jerry, showed up at the shop and called us both by name and stayed a bit and shot the bull for a while. After Jerry left, I told the shop owner that if he was friends with Jerry, then that made me feel a lot better about this stereo deal that was just seeming to be going sour. He said he felt the same way and after seeing that Jerry and I are also friends, he agreed that he felt better too.

I think this will get resolved now for sure. GTT

Beyond all the 'tech talk' see what just being a good human being can do for getting things done????

Somebody else mentioned 'lessons learned' and life is full of them for men and women of all ages from 15-115 until we get planted in the ground. Then God willing there will be so much more to learn beyond that!

Your son may have just learned the most important lesson of a lifetime when spending your own money - "you get what you pay for", and you just learned that "communication amongst friends can be very satisfying"....

good luck to you both!

[Gotenntitans]

Originally Posted by ptc

Beyond all the 'tech talk' see what just being a good human being can do for getting things done????

Somebody else mentioned 'lessons learned' and life is full of them for men and women of all ages from 15-115 until we get planted in the ground. Then God willing there will be so much more to learn beyond that!

Your son may have just learned the most important lesson of a lifetime when spending your own money - "you get what you pay for", and you just learned that "communication amongst friends can be very satisfying"....

good luck to you both!

Sounds like words of wisdom to me. GTT

[motornut]

Ask for receipts with serial numbers.
And one for shipping too, my friend owns a pro audio shop,his tecs can do some "sub" repairs in house.
You can check a speaker, subs have a big throw,so you can move it gently in and out.
Nothing hard that would leave a mark.
But any crunching binding = not good
Make sure the grill/seat/etc isn't touching.
The speaker baskets can get bent/ bind be sure nothing can hit the rim.
Was he implying "your fault "?
A professional installer should show your son, "it's limits"
If not be sure to ask.

[Gotenntitans]

Originally Posted by motornut

Ask for receipts with serial numbers.
And one for shipping too, my friend owns a pro audio shop,his tecs can do some "sub" repairs in house.
You can check a speaker, subs have a big throw,so you can move it gently in and out.
Nothing hard that would leave a mark.
But any crunching binding = not good
Make sure the grill/seat/etc isn't touching.
The speaker baskets can get bent/ bind be sure nothing can hit the rim.
Was he implying "your fault "?
A professional installer should show your son, "it's limits"
If not be sure to ask.

Thanks motornut. I asked about receipts and he said that HIS receipt was the receipt. I feel better after seeing that our mutual friend, Jerry, was very friendly with him. I KNOW Jerry is reputable at his auto body shop and if he is comfortable with this shop owner, then he can't be a dishonest guy.

He DID imply that my son had probably turned the woofer up too loud and made the comment that if he sent it in, it would come back as "customer abuse damage." What could I say to that? My son probably did crank it up, but that's kinda what it's made for isn't it?........how else does one make it bump and vibrate the coins in the cupholder? The owner of the shop made it do that the day that I went to preview what he had done even before my son ever saw the system in the truck. I didn't like it, but my son did and that's what started this whole thing.

I told the owner if he would fix the woofer and provides a receipt AND warranty on everything he installed, I would agree to go ahead and pay HIM and allow my son to repay me. That's our agreement for now. I hope it all works out. I'll find out in a couple of weeks, I guess. GTT

[king-918]

Sounds like clipping. I guess he gets his first real lesson in stereo equipment.

[1968aj]

I have some free advice but no opinions. when my son was 16 he worked at local grocery store. bought a stereo system that was loud .couple of weeks later it was stolen out of his truck in front of our house. when thieves hear it they follow you home and come back later and steal it.i told him to turn it down before he gets home and make sure he was not being followed from now on.

[Gotenntitans]

Originally Posted by 1968aj

I have some free advice but no opinions. when my son was 16 he worked at local grocery store. bought a stereo system that was loud .couple of weeks later it was stolen out of his truck in front of our house. when thieves hear it they follow you home and come back later and steal it.i told him to turn it down before he gets home and make sure he was not being followed from now on.

I believe you. Actually, three kids on my son's football team have had their trucks broken into and parts of their stereo systems stolen since school started on August 17. Gotta be someone with a connection to the team doing it.

Anyway, still waiting to hear from the shop owner about the repaired woofer. Ready to get this thing over with. Thanks for your advice. GTT

[Gotenntitans]

AND we're still waiting.............................
GTT

[SCOTI]

Originally Posted by Gotenntitans

I believe you. Actually, three kids on my son's football team have had their trucks broken into and parts of their stereo systems stolen since school started on August 17. Gotta be someone with a connection to the team doing it. Anyway, still waiting to hear from the shop owner about the repaired woofer. Ready to get this thing over with. Thanks for your advice. GTT

More than likely it's someone that knows someone that's in the social group these kids hang out with. Kids will tell anyone that listens "So & So" has a massive system in their truck blah blah blah.... Once others 'hear' the system, it can be anyone that know's, talks about, or has heard it.

I told my step-daughter when she was younger & tell my buddies teenage kids:

• Don't tell your friends about your alarm set-up if it has one (it should @ least have a basic set-up)....
• Don't crank your stereo system around large groups of people as it's just advertising there's expensive equipment for the taking.....
• Don't show your friends where any cut-off switches are....

[Gotenntitans]

AND we're still waiting! Won't return our calls and they're always gone by the time I come by the shop after I get off work. Looks like I may as well write these guys off and move on. My son has a big black empty box behind his seats and an amp under the seat with nothing to amplify! I'm absolutely sick about how this has turned out. My initial suspicions turned out to be true, but I was nice about it and allowed myself to believe them and was fooled into thinking they were reputable and on the up and up.

Maybe things will work out with my son's stereo system, but if and when it does it doesn't look like it will be with these guys. GTT

[Goats86]

Sorry to hear about the train wreck with the stereo. On a side note. Did you catch that fish in your picture on a lake near Camden? Spent many hours at Harvey's grocery with Bobby and Minnie Mae.

[Gotenntitans]

Originally Posted by Goats86

Sorry to hear about the train wreck with the stereo. On a side note. Did you catch that fish in your picture on a lake near Camden? Spent many hours at Harvey's grocery with Bobby and Minnie Mae.

I sure did catch that 2+ lb. crappie at White Oak Lake near Camden. Drive right by Harvey's on the way; done it hundreds of times. Harvey's used to cut THE BEST steaks around and Mr. Bobby would always offer a soda or ice cream treat while you waited. Very nice man. Camden, Arkansas misses the Hildebrands and Harvey's Grocery.

We need more more good honest friendly businesses like his and less shoddy dishonest ones with crackhead employees like the stereo shop guy runs. Time for me to let it go and move on.

By the way, that's what I did with that fish. Turned him loose to bite again. GTT

[chuchito]

Sorry to hear about your experience. I just have a couple of things in my opinion.
As many can agree, car audio doesn't last forever, especially if it was used. There's no telling how it was abused before it was installed in your son's truck. The installer should have made you and your son aware that the system had no warranty since it was used.

There are a few things that could have caused the speakers to not work. Either they were not a good match for the amp such as the ohms not matching the amps capabilities. The gains on the amp were not set correctly. Or there was something wrong with the amp to begin with. Maybe that was the reason the original owner of the system got rid of it. And it is also possible that your sone was playing it at max level for long periods of time which put a strain on the speakers which caused them to fail. Again, this could easily happen if the gains were set too high.

Regardless, car audio is probably one of the few things I would not recommend to buy used unless you know for sure that they have not been abused.

[Gotenntitans]

Originally Posted by chuchito

Sorry to hear about your experience. I just have a couple of things in my opinion.
As many can agree, car audio doesn't last forever, especially if it was used. There's no telling how it was abused before it was installed in your son's truck. The installer should have made you and your son aware that the system had no warranty since it was used.

There are a few things that could have caused the speakers to not work. Either they were not a good match for the amp such as the ohms not matching the amps capabilities. The gains on the amp were not set correctly. Or there was something wrong with the amp to begin with. Maybe that was the reason the original owner of the system got rid of it. And it is also possible that your sone was playing it at max level for long periods of time which put a strain on the speakers which caused them to fail. Again, this could easily happen if the gains were set too high.

Regardless, car audio is probably one of the few things I would not recommend to buy used unless you know for sure that they have not been abused.

Thanks chuchito. I'm done dealing with these guys completely. They're not the only audio installers around south Arkansas. I've spoken with several people about them and some are very satisfied with them and others say that you better watch them because they're dishonest and will install used (stolen???) stuff and give you an empty box so you'll think they put in new stuff. I believe that's what happened with us. They did tell my son that they had some used stuff and said it wasn't stolen, but I've heard the main installer for this shop is a bigtime crackhead so I'm betting that it was. Even though I was assured that the stuff wasn't stolen, they sure were quick to get it out of the truck when I took it back to them. They were very nice at first and assured me that they could get the stuff repaired for shipping costs only so I let them keep the woofer and send it back and they were gonna call me when it came back in. That was August. Still haven't heard a word and it's almost Thanksgiving.

Anyway, things will work out. I'm gonna put something in there for my son for Christmas. That'll be cheaper than wheels & tires. GTT