I have just gotten an Excursion that I plan to keep as long as the wheels stay attached and I am looking to upgrade the stereo. It's got a factory stereo that's pretty good but I want to add Sirius and a jack so I can plug an iPod in. I also may consider installing a TV for my kid but that will depend on price.

What is a good place to buy? I know that Best Buy and Circuit City have car stereo departments but I am reluctant to have some high school kid install it.

Are there national chains that focus more directly on car stereo that are reputable? If not, is there some kind of accreditation or something that I should be looking for?

Thanks.

 

I would buy from Crutchfield. Their prices are usually really good and they include everything that you could possibly need to install everything yourself. They include detailed instructions with pictures and if you have any kind of question you can call the customer service line and they will help you out. I was a little weary about doing my install myself, but with the instructions and the install stuff they gave me it was super easy, and I saved a ton!

 

If its your first install I would say yes to Crutchfield because of the instruction sheets and connectors, beyond that they are overpriced in IMHO....

 

If you don't want to do the install yourself, I've heard good things from friends about Tweeter or Mobile One if you've got any near you. You have to realize you're going to pay more at any chain stereo installer though. Best thing to do IMHO is to go to an installer, get their reccs about what system to get (if you don't want to do your research online), write it down, and then buy components from ebay. You can always take all your stuff to an installer and have them put it in later.

 

Exactly - I buy EVERYTHING ON EBAY!!

 

crutchfield if you are a newbie... Ebay always has good deals and so does sounddomain.com. I recently bought my Pioneer 6800 (2006 model) for $210 shipped with all installation hardware needed...

 

The Pioneer DEH-P6800MP is a great new cd/mp3 player which can also run XM or SIRIUS. It has a mini plug on the bottom of the front face plate where you can directly hook up your mp3 player and play it using the auxilery feature. You can also connect t.v.s and dvd players to it and get sound through your speakers.

Pioneer 6800

If you enter the code "PA440" at checkout, you will get $50 off. So for $209, you get all installation parts, wiring, and shipping. Great deal at Crutchfield!

 

Dude - your freakin' rock

I was looking at the 6800 myself for the past two days. I am going to use it to hook up my satellite radio because the fm modulation sucks and was having a hard time justifying over 300bucks for both items. But with that $50 off coupon....I just placed my order.

 

I have always bought off of audio warehouse express the site is
www.awe1.com their prices are much cheaper but no dash kit always went to local sound shop for that and adapter wires. but their pioneer premeir players are the same as crutchfields plane jane pioneer so it was always worth it to me to get the premeirs from this site hope this helps.

 

This code is good at crutchfield.
$20 off - pckgu-rzbzt-44qiq

 

Go to a local car stereo shop, look around.
If its just punk kids hanging out or is it a professionally run business.
Remember if a reputable local store gets the sale and install you get SERVICE and service after the sale.

Buying from the INTERNET to save $20 on a $400 piece of equipment and it screws up out of the box? how about 10 months later?
You remove, you ship, you wait, you get excuses, etc
Buy in town, you'll be on the road that day with new tunes. it maybe a loaner if your unit is out for service, but its better than a hole in the dash.