Halfords Fitting or Local Garage?

[Freakish_05]

Morning All,

I need to get the speakers replaced in my Corsa, the standard fit Vauxhall ones just aren't up to the output that my Pioneer head unit throws out (50W RMS)....To the extent that I have now blown the front right and rear left.

Now, I've spotted some nice sony 60W custom fit speakers in Halfords which should easily cope with my head unit at max volume. I was going to get 2 pairs of these (new pair front, new pair back) and pay Halfords the £60 to fit them.

Now, I've heard bad things from a mate who had a head unit replaced by them. So I'm now thinking "do I really want to let these people tear my doors/parcel shelf apart, break all the seals and end up with water leaking into my car.
I also have the option of taking all the kit to a garage down the road who seem to be very respactable and assure me that they take the most care when removing panels and cutting seals etc, but they will charge £100 for fitting.

What should I do??

 

[topbanana]

It's up to you to decide whether the peace of mind is worth £40.

 

[jpmonkey69]

Proper bodgit and scarper job from Halfords..

They ran my amps power and speaker cable down the same side of my car, I noticed this because they also hadn't secured the carpet back down properly.

I ended up getting my money back and doing it myself. Making sure the speaker cable and power cables were on different sides of the car.

 

[Freakish_05]

cheers guys.

looks like two bad votes for halfords, methinks i'll be going to the garage!

 

[happytechie]

tbh if it's just a case of swapping the speakers over why not try it yourself?

If it's looks too hard when you get in there you can always take it to a local fitter then!

Paul

 

[Bri]

They fitted my headunit for free & it's fine. Saying that, it's just a plug & go type job so not much they could muck up I suppose!

 

[Firestar_3x]

Very easy to fit, i don't pay anyone to do anything unless i totally have to, so that means i do everything except change the cambelt and fit tyres on my car.

 

[paradigm]

I'd also be for the "do it yourself" option, basic audio components (headunits, amps, speakers, etc) are NOT hard to install yourself.

 

[jesta]

They fitted my headunit for free & it's fine. Saying that, it's just a plug & go type job so not much they could muck up I suppose!

Funny you should say that cos my mate got Halfords to fit one in for him and the guy there managed to fix it wrong!(dont ask me how)

 

[Bri]

Funny you should say that cos my mate got Halfords to fit one in for him and the guy there managed to fix it wrong!(dont ask me how)

LOL how on earth?

I'd have done it myself, it's an easy job but they had some offer on for free fitting so I thought I may as well let the monkey's do some work

 

[dalex]

why not look in the yellow pages for a local car audio supplier/fitter who does this for a living,he may even come to you, so you can observe the quality of the work and how it is done for next time
dave

 

[jesta]

LOL how on earth?

I'd have done it myself, it's an easy job but they had some offer on for free fitting so I thought I may as well let the monkey's do some work

lol,don't even ask i even managed to fix one for my mums car 4years ago(i was 13). The guy there was a real chav though.

 

[PAz]

Do it yourself, its very very easy on the corsa.

You'll need some speaker pods, probably easiest to get them from halfords.

If you get stuck you'll be able to find help over at http://www.corsasport.co.uk

 

[Hawk Tuah]

Well, as with all places, I guess it depends who you get actually doing the work on your car. You could get an experienced fitter, or you could get some untrained noob.

I suppose the difference is, it you goto Halfords and they screw it up, you'll probably be able to get your money back. If it was just a local garage, then its unlikely.

 

[amx]

My local audio supplier fitted my headunit / sub & speakers but they never sounded quite right, and i just put it down to a poor choice of components.

My head-unit then got pinched, and i bought the replacement at halfords with free fitting.

When they did it, they realised that both sets of cables to my amp had been run down the same side of the car and that the amp hadn't been wired up correctly, and they fixed all of the problems free of charge and it has been as good as gold since.

Maybe I was lucky and actually got a bit of an enthusiast.

Against my better judgement, I would recommend them

 

[johnny6]

£60 seems a bit steep to me I'd want a whole system installed for that kind of money. Take your time and give it ago yourself. You'll learn something new and save money to boot.