Took my 2020 Porsche 911 here to get the sound system upgraded. Felipe suggested changing the speakers and adding an amp, both from JL Audio. Total cost was about $6k and I went ahead and did it. After I got the car back, I was disappointed as the sound quality was about the same as before or perhaps marginally better. Additionally, there was rattling in the door panels and I would also hear an occasional popping noise. I mentioned both of these to Felipe. Additional sound deadening was added for the rattling, but the popping noise couldn't be resolved. Even after the additional sound deadening was added, there would still be rattling in the door panels. A couple months later, I moved down to LA and decided to bring the car into another shop down in LA. The shop informed me that the speakers used are JL Audio C2 speakers which are OEM replacement speakers. They told me they are not sure why anyone would replace the stock speakers with those as they are not much of an upgrade. Additionally, the new shop said what my system needed was a Nav TV device to convert the audio to digital output as well as add a DSP (digital sound processor). They said it is clear that the previous installer (i.e. Felipe) does not know much about car audio given the recommendations that were made. To make matters worse, when the new shop started working on my car they informed me that a number of things were broken such as the clips that hold down the center piece of the backseat and other clips throughout the car. The feedback was that the overall work was shoddy. I trusted Felipe with my car and the net result was a sound system that wasn't an upgrade. I spent $6k spent for nothing, wasted my time, and the worst part is I now have damaged components throughout my car. I have since spent an additional $8k on top of what I paid Felipe to redo the sound system entirely. Felipe is a nice guy and it was nice to work with him. He did help me install a dash cam on my other car and from what I can see that installation was fine. However, for car audio systems, I would not recommend Felipe. read more

Second time Felipe has done an installation for me. First time work was done under a strict budget. Felipe didn't try to up sell me. End result within budget was great. Second installation was equally great results. I made few changes that wasn't expected but Felipe was more than happy to accommodate my requests. Clear and concise communications throughout the process. Simply amazing service. read more

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Felipe was great to work with. He installed an aftermarket head unit into my Cayman S, in under the time of his competitors quotes. Saved me time and more importantly, money. He even threw in doing hardwire for a radar detector (RJ-11) for free. Great honest business, with 20+ years of knowledge and integrity, which is hard to find these days... read more

They worked quickly. But I paid $385 for the exact same part Best Buy sells for $170. My fault for not doing any research. They got me this time. Live and learn. read more

Felipe installed an Alpine head unit, and rear camera in my 1997 Chrysler Town & Country. I provided the head unit, camera, camera license plate installation kit, and parking brake bypass wires, which I had purchased on eBay. An old head unit and camera were installed in the car some years ago. I gave my OK for Felipe to reuse the existing wire that connected the old rear camera with the old head unit. Taking me up on this offer would have saved him work, but he installed a new wire for the originally quoted price. Not only that, he worked lightning fast. I dropped the car off on a Tuesday night for a Wednesday installation. The work was complete Wednesday at 8:45am. Similarly, I sent my initial contact email on a Sunday afternoon, and was not expecting a response until Tuesday, the shop's first weekly opening day. Yet, I received an answer by Sunday night. No attempt to change the price after the fact. Everything was smooth, and so far the installation works great. I will go to this shop again with similar work in the future. The shop also does window tinting, but I have no experience around the this service. read more

Car Audio Specialties - New rear camera, installed with Alpine license plate mounting kit - Car Stereo Installation Near Me - Belmont, California

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I first went to Felipe with a request that is still fairly unusual ... I wanted a 3000w AC inverter, DC-DC converter, and LiFePO4 battery installed along with a dashboard remote to control the inverter for my off-grid dream vehicle. Felipe patiently discussed the design with me, accepted Amazon and other third-party deliveries of my parts at CAS, accepted direction for the configuration bits that I knew more about, and MADE the installation succeed in a single day. Fortunate, because he knows a hell of a lot more about the device installation and cable routing than I do. I drove it home the same night, tested it out, and proved to myself that he had delivered on time and on point. Felipe stuck to the estimate he had made originally, and I kept to my parts+service budget. So CAS is my new go-to for crazy builds like this. I can heartily recommend CAS and Felipe, and of course I will return to them myself. read more

Update 11/04/2022: I met Felipe during my lunch break to retrieve the promised check of $2300 for refund of labor. He wrote and signed but immediately crossed it out due to "his son having to sign it instead because he is retiring today and giving the shop to his son Andres Orozepa" Then, he tells me that it happens to be the only check left and asks if I can come another time. I asked if he could use Zelle and he refused because he claimed to not have is cell phone. I told him to drive with me to the nearest Wells Fargo to withdraw the money, so he sends his son, Andres. Before we departed the shop, I saw Felipe on the phone spelling out the number on my company truck, reporting me. On the drive, Andres admitted to still be learning about installing car audio and apologized. At the bank, instead of just withdrawing the money, he bought three checks and wrote a new one to me. I immediately cashed it with the same teller he worked with. This was the most childish and disrespectful experience I have had with anyone. Not only should Felipe and his son shut down their business -- they should be fined and face jail time for unethical practices and damage to property. At my third party installer, who knows many other Bay Area audio installers, the owner stated that many of his colleagues are reporting the same case as mine for customers coming from Car Audio Specialties. Apparently, these other customers were infuriated with Felipe and also seeking reconciliation. I will continue disputing this until every last cent and every wasted second is returned. Update 11/1/2022: I met Felipe during my lunch break at Car Audio Specialties and presented the picture evidence of negligence, unethical business practices, and damage to property. He had no answer for this and said he "just wanted me out of his life". He asked me what I want, and he agreed to reimburse $2300 for the labor portion of $4000 I had spent had his shop since March 2022. I said he could Zelle me with his phone on the spot, but demanded that I return on Friday 11/4/2022 to pick up my check. Update 10/31/2022: After my bad experience with Felipe, I wanted to get a second opinion and went to a more reputable business in Union City, Sound Innovations. I told them to open everything up to reveal the damaged, the findings were disturbing. As you can see in the pictures, no sound deadening was installed around the speakers, even though I payed $80 per door. The $600 dollar JL C3-650 speakers I had installed were bent and damaged due to lack of pre-drilling. The rear speakers were the same, but had no sound. Although Felipe claimed that he installed shielded RCAs wrapped in additional foil, they were cheap, non-shielded, and covered in Aluminum foil. Although Felipe continued to blame my head unit, the sound was present before the new head unit installation. My system was constantly shutting down and Felipe reported to me during a warranty visit that he had put fuse that was too small and had blown. Instead of addressing the issue, he said he increased the replacement fuse size. Apparently, this is dangerous as it blew to protect the system. Due to this, the new shop found out the my 12" JL powered sub that Felipe installed was blown as well. Lastly, the firewall wiring was installed dangerously, in contact with sharp metal, and the fuse box was lazily throne into the engine bay and zip tied without any bolting. Before I departed, Felipe instructed me to tell my third party installer (Sound Innovations) to "F*ck themselves!". This was more than unprofessional as I could tell this was personal for Felipe. read more

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Kept bringing my car by to get some inline fuses put it. He kept telling me to come back later and that he would have them in stock. He eventually recognized my phone number and stopped answering. I wanted to give him my business but when he realized I didn't want to but his JL audio products he didn't seem very interested anymore. I wanted to give them my business I really did. It's just unfortunate. Only reason its 2 stars is because he was at least respectful, but you could tell he wanted nothing to do with the project. Which was quite easy. Had another car audio shop do it same day for me. read more

I've brought several family cars to this shop over the years and have increasingly complicated jobs for them. I just brought my new car to them for installation of an amp, subwoofer, sound processor, dash cameras, thermal imaging camera, radar detector. Felipe was really efficient, always friendly, didn't upsell at all, and is very thoughtful in his work. He doesn't cut corners and talked through everything I wanted in terms of placement, access. He made suggestions where appropriate, and his workmanship continues to be stellar. Highly recommend. For those of us who care about our rides, Car Audio Specialties is a good place to entrust your vehicle. read more

Friend recommended. Stopped by shop. Showed Felipe car stereo I was interested in. Was told he couldn't compete with internet prices and recommended I buy all equipment and he would install. $120hr and it would take 2.5hrs ($300). I bought as recommended. Contacted to make Install appointment. After multiple contact attempts to make appointment with no responses, decided he was to busy or not interested. Stereo has since been installed by one of his competitors for $200. read more

Yes they are open just a few doors down. Felipe did a great job. Months later I'm still loving my Sony. I had my factory Camry stereo replaced with Apple CarPlay compatible device & a back up camera installed instead of buying a newer model car. Saved a ton of dough and Felipe did me right. read more

I've been going to Car Audio Specialties for many years for all of my car stereo work. Felipe does outstanding work and always has top of the line equipment. Whether I need audio work or window tinting, Felipe's is my go to shop. I highly recommend his shop for any car audio services! read more

Felipe, did a great job installing a dashcam in my car. He was very professional and super responsive, friendly as well. He was able to do it quickly even tho it was a little tricky and at a reasonable price, I wouldn't hesitate to use him again! read more

Been going to Felipe shop since he had his old shop opened, anytime I needed an upgrade, pricing/estimation he is there to help out, his workmanship is always good, pricing is alway decent and if something breaks he can replace it for you for no charge if it is still under warranty if there is something that needs to be adjusted he will walk you through it and show you how to fix it when you go to his shop he also does tinting, lighting in the car he can do, also underglow for underneath your car price $$ ambiance **** small shop fits 2 -3 small cars maybe 2 midsize suv's at a time and if you got a suburban or expedition it will also fit in his shop service ***** alway excellent service he has been doing this a long time so if you had something installed from goodguys, bestbuy, or any other car audio spot less repreable he can point out what they did wrong and fix it. cheers for Felipe, awesome everytime I need something done or just a reference on what is on the market that would be better if you deciding to do upgrade. read more

Came to the office and they helped me immediately and changed my stereo same day and really fast. Here is my reason why I didn't give them 5 stars. I wanted apple car play and I got a Bluetooth albeit touch screen radio. I need to see the maps on the stereo not on my phone so I don't have to constantly look down. I got home and I was absolutely disappointed. Now I have to spend more, which the stereo was 399 plus tax to get what I actually want. read more

Car Audio Specialties - Pioneer touch screen radio. Not apple car play or android auto. - Car Stereo Installation Near Me - Belmont, California

sub woofer blew out, hours before i was selling my corvette, so i gave these guys a call. I showed up, he determined my sub was blown, explained to him i was selling my car and he did not hesitate to get my beats back up and running! Great price on subs, no finger prints on my freshly detailed car and he was super fast! thank you very much! read more

Car Audio Specialties - Car Stereo Installation Near Me - Belmont, California

Felipe was AMAZINg!!! He was able to help me over the phone with my issue and he didn't even charge me.

Thank you for your great work Marco, the fog lights look great. I recommend these guys to anyone looking for professional installation. The price is great, Nissan wanted to charge me $500.00 just for labor, CAS did it for hundreds less and their work is guaranteed for life. And Marco is great, he and his friend had me laughing the whole time I was there. And Marco, I remember you saying that you wanted those fog lights for your car, here's where I got em. Note the price and you understand why. Thanks again. https://www.carparts.com/results/?Ntt=SP5083104&searchType=global&N=0&uts=true&shopId=1&searchType=global&N=0 read more

Car Audio Specialties - Fog lights. - Car Stereo Installation Near Me - Belmont, California

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Tbh I don't know anything about cars, audio systems, or tint brands. But I am extremely picky about details, quality, and customer service. After a long search for a quality, super professional, and reliable service provider I went with Felipe, and even though I live over 40 miles and a bridge away, he's now the only person I'll take any of my cars to. His prices are competitive for his quality of work and, more importantly (for me), for the experience. There's no ambiguity and frustration working with him. He upgraded my media console on my TT with an Apple Play enabled one, installed a rear camera, and tinted my windows. He turned it around super fast and did a pro job. Everything works perfectly and the car looks gorgeous. Money well spent. read more

Car Audio Specialties - Felipe is a pro. Beautiful tint job and updated my media console (I wanted Apple play) perfectly. - Car Stereo Installation Near Me - Belmont, California

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Awesome job done in my Escalade! Been wanting a great sounding system for years and Car Audio Specialties delivered! My car audio system sounds super good now! Felipe was also very transparent about everything such as the costs and details about the sound system going into my car showing that they value their customers. Highly recommend Car Audio Specialties if you want a high quality sound system done in your car! read more

Let me just start off by saying this place is the real deal Holyfield, I took a good look the google reviews I was kinda skeptical so I checked out yelp and I thought okay well let me give car audio Specialist a try. In the past I've been to shops all around Oakland, hayward, even a spot in san Leandro I felt ripped off each and everytime. You see who's gonna be installing whatever in your car and the whole time you're thinking I hope he doesn't mess anything up in my car or could just be me. So anyway this past Saturday 5/30/20 I brought in my 2018 toyota camry. I didn't really know what to expect when I walked in But when I walked in the guy was finishing up someone else car. I kinda yelled hello the guy walks in how can I help you I looked at the guy for 2 second and knew my car was in good hands I didn't once get the feeling of being ripped off I could tell he's a professional, he hooked up my 2 '12 my lc2i amp and monoblock amplifier. The music sounds really good for the 1st time in a long time I'm happy with my subs. I will be back here to get some sound deadener installed and to get my 4 channel voice amp hooked up as well. And get some tints installed read more

A friend of mine had installed an Amazon stereo head unit and backup camera in my son's RAV4. Good intentions don't always work. With that head unit, we had lost steering wheel volume control and the radio antenna . My son was very sad about his stereo situation. I found CAS on Yelp and decided to drop by because it was the closest place to my house. Felipe was by himself on this Saturday. He was working on someone else's car. I explained our situation and Felipe said "let me check it out." He agreed that the Amazon unit was "trash" and that he could remedy all our problems with a new head unit. Felipe told me he had to finish the car he was working on and then he could take care of us. Felipe told me the job would take an hour and a half. I agreed and took an Uber home. Felipe called me at home after an hour. He told me our backup camera was incompatible with our new stereo. He asked if I just wanted him to remove or replace it. I told him to replace it. The car was done when he said it would be. Everything looks great and works as it should. Felipe gives a lifetime warranty on his work. Manufacturers warranty on the components. The price was fair and the service was excellent. I couldn't give Felipe and Car Audio Specialties anything less than 5 stars. If you need anything car audio, you need to check out these guys. read more

Car Audio Specialties - New Sony head unit, with a beautiful, professional installation. - Car Stereo Installation Near Me - Belmont, California

My 2005 Jeep Gr Cherokee had no way to listen to my iPhone podcasts and music. Assuming I needed to replace the whole factory stereo/nav system I shopped for a stereo at Best Buy but they have a two-month+ installation waitlist! Didn't buy it - called a few places for an estimate. This place looked up my car info and recommend an easy Bluetooth fix without replacing the whole system, tinted my windows same time, replaced my headlights, all in one day and for less than the cost of a new stereo and install only at Best Buy (best, bye!). My old car is so happy and I'm road-trip ready. Felipe and Marcos were super nice, professional and fast. Definitely recommend them! read more

I went to car audio specialties this morning hoping to get an alarm system for my truck. Felipe greeted me when I arrived. I told Felipe what I was wanted for my truck he gave me numerous options and fantastic pricing. The price that Felipe gave me is the best around. He quoted me roughly a three hour turnaround for my truck to be ready. My truck was ready as promised. Felipe took the time to explain how everything worked and how to use the remote controls that I was given. Being a novice at these things, Felipe explained everything thoroughly and in easy to understand manner which I appreciated. I remarked how lucky I felt to be able to get my truck serviced in one day. Felipe told me that his repair calendar was full for the next two weeks. Basically, the reason for Felipe was able to service my truck was that he and his assistant were very familiar with the type of truck I have. They went out of their way to help me!!! Very rare in this day and age! The whole process at car audio specialties was seamless. I highly recommend car audio specialties for any Electronic need for your vehicle! . I would not hesitate to go back to car audio specialties for any future need! Thank You Felipe for an Awesome experience! read more

I searched all around yelp. Called so many places. Jumped through hoops to run comparisons -- and ultimately ended up at Felipe's. Got my Toyota Prius tinted here and let me tell you something. Customer service is what drives business. Felipe gets it! He responds quickly to yelp messages. He's honest and doesn't recommend anything unnecessarily. He gets the job done! Lifetime warranty on the tint. Finished in 3-4 hours. Gave me the best pricing. What more could you ask for? read more

Car Audio Specialties is the best installer for all your audio needs in this area. They were professional, fast, and meticulous in providing the best possible service. Don't settle for less! Use the best and call Car Audio Specialties. read more

Car Audio Specialties is by far the best in the business. Everything from car and motorcycle audio twindow tinting. I have had several cars done by Felipe and each time he's done an awesome job. Felipe is very professional, knowledgeable and fair. I highly recommend Car Audio Specialties! UPDATE: I just had my Tesla's windows tinted and once again Felipe and his team did an awesome, professional job. I recommend all Tesla owners to get their tent down by Car Audio Specialties. read more

Car Audio Specialties did a window tinting, car audio troubleshooting, an install on new interior door handles, new cup holder, and new drivers side switch on my recently purchased Mercedes. Yes, you read that correctly, I said cup holder, but a Mercedes cup holder installation is a tedious, detailed, and very involved task, which requires taking apart several components of the vehicle. I chose Car Audio Specialties because of the excellent reviews and the price given on the job. Felipe, the business owner, gave me nothing but an excellent experience. Window tinting shops now days only need to remove panels on certain cars, which mine wasn't one of those, but Felipe was kind enough to do that for me along with the window tints at the same time. Felipe spent an entire Saturday on my car and kept in touch with periodic status updates of the installation, and his hourly rate wasn't highway robbery like a lot of other shops in the area. Felipe is fair about his business ethics, practice and overall devotion to customer satisfaction. My car audio system, which was already installed when I bought the car, turned out to have a failed JL Audio Clean Sweep, but Felipe was quick to identify the issue and resolve it. The faulty part was replaced with a new one and everything worked fine. However, my system decided to act up a few days later and I was not surprised since Felipe noticed some gaping flaws such as sloppy wiring done by the previous install. I contacted him and he gladly set me up with a new appointment to diagnose the issue further free of charge. The installed part didn't get the job done at the end of the day, but that's only because my system was the problem and had nothing to do with the part. I explained to Felipe how I felt about the situation since I paid for something that didn't work out, and what he did next to rectify it is exactly what I'd come to expect. Felipe issued me a full refund on parts and labor only to exemplify a business entity with some qualities that you don't find in shops anymore-nobility, pride, decency and genuine honor. Thank you Felipe! 5 STARS! read more

Back in November he gave me three or four times to come in but every time I showed up he was busy charged me 160 for installing the hardwire for my camcorder I already had the monitor mounted all she had to do was hardwire the power. Then he said he was too busy and he had another appointment to set up my view cam he said he didn't know it and I should've got one that he knew so I left read more

Very clean work. Had my Caddy windows tinted and a new stereo installed. All the work was top notch. He put in back up sensors as well. Everything looks factory. The sound is fantastic. Excellent shop! read more

I found car audio specialties and had them tint my new Tesla model S. they did a fantastic job so I decided to work with them to upgrade the stereo system as well. These guys do excellent work for a very reasonable price. I highly recommend them. Here is what they did for me: The new system has the NVX sub in the back powered by the 600w amp it came with. Up front a set of Hertz HSK165 component speakers powered by the NVX JAD 800.4 (125w/channel into 4ohm). I had the stock signal to the front speakers go to an LC8i which is then sent to the JAD 800.4 to power the Hertz speakers up front and also send a signal back to the sub. There is a dial that comes with the LC8i that is installed in the center console that allows me to adjust the bass from the sub. If you press the dial it switches to the aux input and becomes the volume control for aux. if you press it again you can adjust the bass from the sub for the aux input. Here is what they installed: NVX custom Tesla 10" sub w/ 600 watt NVX amp, Hertz HSK 165 component speakers, AudioControl LC8i, NVX JAD 800.4 amp read more

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Car Audio Specialties took great care of my precious. I brought it in to have an aftermarket Crux rear view camera installed (which integrated with the existing LCD console) and Felipe did a fantastic job. I wanted to make sure whoever did it had a lot of experience, so all the 5 star reviews on Yelp helped put my mind at ease, and the price was very competitive too. I won't hesitate to come back for any future car electronics needs. read more

Friendly, professional people to work with and they charge fair prices. What more can I say, highly recommend!

I brought in my 2005 Accord to have a JL Audio subwoofer and Alpine amp installed. Felipe did a great job with a clean installation. He even got creative and mounted my amp in the trunk and it looks like it's floating, very cool! I always bring my cars to him for my car audio needs. read more

Car Audio Specialties - JL sub - Car Stereo Installation Near Me - Belmont, California

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I came here to get my windows tinted. The price was very reasonable and they did it in less than 3 hrs. They're open on Saturdays which is very convenient if you work mon-fri and they take saturday appointments. read more

Car Audio Specialties - Car Stereo Installation Near Me - Belmont, California

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Felipe is the man! He did a great job tinting the windows on our Forester, very clean looking. Also, I happened to ask if he knew how to vinyl wrap and he wrapped the trim on our grille and he did an amazing job on it. Highly recommend his service and will only bring our cars here from now on. read more

This is a great local business. I just bought a brand new car and had them install a front/rear dash cam. I'm useless when it comes to detail-oriented tricky tasks/wiring so I was really happy to outsource this to them. The price was very reasonable and they were able to work me into their schedule within a day or two. I was amazed to learn that this type of installation can take 3-4 hours just because they have to hide so much wiring and stuff in the car. When they were done, I couldn't believe that everything looked exactly the same! No bent plastic parts of the car or snagged fabric liners or anything. They definitely know what they're doing. After I checked the dash cam footage that night, I realized I needed to adjust the angle of the camera. After I did that, the defrost lines on the rear window blocked the camera's view. I called them and Felipe said come on in, and Marco adjusted the position of the camera for me not even 1/2 hour after my call. He was great and was patient while I double-checked the positioning by looking at the footage on my computer. He wanted to make sure the job was done right. Thank you Car Audio Specialties. I feel much safer knowing I have dash cams in my car and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend your business to anyone. read more

So I'm back doing another review. This time is for HID Lights Headlamp / Fog Lights. Again Felipe came through with another 5 Star service and patience. To make a long story short, Felipe took good care of me! He made sure that there was no problems and also all of the challenges that my car presented was rectified. Thank you again. You run the best shop in San Mateo! 07 Mini Cooper read more

Car Audio Specialties - 07 Mini Cooper HID Upgrade Headlights and matching Fog Lights 6K Bright White. Thanks again Felipe. - Car Stereo Installation Near Me - Belmont, California

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Filipe was fantastic. He help me sort out issues with an audio install that was done elsewhere. Got it done quickly and reasonably priced. Best of all, my issues were fixed. Highly recommend them for your audio needs. read more

Felipe installed BlackVue dashcams on two vehicles in my household. One was a dual cam setup, with fairly complicated cable routing (part of door trim needed to be removed). Car Audio Specialties showed attention to detail and timely execution of the service. Be sure to call for quote: give them make and model of car and dashcam to get a realistic $ for installation. Park on the street side in front of the shop, there is no dedicated onsite parking as far as I saw. read more