Let me begin by saying I've never been a big fan of Car Toys. I always tried to avoid doing business with them because of prior experiences and word of mouth bashings from my friends. I always went to Circuit City for car stereo installation and was very satisfied with their service.
Alas, Circuit City is long gone. So, I held my breath and walked into Car Toys hoping for the best. They had a good selection of car stereos from all the big brands like Pioneer, Kenwood and Alpine. My salesperson helped my choose an Alpine deck that was Ipod compatible, or so I thought.
I made an appointment for an Alpine deck the next day and the total time was about 45 minutes, pretty good there. There is a Starbucks in the same stripmall, so I didn't have to wait around in the store.
Shortly after the installation was complete, I plugged in my Ipod Touch and got no response. Nada, zero, zilch. Okay, no need to panic. Maybe it needed an Alpine/Ipod app installed on my Ipod. Still couldn't get the Ipod to work. Tried my friend's IPhone4, still nothing. So maybe there was something faulty in the deck itself, which means I'd have to go back to Car Toys for another model.
I went back to CT explaining my problem to my salesperson and the installer. Both seemed a bit irritated of my return. The installer plugged in his IPhone and viola, it worked. But not for my particular model for some reason.
After going back and forth with the salesperson, I made my stand. "I'm not satisfied with this deck, and I want a different model installed". The salesperson countered with "I can have the same model installed, but if you choose a different model, I'm gonna have to charge you on another installation". Umm...excuse me? I just shelled over 500 bucks for a deck that doesn't do its job correctly and you're gonna try to milk me for more money?
I went back the next morning, hoping the original salesperson wouldn't be working. Luckily, he wasn't. There was a manager on duty that day, and explained the situation to him, without mentioning the original salesperson's schannigans. The manager helped me choose a different Alpine model, wasn't as flashy as the original, but worked with my Ipod. The installer swapped out the non-working Alpine for the different model in about 10 minutes. The manager then sat down with me in the car, and made sure everything worked to my satisfaction. We went back inside, and the manager refunded the price difference of the two decks. (The new and working Alpine was about 100 dollars less than the old non-working one). I got what I wanted and wasn't charged extra for another installation, which is what my original salesperson wanted to stiff me with.
All in all, an okay experience. Luckily, the manager handled the situation professionally and I'm enjoying my Jeep with Ipod compatibility.
While Car Toys carries a lot of brands, makes and models, I always feel like I am constantly sparring with their staff. My salesperson was worse than a used-car salesman and I never felt that he trying to work with me, but against me and trying to get more cash out of my wallet. I don't know if Car Toys pays their salespeople on a salary or on a commission. But my guess, they get a percentage of their sales. I could be wrong, but the staff always come off that way. read more