Preparing Yourself and Your Vehicle for a Car Audio Installation

If you’ve scheduled an appointment with a local specialty mobile enhancement retailer to have your car or truck upgraded, there are a few things you’ll want to know to make the most of this opportunity. Whether the upgrade involves a new set of speakers, a multimedia receiver with a backup camera or a remote car starter, having the vehicle in a condition that will ensure that the technician can get to work quickly can save a lot of time. We’ve put together this simple guide to help make you a better customer and ensure that your project is completed on time and budget.

Please Arrive on Time

Mobile enhancement retailers work on a schedule. They’ve scheduled your car or truck for a certain amount of time to accomplish a task. In most cases, other clients are scheduled before and after you. If you show up five or 10 minutes late, that’s not only frustrating, but it can affect the entire day’s schedule and put other customers’ projects behind.

If you have an appointment, we suggest showing up about 15 minutes early. This extra time will give you and the product specialist a chance to confirm the details of the installation and allow the technician to pull the car or truck in and get the product prepared. If you’re having a new multimedia radio installed, the shop may have questions about where a USB connection for CarPlay and Android Auto should be located. If the upgrade is a remote starter, you and the specialist might want to review options like trunk or hatch release or automatic rear window defroster activation. In most cases, these items would have been covered before the quote was provided, but it’s always worth talking about as it’s easier to add them at the time of the installation as opposed to a few weeks or months later.

Please Bring What’s Required

In the rare case where you have the equipment to be installed in your possession before an installation appointment, please be sure to bring it with you. This applies to audio installations as well as remote starters. Many times, the starter and accompanying installation have been purchased in advance so the system could be presented as a gift. Make sure you bring everything with you on installation day. If you’ve opened the package, be sure to put everything back. A missing harness or remote might prevent the project from being completed and could result in additional costs.

Speaking of remote car starters, the specialists at the retailer you are working with might have asked you to bring both keys for the vehicle. This may be necessary to program the interface module to the vehicle. Without them, the installation can’t be completed. If you aren’t sure if you need to bring both keys, please bring them anyhow.

Would You Mind Taking Your Stuff Out of the Vehicle?

This is one of the biggest frustrations for installation technicians. Imagine you’ve scheduled your car or SUV for a subwoofer system installation, but the cargo area is full of sports equipment, work supplies or tools, or even purchases from a recent shopping trip. The technician will need to spend time moving these items before they can start work. This extra work can easily add five minutes to the beginning and end of each project. By the end of the day, it’s not unreasonable for them to have wasted half an hour just moving personal belongings when they could have spent that time upgrading client vehicles.

If you have an appointment, empty your vehicle. Start at the front and work backward with a basket or bag. Empty the center console, the storage compartments in the doors, items from the floor and the back seat. Clear out the cargo area of any items as well. Please do these things even if you don’t think those areas will need to be accessed. Sometimes a technician will have to run wiring through the vehicle for a remote starter or audio system installation. Anytime there’s stuff in the way, time is wasted. Trust us when we say that they appreciate you having the vehicle ready.

Give the Vehicle a Quick Cleaning

It only takes 15 minutes to run a car or truck through a touchless car wash before an installation. Getting dirt and debris out of the door sills will help a technician installing a remote starter stay clean. Clean fenders and the area around the trunk or hatch can prevent scratches, even if a fender cover is being used. The technician working on your vehicle will need to access the battery if an amplifier installation is involved in an upgrade, so they will be moving all over the vehicle.

If you can, vacuum the interior before you show up for an appointment. Some of us are fanatical about keeping the interiors of our cars and trucks clean – some aren’t. Nobody wants to work around old drink cups, food wrappers, stray French fries or used straws. If you can vacuum out sand and gravel, our floor mats will be cleaner for the next client.

Winter Installation Appointments

You can do a few things to help us work more efficiently when it’s cold out. First, if possible, please visit the car wash just before you arrive. Getting as much slush and snow off the vehicle and out of the wheel wells reduces dripping and puddles as the vehicle warms up in our bay.

If we have to remove interior trim panels from the vehicle to install a radio or speakers or run wiring, things go much better if the car has warmed up. Plastics are more fragile when they’re cold. The last thing we want is for something to break. If we’re having a busy day, it might be difficult to factor in time to let the interior warm up. If you’ve got the car up to temperature and the heater’s been on, we can get to work right away and ensure that your vehicle leaves our bay in the same or better condition than when it arrived.

Your Local Specialty Mobile Enhancement Retailer Says Thanks

It’s not easy to run a mobile enhancement business. Anything you as a client can do to help every project run smoothly and efficiently is genuinely appreciated. If there’s an audio component that needs to be replaced, if you’re interested in getting better sound from your stereo or are shopping for a remote car starter to make your vehicle more comfortable, please drop by one of the specialty mobile enhancement retailers near you. They’d be happy to help!

This article is written and produced by the team at www.BestCarAudio.com. Reproduction or use of any kind is prohibited without the express written permission of 1sixty8 media.