Kent

People have told me that the effectiveness of your security system will come down to the quality of the install. I have my alarm picked out and know what I want to go with but now I need to find a place that will install it perfectly without half assing it. Should I stick with the small local stereo shops or are big box stores like Best Buy ok to go to?

Blue Bomber

In my experience, the big chains don't know what they are doing anymore than the smaller stores. You'll probably get better service at a smaller store too. I got a starter/alarm installed at Futureshop and I am very dissatisfied. My heater/AC doesnt even come on when the car is auto-started. Defeats half the purpose of the auto-start. And as far as I can tell, my "alarm" is my lights blinking on and off for a short period of time. Thats all that happens when I press the panic button.



I also got a bunch of audio equipment installed at the same time through them and I still owe them like $800 from a layaway deposit. I have zero intention of paying that because of how pissed I am with the service I got there. 3 months and 3 different employees start to finish, and they turned my air-bag light on, and didnt even hook up my back up camera to my reverse lights.



/rant

supry

I've installed at both big box stores and the smaller mom & pop stores, and it really depends on the exact store. I've seen both good and bad installs come from each. Ask around locally and find out who is the best in your area, then show up with a list of features you want, like rear defrost and such. If they don't do it right make sure you bring it back, most of the time they will make it right.