worleydave

This will be the first of several posts regarding this vendor. On Sunday 8/18 I ordered a Alpine model CDM 7894 for my car. Have been checking the order status with this company for three days to determine whether my head unit had shipped. The online service indicates there is no information regarding the shipment status. There is no way to speak to a real customer support person. I have sent a series of e-mails to their service department and have received a variety of answers ranging from "the order has already shipped" (Tuesday) to "we expect to ship in 48-72 hours depending on availability and manufacturer backlog" (Wednesday), to something along the lines of "be patient and we'll get it to you as soon as we can" (Monday). So, Tuesday I was told it had shipped. Today I was told it will ship in 2 or 3 days.

This company had the lowest price I could find: $321 + s&h of $16.97. Next best was $339. "Cartoys" and others in Dallas want $399 + install + tax.

Anybody else had experience with autotoys.com? I will let you know how this turns out. I want my damn head unit, or at least know when it is going to ship.

Cryptnotic

Call your credit card company and find out if they have charged your card or if they have merely done a "pre-authorization". They aren't supposed to charge your card until they hand over the merchandise.

As for the autotoys.com, their website looks shady. I wouldn't have given them my credit card number. You could probably have walked into a local car audio shop with cash and gotten the same unit for the same price or better.

Car audio goods have some of the highest markups of all consumer electronics. The price doubles each time the object changes hands. If a head unit costs $50 to manufacture at a factory in China, the manufacturer will sell it to the distributor for $100, who will sell it to the dealer for $200, who will sell it to you for $400. The dealer has the largest profit margin, so you can always haggle. However, don't bother haggling at a place like Good Guys or Circuit City. The employees there don't care since they're not the ones paying the rent. Go to an ordinary car stereo shop and pay cash. Know exactly what you want ahead of time. Don't let them take your car into the work area unless you have a written contract showing what work they are going to do and how much it costs.

Tachini

Let me know if you need to check head unit prices.

worleydave

Alright, UPS has my shipment. Four days after placing the order. Due for delivery on the 28th, 10 days after placing my order. Maybe that's what you get for the discount.

mmgrad

i've actually ordered from Autotoys.com before, and yes, their site is kinda shady. i had second thoughts about ordering when i did cause internet explorer told me that the security certificate did not belong to the site using it.

in good faith, i ordered a kenwood excelon headunit. about $350 (this was 2 yrs ago). and again, yes, lowest price from a retailer i found.

i had to say, i received better service than you. i got my order in about 1 week. packaged nicely, and working perfectly.

worleydave

If you decide to order from these guys, you will find that they will only ship to the address the credit card you use is billed. Also, you have to be present when UPS delivers. I left UPS a note to leave the package inside my front gate and lock it behind them. I went to the gym and on my way back saw the truck driving away. I thought "alright!" but decided to drive by the front before pulling into the garage. The package wasn't there but a note saying the sender required signature. So I jumped back in the MB and used about 175 of the available 220 horses to catch the driver and GOT MY DAMN HEAD UNIT! Yeeeee Haaawww!

mmgrad

signature required is actually a good thing. the last thing you need is the package to be taken and then you have to wait for it to be replaced (another 2-3 weeks).

besides, through my experience, UPS drivers don't read any notes that are left on the doors/gates... they are on a time schedule and i guess they figure that will slow them down. and as long as they attempted to make their stop, they don't care.

but congrats on your HU, post pics when you done installing.

BTW, are you putting in an amp, speakers, or any other audio related mods?

worleydave

They did deliver. Having the HU installed today I hope.

As far as the rest of my system, the PO did a nice upgrade. Power is from a Rockford Fosgate Punch 4080 amp. Door speakers were replaced with Boston Acoustic 6.4 in woofers. Inside rear side panels there are speakers that may be stock, as well as those in the dash. There are tweeters in the "a" pillars and the rear side panels as well. The PO had an old Sony head unit, probably from another vehicle, mated to this system. Had been "going out" on me.

Don't intend to use the XM capabilities of the new head unit right away. Will wait till the price of those tuners and antennas come down a bit. Really wanted the MP3 capability of the Alpine. Will let you know how it looks, sounds. Probably won't take pic.s and post. Too much of a PITA. Thanks to all, including autotoys.