Featured Avoid Dash Audio for Car Audio Installations

[v1ktorius18]

I’m posting this to warn anyone in SoCal looking for an audio shop. About a year ago I had an amp and system installed at Dash Audio in Fontana. The system never sounded right. Three weeks ago I brought the car back for them to inspect it.



One of the owners told me they “never removed the radio” to install the amp. Anyone who knows basic install work knows that’s impossible, so that was my first red flag. They also claim they have cameras to “protect themselves,” but their cameras only point at the hood of the car and don’t show anything they actually do inside the vehicle.


When I picked up my car, there was a burn on my seat that was not there before. They denied it and blamed me because they saw a lighter in the car. I asked them to show the footage… they couldn’t, because their cameras don’t capture the interior. This led to an argument with the main owner.


Finally took the car to another audio shop. They pulled everything Dash Audio installed and showed me the real issue: cheap RCA cables, twisted/taped connections, poor routing, and flat-out low-grade work. They told me the whole install needed to be redone from scratch.

I ended up paying twice to fix their mess.


Just sharing this so nobody else gets burned. If you’re in the IE/Fontana area, avoid Dash Audio. The installers don’t know what they’re doing, and the owners won’t take responsibility for anything.

Click to read more...

 

[CarAudio.com - Hal AI Bots]

I’m posting this to warn anyone in SoCal looking for an audio shop. About a year ago I had an amp and system installed at Dash Audio in Fontana. The system never sounded right. Three weeks ago I brought the car back for them to inspect it.



One of the owners told me they “never removed the radio” to install the amp. Anyone who knows basic install work knows that’s impossible, so that was my first red flag. They also claim they have cameras to “protect themselves,” but their cameras only point at the hood of the car and don’t show anything they actually do inside the vehicle.


When I picked up my car, there was a burn on my seat that was not there before. They denied it and blamed me because they saw a lighter in the car. I asked them to show the footage… they couldn’t, because their cameras don’t capture the interior. This led to an argument with the main owner.


Finally took the car to another audio shop. They pulled everything Dash Audio installed and showed me the real issue: cheap RCA cables, twisted/taped connections, poor routing, and flat-out low-grade work. They told me the whole install needed to be redone from scratch.

I ended up paying twice to fix their mess.


Just sharing this so nobody else gets burned. If you’re in the IE/Fontana area, avoid Dash Audio. The installers don’t know what they’re doing, and the owners won’t take responsibility for anything.

Thank you for sharing your experience. If you have any technical questions or issues related to car audio, feel free to ask!

 

[shredder1 10+ year member]

Did you do your diligence? Flaming businesses online is usually phyrric at best. I agree with you after seeing what's out there on FB promoting killer installs or whatever. Maybe you should have done more diligence before taking your car there?

 

[1aespinoza Premium Member]

Just sharing this so nobody else gets burned. If you’re in the IE/Fontana area, avoid Dash Audio

I suggest writing a review on Google Maps. They cannot mess with those ratings.

 

[Jimi77 Premium Member]

Sorry to hear you had bad experience. I'll occasionally twist and tape, but you have to do it properly, which they clearly didn't do.

 

[Old_Slapper]

I got out of installing because shops, like these, ruined the industry. They come in with cheap equipment and install it at cheap prices. They are pay some kid, or crack head, to work for $15 an hour, and they pay them under-the-table. At it's peak in 2001, I was making over $100k a year as an installer. By 2008, I was making $50k.

Consumers don't understand there is a major difference between a $15ph installer and a $50ph installer. I always hear, "Well, they did my friends car, and it sound great." I always respond by saying "Now, imagine how much better it would look and sound if we did the install."

 

[slater]

Victor...
Looks like you didnt do your DD at all before deciding what shop to use..
Doing a quick search on yelp, you picked bottom of the barrel option with many poor reviews...
Most reputable shops theres days atleast in california guarantee theyre work for life of the vehicle or as long as you own it....
Looking at yelp, clearly audiolab, audio vision, audio metro would have been the smart / better option, 400-600 reviews vs 100.....


You came on here to bash them & try to get the word out that theyre a mediocre shop, yelp already shows that if you would have done your homework...
They did the install a year ago....
Yes a system should be trouble free longer than a year...
But sounds like you wouldnt have known any better & the other shop could have just replaced the bad RCA if they knew better "knew what was wrong / diagnose the concern" & sent you down the road & you would have been happy as a clam....

 

[Doxquzme Premium Member]

Bummer, man, that sucks.

I'm in the middle of a F-250 build for my son-in-law's beast of a ride.

We have probably close to 40 hours into it, doing it bit by bit, likely closer to 25-30 hours of work if we had a shop, and that's knowing what we're doing, well, at least one of us does!

The really sad part is, expensive labor, like mine, would be actually cheaper in the long run because I know the cost, both exotic and a budget, and there is still a right way and a wrong way, and I refuse to do things the wrong way.

Might have some pictures of the install in a couple of days, nothing exotic, just clean, functional, and sound (pun intended).

While it's not exactly a budget build, it's a damn good build considering, and will be a huge upgrade over the rattle-trap amp plate and rickety driver install that was there prior.

Bottom line is, if you can't do the work yourself, plan on paying someone who has your best interest at heart, and be ready to pay to play - someone who understands their reputation is absolutely everything!

It's never expensive to do things right; it's almost always expensive to do them cheaply.