Car Tunes Etc. — Attraction in Derry

First of all let me start out by saying that I do not take pleasure in leaving reviews as the one I am about to leave. I first went down to car tunes back in the summertime and I spoke with what I believe is the owner about purchasing a dash cam for my H3. I told him that I did not have a great deal of knowledge with dash cams and that I was looking for something that was easy to operate and high-quality . He then began to show me a product from Compustar and told me that the price was $299 plus $100 for installation. I then told him that it sounded good and I will I would be back. Sometime in November I called again to clarify the price would be $299 he responded with the same answer you gave me back in the summer. I did not have it done back in the summer because I was still looking around to make sure that I was getting the best bang for my buck . So I went through the door in January approach the counter and told them that I would like to have the compustar dash cam installed and set up an appointment date. He then told me that the price had gone up to $599. He then said wait a minute it might be a little less and had to talk to the install guy because he was the one that did this. ( Red flag #1). I don't understand why the owner or the manager would not know the pricing . He then came back and told me that he thought the price had gone down to $549.(red flag#2). As their conversations with back-and-forth they finally came up with a final price of 499 installed. I was also reassured that I would be getting CompuStar dash cam that we had discussed since the beginning .so I brought my vehicle and even after all these red flags and have the work done anyways (should've known better). Day of the installation first of all I never got a phone call from them saying that my vehicle was done I had to call and ask. When I went to the store to pick up my vehicle the installer came out and informed me that I did not get the CompuStar but I got the upgraded version .and I want you to keep in mind that this is a totally different manufacture then CompuStar . They actually installed a momentous m5 dash cam . Momento is a company that compustar has bought out . The original CompuStar was manufactured in Canada . Momento it's manufactured in Korea . As I stood there listening to him talk to me about the upgraded version and how great it is and everything it does and that I would be happy with it . As I don't have a great deal of knowledge with dash camsI just took their word for it. I just took their word for it .The manager or the owner whatever he is then proceeded to inform me that because I asked them not to install the rear camera on the door that he had to mounted on the roof panel in the back. He then told me that the camel only came with two sided tape and wasn't sure how long it would hold . I find it very hard to believe that a shop that can build custom door panels for speakers and stereo equipment can't figure out how to mount a rear dash cam . If you could only see how you looked telling me this . He then informed me that the installer would come out and show me how to use this new dash cam . His installer really didn't know anything about the dash cam except for just a couple are features like how to move the rear camera to the front camera on the screen that was about it . I can honestly say that they didn't have a clue how to operate this dash cam . When I got home I looked at my bill and discovered that they actually charge me two hours labor at $95 per hour. Instead of the original one our installation I was told from day one .looked online for the momento and found it for $200 everywhere . I am running out of space but I will tell you that I am very unhappy and will never do business with them again. I know that he requires an answer to negative reviews to try to justify how he operates his business . I will tell you that I put my trust in them and I have a lot of that or else things to do than make up stories about a business that I've never dealt with till now . ...

If having nice people working there is your high water mark for success, this place will only leave you mildly disappointed. Most of the people I encountered seemed friendly enough, as long as you don't have an issue or question that needs resolving.

First off, you will pay a premium for equipment. I bought the Kenwood DDX9903S, their price $1000, Crutchfield price $699. They are probably buying from Crutchfield (and if they aren't probably should be).

Installation rates seemed reasonable. They do have some up-charges (wires, harness, etc), and a peculiar $5 Miscellaneous fee, that never gets explained. $150 for deck, $100 for back-up camera.

Expect to lose your vehicle for 9 hours. I dropped off at 9am, at 3pm I called to check-in. Their phrase was "just buttoning up, shouldn't be much longer". I arrived to pick up at 6pm (their closing time), they were still not done. An additional hour of waiting, they drove my truck around. I asked for any manuals and was told "oh, just go download those online, we don't have anything".

When I tried to use the back-up camera, it was grainy. I attributed this to being late in the evening and possibly poor light. I tested CarPlay with my phone, which worked great, and then I plugged into the external HDMI port, no picture was displayed. I did not test the other features, as I did not have any DVDs with me, but everything else sounded and looked good.

My issues with the installation: They never removed the blue film of the rear camera They disconnected hazard lights and passenger airbag from the dash, and never plugged them back in HDMI port never worked and was never tested They called asking if I found a magnetic light or pliers that they lost during installation. No indication or instructions on how to operate the DVD player They closed down the Hooksett location and moved everyone to the Derry location without any real notice or indication. I probably would not have used them if I knew I'd have to drive an additional 20 minutes for support.

I returned to have the airbags plugged in, and even though they indicated I'd have to come back for the HDMI issue, the HDMI port started to work (a little). Everything was green, as if the wire was loose. I went back today (1 week later). The tech told me I didn't know how to plug in the HDMI port (but I did), and then proceeded to tell me it was a faulty HDMI wire. His solution, was for me to buy a new wire, and he would replace it for $75. He wanted to CHARGE me for the reinstallation of a wire that never worked and was never tested (even with over 9 hours to do so).

Please read more reviews about CarTunes before going. I would NEVER recommend them to anyone. You pay a premium, but they are not careful, not thorough, and their customer service...

STEER CLEAR!!!! They have a terrible business model and shady revenue tactics... I scheduled an appointment to have the wiring of my fog lights looked at because they were blinking. I get told that everything was OK and all they had to do was replace a fuse. At the time, I questioned why the fuse would go if the fog lights still worked sporadically but I was told "we looked at everything". I pay for an hour of labor and leave. THE FOG LIGHTS DON'T WORK THE VERY NEXT DAY! I go back in to explain the issue and have to make another appointment a month later for my car. I again specifically told them to look at the wiring when I set up the second appointment. I go to my second appointment, and I'm told I have corroded connections in the wiring of my fog lights. I was charged another hour of labor and wasn't given my keys until paid. I had just come in a month ago to have my fog lights looked at, why weren't the connections looked at the first time? When I asked that to Trevor, he said "well why should I keep looking at the fog lights if replacing the fuse seemed to fix them." Well, I specifically asked you to look at the wiring of my fog lights, the fuse box is separate from the wiring. Somehow the wiring was never looked at when I specifically asked for the wiring to get looked at, and it became my fault and my expense because Trevor took the easy way out. Trevor had nothing ordered or in-stock to even perform the work that my vehicle needed during both of my appointments so no matter what, I was going to have to pay them for absolutely nothing to get installed in my vehicle. While setting up both appointments, I should have been aware that the company has NO FOG LIGHT EQUIPMENT IN-STOCK since I took both days off from work during my appointments because I was expecting work to get done on my vehicle. Shady business tactic!! I told Trevor that it felt like he was stealing from me and I will never go back. I live walking distance to this shop so I figured I would give it a try. HORRIBLE EXPERIENCE, I spent $200 to have my fog lights diagnosed and Trevor quoted me $350 for brand new fog lights on-top of the $200 I had already spent to diagnose them. I asked if the $200 could go towards the $350 bill since he technically did nothing to my vehicle and was told no. He felt that my two appointments to diagnose the problem were separate and that I needed to pay for each and the new fog lights. WOW! WASTE OF TIME AND MONEY!!! Shady revenue tactics and horrible communication. How do you have any...