Foss Car Toys & Tint Tukwila — Attraction in Tukwila

On Friday Sept 1, 2017, I called Foss Audio to ask about the groupon special for remote start plus an alarm. I spoke with Cody and he quoted me a "deal" for both for a total of $489. I asked when it could be done, he replied saying he had time on Sunday and Monday and the install would take between 2 and 2.5 hours. I made the appt for Monday (Labor Day). Because I was making it on a holiday, he asked for a $100 deposit which I gave via AMEX. I went camping that weekend, left camp early so I could make my noon o'clock appt, and showed up at about 11:50. We talked about what I wanted as far as a sound system but I wasn't ready to go that route. My friend picked me up at 12:30. At 4:30 that afternoon, I called to make sure my truck was ready. The installation tech answered, said it was going to be another 2.5 hours. I arrived to the shop in a less than pleasant mood because i had plans in north seattle that required the use of my truck. Ed offered to pay for Uber but that wasn't going to work. He even offered to pay for a Home Depot truck rental but that clearly wouldn't have worked either. I told him to have the techs wrap it up, tuck whatever wires they had already installed, and give me back my truck. He offered to upgrade my remote starter to a 2-way instead of a 1-way to compensate for the time and frustration but...1 way, 2 way...5 way...made no difference. I had to leave. I voiced my frustration and was told that the car they were working on before mine was what caused the problem.

I called Cody on Tuesday voicing my frustration, he apologized saying stuff like this does happen but not often. He offered to discount the install $50 when I bring it in to be finished.

I had a rare opportunity today to bring the truck back in to have the work completed. I called, asked if it was ok, was told yes and that it would be done by 4, so I did it. When I picked up the truck at 4, Cody was there to help me. He demonstrated the ONE-WAY remote and how it worked. and then when I went to go pay for the install, he charged me the $389 balance that was left over after the deposit. I asked him why I wasn't given the 2-way remote and was told, "we are already giving you a deal on the alarm". Not sure if he realised but the $489 was the original quote. I didn't get the $50 off, I didn't get the 2-way remote, and I lost 50 miles plus many hours of my time.

I'm sure the work they did was fine. But the way it was handled (not calling me ahead of time to let me know the install process was going to take 7+ hours), the lack of the discount/additional product, the failure to understand that my time is just as valuable as anyone else's, the unrealistic expectation that I'm supposed to just accept situations like this do happen, and be satisfied enough to be asked to return for future services.

Bonus? The highest price for the groupon rate was $359 and they were running a special for alarms for $50. That would have totaled $409 but I seemed to have gotten the better "deal" by paying $89 more. Chalk this one up to lesson learned.

Thanks...

I typically don’t do reviews unless I have had either outstanding service or horrible service, and this time I have had an amazing experience! So I thought I would share my experience with Foss Audio in Tukwila, WA that I had a few weeks ago! I have a 2003 BMW 745 Li which I just recently purchased.. The car is in pristine condition and I bought it out right, so needless to say this is now my new baby! I asked a couple coworkers where I should go to get an audio system and window tint. 3 of my coworkers have gone to this Foss Audio location before and had nothing but great things to say about them! My major concern as a BMW owner was the quality of the job, due to the complicated electrical system of the type of car. I told them what my budget was and what I wanted in my car.. after 30 min of going over my car I was given a good game plan on what they were to add. They took careful consideration and a detail analysis we concluded what would be the best option for what I was looking for ( high quality sound with a deep and clear bass, while maintaining the integrity of my vehicle ) So I dropped my vehicle off in the morning and they said it would be done after I get off work. The only “negative” thing I can say is that it did take longer than expected ( due to how complicated my car is built ) BUT on the positive side of this negative aspect is that they did put 9 extra hours ( more than we originally discussed ) into my vehicle with NO extra charge! So I did receive my car back the following day. And let me tell you! I couldn’t have been any more satisfied with the end result!! They built a ( Custom designed Sub woofer box for my trunk ( I HIGHLY RECOMMEND ASKING ABOUT THIS DESIGN!! ) The reason being if you have a higher end vehicle typically the trunks are air tight and are sound dampening and decreases the bass quality which is the problem I had with my vehicle. BUT the design of the box increases the bass decibels by 250%!. And BELIEVE me it works better than expected!! The quality of the sound and the deepness of the bass exceed my expectations! I could not have been more pleased with the job!! We ended up only going over $300 of my original $2,500 budget due to the complications of the type of car I have. ( including ceramic window tint all the way around my car, which is by the way flawless with out a single bubble or imperfection! ) The staff their were friendly and accommodating! They addressed my major concern of the quality of the job and maintaining the integrity of my vehicle! My car looks exactly the same as it did when I gave it to them! So they with out a doubt deserve the time it took to give this review and I highly recommend coming here if you want a high quality job done right the first time with friendly staff who will with out a doubt take care of your baby! I willl recommend anyone to come to Foss Audio in Tukwila!...

IF YOU DO NOT WANT TO RISK YOUR CAR BEING SCRATCHED and YOUR TINT FILMS SCRATCHED, DO NOT GO TO THIS STORE.

Issue: They did a poor job of tinting the windows (you can see scratches in the film) and not only that, I believe I have enough of a proof that shows that they did not take great care of the car and may have scratched my paint. You can see the pictures.

Details: I bring my 1 month old Tesla Model S into the shop for window tinting. I had my car paint corrected in order to get my car wrapped soon with 3M Pro Scotchguard. Because the car is so new to me, I know exactly the condition of the paint, given that I had this car paint corrected recently.

After I get the window tinting done, I notice several things. The Tint film has multiple scratches on the film and is very visible. (This goes to show that they weren't being careful when they're tinting the windows). The picture of the rear window is just an example and if you see this in person, it's much more noticeable and you will see these types of scratches in other windows as well.

I notice 2 clear coat scratches on my passenger sides. I also notice fine scratches near the passenger fender.

Store Claim: They claim that they don't even go near the fender area. Unfortunately for them, my Tesla has Sentry Mode (it records the surrounding) and I capture the worker pressing his bottle into the fender which is causing these fine scratches. As for the 2 clear coat scratches, the store claims that it wasn't their fault. At this point, it's a HE SAID & SHE SAID thing. The sentry mode does capture how the worker is not being careful so I am not at all surprised with the scratches. Please see pictures attached. In the end the store refused to take responsibility and not even offered to share the responsibility of ANY of the scratches even though I gave them the video recording footages. It was pointless to continue the conversation at this point.

I thought about taking them to court but I found a detail shop that can fix all these issues for $200 so it's not worth my time to take these guys to court. Obviously I am not a happy customer and I am sure the store feels the same way about me. But I am writing this review to share my experience in the most objective view as possible by attaching the pictures of what COULD HAPPEN TO YOUR CAR.

Update: I totally expected the owner to label me negatively so no surprise there. I am stating what happened so that all the users can decide for themselves. The shop has 2 choices. One, to continue to behave the way they do, or Two, to better take care of their customers. Yes there are many customers that are happy but i also see customers that are unhappy so that proves my point. The new customers can decide...