Al & Ed's Autosound La Mesa — Local services in La Mesa

I would not recommend Al & Ed’s. They eventually tried to take care of the many problems they created, but it took 5 visits over 2 months. Wish I had never set foot in the place. I’m sure they have some happy customers, but I regret every dollar. I ended up having to dispute the charges with Visa before they would take one of my complaints seriously. I initially purchased the Alpine iLX-507 receiver (with Apple CarPlay), a Rydeen CM-MINy3 backup camera, an Alpine DVR-C320R front/rear dash cam, and 4 Alpine Type S2 5x7 speakers for my Ford E-150 cargo van, which had no original rear speakers. Was quite unhappy with the installation and most of the equipment. When it was all over I had to have them replace the rear speakers and backup cam with better products, and pay even more for installation. Plus, I had to give up the use of my van for 5 days, impose on my wife to pick me up 3 times, and pay for Lyft rides when she wasn’t available. After the initial installation, there was no remote (despite a promise there would be), the rear speakers had no covers and were wired opposite from the front speakers (the left front and right rear were on one side of the balance and vice versa on other side), the microphone was blocked by the sun visor, and the backup cam was mainly pointing at the ground. From the beginning, I told Tyler I only wanted a unit that had a remote control. Yet he sold me one that didn’t. He gave me excuses for weeks but it wasn't until reversing the charges with Visa that I got one, which is from an earlier model Alpine and doesn't do everything. I never would have bought this deck had I known. The rear speakers didn’t come with covers, so I had to make my own out of wire mesh to protect them while I waited for Tyler to order some generic covers. When those were installed, the screens both fell off before I could even leave the parking lot. Watched the installer (who had to have known the screens would fall off as soon as I drove away) yell at Tyler and Craig that the speakers were wrong for my van, while they tried to fasten the screens with mastic and super glue. That was messy and not what I would consider professional-grade installation. Eventually let Craig talk me into replacing them with some more expensive 6X9s and adding some carpeted door panels (this is a cargo van with no upholstery in the rear doors). Improved the sound but cost a few hundred extra. When they moved the microphone to the steering column, they put it off center and couldn’t be bothered to remove the old adhesive from the windshield. More carelessness. The iLX-507 receiver is disappointing considering it’s so expensive. Shows EVERY fingerprint and difficult to see in direct sunlight. Equalizer is complicated and difficult to use. Made me really appreciate my Pioneer and JVC touchscreens. The first backup cam hit my license plate light and couldn’t be adjusted upward. Craig recommended mounting a more expensive commercial camera on the roof. Accepting this recommendation was a foolish and terrible mistake. I can see even less now. It is mounted away from the edge of the roof and the gutter blocks the view. Can’t see anything within about 2 feet of the rear bumper. And same as the first camera, I can’t see cars approaching from either side (like I can on my other car). Worst of all, they had to drill holes in the roof for installation so I’m stuck with it. Should have just had them remove the original. To be fair, after the speaker fiasco, Craig called me and tried to help make me happy. But I ended up paying $700 more for the larger speakers, the lame commercial cam, and the door panels (bringing my total cost to about $3,000), and I am still really unhappy. Even thinking of selling the van now. Should have just upgraded to a newer vehicle that comes standard with CarPlay and a backup cam. Would still rather have my old deck back and all this expensive junk removed (except then I'd have holes in my roof from the cam). Had originally intended to bring them my pickup and wife’s car for dash cams but no way I'd...

I recently went to Al & Ed's to replace my speakers and stereo and hardwire my dashcam. After getting quotes all over San Diego, they offered the best deal due to a steep discount on parts. I dropped off my car for what was supposed to be a one-day job.

When I picked up my car, I noticed a gash along the speaker grills that wasn’t mentioned to me—a red flag. I pointed it out to Tyler, the Sales Manager, who was understanding. However, the installer blamed me, suggesting I had caused the damage. When I insisted I hadn't, he commented on me picking the car up too early (after 9 hours?) and not giving enough time for a fix. Yet they didn't tell me there were issues when they called me to pick up my car. Tyler assured me they'd fix it the next day.

The next day, I wasn’t informed until late that they couldn’t get the dash repair kit in time and would need to keep the car. This poor communication continued for days. When I finally got my car back at the end of the week, the damage was still there. They said I could leave my car for "touch-ups" which would take hours, but it still wouldn’t look original. I reluctantly took my car home.

Not even a weekend passed before more issues arose. The dashcam didn't stay on after the car was off (the whole point of a hardwire kit), and the stereo screen didn't dim when the headlights were on, a feature explicitly mentioned in the manual. I called Tyler, dreading another week without my car, and he got me in the same day, but the installers gave nonsense excuses. They claimed the dashcam wasn’t working because I hadn’t turned on the right settings. One joked about the car battery dying soon if I left the dashcam running. It was clear they didn't read the instructions because the hardwire kit cuts power before that happens if set up correctly. They eventually realized their mistake but didn’t admit it, and then told me I’d have to come back another day since a repair would take longer than they estimated.

I also brought up the stereo not dimming with the headlights. They claimed it was expected, saying I’d have to manually adjust the brightness each time, and that I should read the settings more carefully. When I showed them the manual stating otherwise, they were silent. Feeling gaslit, I didn’t want them to touch my car again.

I had mentioned early on seeking a discount if unsatisfied with the repair, and Tyler seemed understanding. But after all the issues, delays, unprofessionalism, and poor workmanship, Tyler believed the store wouldn’t provide a discount. He offered $60 out of his pocket, but that was unacceptable. I spoke to the store manager, who was unaware of the issues and claimed he had warned Tyler my car might be damaged before the installation began. I don't know if there's any truth to that. He gave me a $150 discount and walked away. I didn't bother pushing for more though I deserved it.

A week later, I discovered the steering wheel controls needed to be reprogrammed every day. I went to another business which quickly fixed the steering wheel controls, correctly wired the stereo to the headlights, and fixed the dashcam wiring. In an hour, they resolved all my issues.

TL;DR: Despite the stellar reviews, I had a terrible experience and recommend going elsewhere. The cheaper quote wasn’t worth it. Tyler's customer service was the...

I did a lot of searching for the Right Car Audio Specialist to upgrade my 2016 CTS Cadillac, I finally decided to go to AL & ED's in La Mesa. I didn't want to change out the stock GM BOSE system, it was already pretty good to begin with. I hadn't been keeping up with Car Audio stuff for years, I was definitely out of the loop to how much tech has changed over the years. When I Spoke to Tayler and I explained that I didn't want crazy crazy bass sound system, but a sound system that had just a prefect acoustics and sound quality. Tayler Totally Knew what I was looking for.

Once all the parts and pieces came in, I took the car to the La Mesa Shop and they had it for about 5 days maybe 4. First off the care that his techs have is absolutely the best!!! They are super clean and protect your car and its interior like nothing I've ever seen. (They really take care of your car).

Second, The Installation of all my components and where they hid everything was like it came from the GM Factory. Just perfect.

When I got my car back and Tayler and His team showed me what had ben done, I was in completely SHOCK!!! They Tuned every speaker correctly to get the highs out of the highs, the Mids to get Mid Sounds and Lows to the Bass speaker, also Install 2 New 6x9 speakers in the back along with a small 10" inch woofer. (That doesn't even take up any truck space, Which was a big factor for me).

I was so amazed on the quality of sound that was coming out of my sound system. Its amazing, all my friends are blown away by it.

If you need to get a new system, Call them up. The customer service was the best! The Installation Team...