Aspen Sound — Local services in Missoula

I live in Kalispell. I've had really great service at two impeccable auto-sound establishments; Rudy's and Marty's in Kalispell. My experience at Aspen was certainly not that.

I call to schedule an appointment. I have a car starter-a Viper-that was installed in my Jetta, that my Jetta didn't like because it is a persnickety German car, that I wanted installed in my grandmother's car. The Jetta was manual, my grandmother's 2001 Subi is an automatic. The Jetta is electronically retarded, the Subi, no problems. I ask JP (who was the by far, the best employee to work with at Missoula's Aspen Sound and whom I would work with again) if it is possible to install this starter in my grandmother's car. He indicates that there shouldn't be a problem because Aspen is a certified dealer of Viper and that there may be some additional costs with wiring. Cool. I'm totally down with that. We schedule an appointment. He says I should come by prior to the install to let them have a look at the starter.

Once we arrive, the manager (can't remember his name) of the joint says, "We don't do that sorta thing." I ask, "Well, why wasn't I told that over the phone? I scheduled an appointment." It would have been nice to know that so that I could make different arrangements, ya know?

"Oh, you scheduled an appointment?" Yes, I had already said that when I first walked in. "Oh, okay. Well let me take a look at that." He looks at the starter and says it should be just fine to be re-installed in a different car. He says it will cost $260. I was quoted $270. There might be some additional costs for wiring. Yes, I was told that too. "Please call me for any additional costs and I will authorize the charge on my credit card." So, I guess we are all set again.

My grandmother brings the car in for her appointment on 11/30/2016 from 2pm-6pm. At 3:55 I get a call saying that there was some additional wiring needed and so it will cost $30ish more. I call back at 4:32 and approve that charge. Great! Just what I expected. Between there and when my Grandma picked up the car, there was some miscommunication about what time she was supposed to pick it up and apparently along the way, her battery quits working. Now, I would assume that if your battery dies while a car mechanic has been working on it for 4 hours that it might be because the battery is just drained and it needs a jumpstart. They decide to call my 70 year-old grandmother to tell her that she needs a new battery and that she will have to jump it if she wants to pick it up. They also tell her that if she "doesn't pay" the additional $30 some dollars that she can't pick it up. "What?" So instead of charging me, they charge her. Now, we didn't get double-charged, but to call up a 70-year-old-lady and make her pay when I explicitly said I would pay....either you are jerks or just not communicating. Probably the later...but it gets better. So, she's running late and can't get there by closing time (right at 6pm), the time when her appointment was scheduled til. JP tells me they stayed later to wait for her. That's nice. But then, you don't jump her car for her? Jerks.

She has her 67 year-old female friend come and jump her car for her in the dark on the north side of Missoula. What kind of customer service is that? I leave my grandmother in your hands, say that I will pay whatever you decide to charge, and then you leave her in the dark with a dead battery to fend for herself?

BTW, the dead battery is working just fine. It was just dead.

So...the car starter is working just fine as well. Thanks! Appreciated. But all those customer service things that you could have done would have earned you a good review.

I wouldn't recommend Aspen's to anyone I care...

(This was about a year ago, I was too angry to write a proper review at the time.)

After having Aspen install an amp and sub box in my car (that had been in another car previously), I started noticing it cut out every now and then. After discovering that one of the RCA connections had been cut, and then very poorly spliced back on with solder and electricians tape, I took my car back to Aspen to see what happened. I know I handed them a perfectly fine set of RCAs, so I figured something went wrong with the installation. I assumed they'd cover their work and replace the cable for me.... but I was shocked to find out that they would charge full price of parts and labor. They couldn't even keep their story straight. First they said they would never solder cables like this in the first place and blamed me. Then they claimed that they DID do it, but it was a favor because I brought them a broken cable.

This is easily the worst experience I've had with a service provider of any sort. I refuse to do business with them again and I strongly warn my friends against them. I took my car to Best Buy and had them run a set of RCAs through for me. They managed to do it without cutting anything in half. I would also recommend Marty's Car Audio in Kalispell if you're ever...

Last week I stopped by the store to check out prices for front speakers and see what size I needed for my Jeep Cherokee. The sales person told me that a 1998 Jeep Cherokee would take a 6.5 inch speaker and that the installation would be $75 for the pair. I ordered the speakers from Amazon and then called the store to get an appointment for installation. At that point I was told the installation would be $80 for the pair. When I brought in the 6.5 inch speakers, I was told they were too big and that that size is for a Jeep Grand Cherokee. When I had asked the first time I went in they never asked if my Jeep was a Grand Cherokee and simply quoted me the size for a Jeep Cherokee. I ended up paying more to buy their speakers (than I would have paid on Amazon), and was told the installation was $81. It seems strange to be quoted three different installation prices, and I am not happy about being told the wrong size of speaker. The sales person was courteous at all times, but I would expect more professional...