DES of Wilmington, Inc. — Local services in Wilmington

I’ve waited TWO YEARS to post this review. I’m the type of individual that reads and takes to heart the reviews of a company and base my decision to go with them solely on their reviews. This is why I waited two years to post this, to give everyone the most accurate review as possible to see how what I had installed performed over a long period of time.

First - my speakers (Rockford speakers) that were installed in my 2003 tacoma, sound amazing! I researched around town and compared prices with all other shops, and DES provided me the best price. They sound great and have continued to sound great two years after installation. No speakers have blown, no rattling, and still sound clear as day just as much as they did on day 1.

Second - I purchased a apple CarPlay radio. It was installed quickly, correctly, and has had ZERO issues since the day of installation, and two years later, continues to deliver high quality performance. Also, price competitive wise, DES again our priced every single competitor in the Wilmington area.

Third - customer service. It was excellent. I spoke with the manager/owner and he was very straight forward, not pressuring, and after I told him my price range, cut the price down some to keep me in my price range. They work with you. The woman at the desk was very polite, very knowledgeable, and the individual that installed my stuff was also very polite and did a great job. No scratches on my console or anything.

ALL IN ALL, if you need speakers, radios, screens, camera, etc, I 100 percent without a doubt recommend you go to DES. Shop around of course and make sure for yourself, but I assure you, you won’t find better quality customer service, knowledgeable individuals, and good high quality products that DES delivers, for the same price and with the same reliability, anywhere else.

I have yet to speak with DES since my purchase two years ago, but I intend on going back to see if they can install a back up camera on my 2003 tacoma, and have zero affiliation with them. This is an honest as can be review, and hope someone benefits from it, the same way I did when I read...

I swear. I called. Price quoted to install a $500 deck, up to $700. Yes, $700 would be installation price alone for a $500 receiver. That’s $1200 total for a $500 stereo. Also told chip shortages are causing all prices to be inflated everywhere. I’m sure a shortage is affecting the market but they aren’t marked up at Crutchfield. Do yourself a favor and check around on pricing prior to visiting. Also wasn’t quoted a low end on the installation range which would have been helpful to decide if a visit was warranted.

Response to DES : I absolutely identified the vehicle as well as the fact that it had a previous aftermarket radio installation with current active steering wheel controls. However, assuming I didn't identify the vehicle.... after asking three times about the expense of the installation, one would assume that the salesman would request that information to provide an accurate estimate. Unfortunately the salesperson responded the way they did. As mentioned before to any potential customers, make sure to compare prices. Thank you for your response DES. I hope this will be a learning experience for your salesman as many of your reviews were previously positive.

I would also like to mention that if you are in the Wilmington area, Jason at Soundtronics did an excellent job addressing my questions...

Had heated seats and radio installed in 2021, everything was great. Then upgraded the side mirrors on my truck to heated with running lights/turn signals. When I picked up the truck they'd only wired the heated and didn't do the lights. Had to return it and they wired in the lights. I didn't check the work and once I got home discovered both sides would flash with right turn and nothing for left turn. Had to go back a 3rd time to finally get it wired correctly. Absolutely nothing taken off my bill for the wasted trips & time. Recently called as I needed to pull my dash out to replace some bulbs but the radio they installed was firmly attached to the dash and I could not see how to disconnect it. Called DES to see if I came out could they look and tell me how to separate the radio from the dash. I explained they had installed the radio a few years back, I had the dash slightly removed but couldn't go any further due to the radio. Guy on the phone said they have to charge me 1 hour diagnostic labor just to look. I didn't expect it to be free but seeing as they installed it along with the other money spent on mirrors & heated seats I thought I'd at least get a break. Nope. Stopped by Best Buy, explained they didn't install it but they were willing to look and...