SSG Car Audio & Accessories — Local services in Wilton Manors

I Have NEVER left such a detailed review; and to have it be negative I sincerely hope if anyone reads this they stay way from SSG. There is nothing that could be done to fix the time and money I have waisted here minus a refund of services not completed as contracted.

I have been going to the Swap Shop for car audio since I was a teenager 20 years ago. I went to Extreme Audio for a decade prior to Ronan selling to Tito’s. Went to Tito’s for awhile but them only accepting cash and a lackluster receipt process made me leave. I am from North Palm Beach and have through the years sent dozens upon dozens of business down to the Swap. Everyone alway’s cautions me on getting high end work here but I always defend the “Swap”’.

So, for the past year or so I have been an SSG customer. It started small with them hard-wiring my radar detector and wiring my three amber lights on my grill. I have had 3 system configurations that SSG has installed on my truck as I continuously change what I want from my audio. I have spent somewhere between $1,500-$2,000 on install costs through SSG in the past 4 months. Not including the misdiagnosis that cost me $500 on another Amp. (I always bring my own equipment New).

FIRST VISIT** They Installed: 1 DS 18 EXL-SQ1600.1, Pioneer D8604.4, Infinity Kappa 6.5, Infinity Kappa 6x9, Skar Tweeters, Dayton 408 DPS, (4) DS18 Elite 8 Subs

SECOND VISIT** Complain Of subwoofers not getting loud enough told that I needed another Amp.

Contact DS18 and spoke with an engineer who told me that Amp should easily handle all 4 at 1 Ohm. But whatever, I am trusting SSG so I order (2) Skar RP2000.1 ~$500 to push the 8’s.

THIRD VISIT** Installation of the (2) Skar Mono Amp, and to install a center dash speaker.

Notice going over humps entire system chips in and out OR if volume is too high system cuts out. Have meeting with a housing development so couldn’t turn around.

FOURTH VISIT** Tell them about cutting in and out and to have dynamat installed in all doors. Rear 6.5” speakers sound muddled and tweeters are not working

System cuts out on I-95 2 days later.

FIFTH AND LAST VISIT** Show video of system not working on way to work. Also pay to have dynamat installed on back wall of truck. We drive around parking lot and issue arises (although not as frequent). All the money I have spent it needs to work 100% not 90%. Was then told they smelled something burning and my less than 1 month old 6x9 Infinity Kappa mysteriously “blew”.. WHAT? Then they try and charge me $400 on a replacement Infinity that was supposedly “way better”.

At this point I’m dang near 2 thousand in the hole, tens of hours of time waiting, gas, miles on my truck... Now, my speaker blew while you are testing???? My rears are not even working correctly!

I tell them to just put my doors and everything back. I order new Kappa ~$120 replacement and decided to replace the blown on my own. I should of taken a photo of how my wiring was just thrown in there. The speaker wasn’t “blown” on the Kappa there is a little button that needs to be pressed in order to activate that tweeter.

I always felt that I was not wanted although the head salesman is a great guy. I would always tell them money wasn’t an issue that I just wanted everything done right. I would tip $50, no less than $20 on each worker of my truck if multiple. I would be quoted say $320 and when I go to pay its $480(this is not an specific amount but my final price was always significantly higher).

Now, I am headed to a local shop and will be paying whatever more money that needs to be paid to fix SSG’s mishaps.

Everything I wrote is true. I will never get them another Referral and wish you the best of luck if you choose to go here.

EDIT I spoke with the owner Herman and man is his customer service impeccable. I just arrived home from the other shop. There were a ton of corners cut to say the least. He repeatedly apologized and asked for the opportunity to fix the problem! I originally gave them a 1 after my lackluster experience. I have risen them to a 3...

I cannot express how deeply dissatisfied I am with my experience with Herman (SSG) and his work. Not only did I waste a significant amount of time, but I also wasted a considerable amount of money, around $4,000 on what turned out to be a completely subpar audio system. Herman recommended a Tesla-specific Alpine full system, claiming it would be an upgrade, but it performed no better than the stock premium system already in my Tesla. This was a complete waste of money, and I truly regret trusting his judgment.

To make matters worse, Herman sold me a defective LC8i Audio Control line output converter (LOC). Rather than taking responsibility for the faulty equipment or assisting in troubleshooting the issue, he left me to figure it out on my own. After countless hours of frustration, I finally discovered that the LOC was defective. When I confronted him about it, he claimed the LC8i had been discontinued by Audio Control and could not exchange it, offering instead the lower LC7 unit that did not meet my 8 ch input requirements. However, as of the time I’m writing this review, the LC8i is still a current product. It’s clear to me that Herman was simply offloading outdated or defective stock, leaving me as the unlucky customer stuck with it.

To add further frustration, when installing the system, Herman decided to incorporate a manual on/off switch—blatantly ignoring the fact that the LC8i he sold me was capable of handling this automatically. Once again, it fell on me to figure this out and rectify the problem.

After enduring his substandard workmanship and lack of accountability, I decided to stop working with him entirely. However, I reached out to him again for something simple: a receipt for the Focal speakers I bought from him so I could make a warranty claim. He assured me he would send it, but that was over a month ago, and I’m still waiting. This level of disregard for basic follow-through is beyond unprofessional.

Unfortunately, there’s more. As part of the system installation, Herman added an additional battery and equipment to “support” my car’s audio system. This modification ended up causing severe issues with my Tesla’s low-voltage battery, a crucial component for the car’s operation. I had to replace my low-voltage battery twice in just two months because of his misguided setup. The Tesla dealership confirmed that my car did not require an additional battery to power the amplifiers. I subsequently took my car to a different, more competent shop, where they confirmed that Herman’s installation was unnecessary and downright harmful. My car is equipped with a 12v system, while the battery Herman installed is designed for 16v, and he knew this. After removing the unnecessary battery and components he installed, all the battery drainage issues were resolved.

Herman’s negligence and corner-cutting weren’t limited to major components. I paid extra for high-quality full copper oxygen free wiring, expecting a professional grade installation. While the copper wires going into the amp appeared to be of good quality, I later discovered that the connections to my expensive speakers used cheap, likely factory-original wires. His copper wires went from the amp to cut off nowhere out of sight and be patched with the existing factory wires. This was a blatant misrepresentation of the service I paid for and further highlights the lack of integrity in his work.

In summary, my experience was nothing short of a disaster from start to finish. Herman’s work was riddled with incompetence, dishonesty, and negligence. He overpromises, underdelivers, and fails to take accountability for his mistakes. If he responds to this review, I will gladly dismantle his rebuttal with photos to back up every single claim I’ve made here. This one-star review is more than justified, and I strongly advise anyone considering his services to steer clear. Save yourself the frustration, money, and...

Disappointed: After searching high and low for a good company to install my system I decided to go with SSG car audio in Ft. Lauderdale, FL swap shop. I was given a morning appointment and met with a young man to go over where I wanted my components to be placed. After meeting with him they took my truck to begin the "2-3 hr" estimated process. Mind you my appointment was at 8am and they were on time, 6 hours later I’m still here and the disaster begins...

The first thing I noticed as you can see in the attached photos is the tweeter was placed incorrectly, this was supposed to be recessed in the door and much lower than it’s placed. I now have holes in my door panel.

After noticing this and speaking to the Owner he stated that if I purchased the door panel from GMC he would install it for free. However, they were the ones who damaged my door panel and did not place my components correctly yet they want me to purchase the material so that they can install what they have damaged. The owner stated he can get me 20% off of the parts, mind you this is the part that they damaged.

Secondly, I am not an audio technician nor do I play one on TV but if you look at the video of the fuse box you will notice that there is one screw it is not tighten down and it moves freely.

Thirdly, after being there 8 hours he had not even got my amp mounted correctly behind the backseat even though that was in the original quote and 3 hr estimated time frame. He advised he can mount for an additional charge... Another 1hr charge. He offered free of charge to secured to floor. REFUSED.

Fourth issue, upon cleaning out my vehicle I noticed a piece under my seat that was broken off by the technician as you will see in the photo. Instead of the technician coming to me and saying that the part broke off he slid it under my car seat and try to hide it from me.

Fifth issue, I was riding in the truck and I put my blinker on...if you look in the video and listen my blinker comes through the speaker on the passenger side of the vehicle amplified and only the right speaker even when using left blinker. The seatbelt indicator and door ajar indicators as well come through amplified.

Understanding an estimate is just an estimate I would think that being the professional you would know how long certain installs take so that people can plan their days and finances properly.

Another concern is that my power wire has no protection and is exposed. Can this be an issue??

At the end of the day the owner offered to replace the damage door panel and install but with everything that is happened during the entire process I do not feel comfortable coming back. Free is not always free.

I will pay someone else to correct the already paid for install.

This review is not to discourage anyone but to just state facts of the issues I faced during my install. Please pay attention and don’t leave your vehicle side. Confirm prices and take pictures and videos.

Thanks for...