bfschor

My uncle just offered to pay for a new head unit and to have Cartoys install it. I'm not sure which model, but he mentioned Kenwood and blue tooth in the short time I had to talk. I'll get the specifics tomorrow.

Anyway, what do you guys think of Cartoys as a company? I know each store is different in terms of the experience of the people, but in general, are they usually known for employing good, experienced people? Are there better places? (I live in Fort Worth)

Aideon

I've never shopped at Car Toys, as I am an installer myself. A few things I would look for/ask:

Are their installers MECP certified? MECP is our certification program that ensures we at least in theory know what we are doing.
How long have the individual installers been in the industry, professionally?
Do they offer any sort of warranty on the work? How long? What does it cover?



Also, don't set on CarToys. Depending on how they answer, do a little shopping around. I know where I work, we offer a life of the vehicle warranty on the install itself, and will check out any issues with your stereo/system. If you have any questions about their answers, or anything, just shoot me a PM.

bfschor

Thanks Aideon! I'll do a little investigating....

The unit I'm getting is a Kenwood KDCX597. Just a quick look online, it seems like a nice unit.

NewOldSchool

I had that unit in my last rig and honestly there are better choices out there. What i did not like about is how the menu is set up and Bluetooth paring can be a pain in the @$$. The menu is not user friendly and the button layout takes along time to get used to. Buttons do multiple functions in different menus. It would not be so bad if the screen was a bit larger and brighter. If you ride with your top off, consider the screen non existent and learn to navigate by memory. The Bluetooth paring is a hit or miss. When you are streaming music be prepare to have it loose pairing once in a while, not so bad but it should not happen. Use a USB for music but don't put it in folders, or you will pull your hair out trying to navigate using the head unit controls. Sometimes it would read the USB other times I would have to unplug and plug back in a few times to get it to read, this is using multiple USB drives and different memory capacities. I traded my rig a few months later and it took the head unit with it, I was glad it was gone (the radio not my rig, still miss her). I still have a sour memories of it and that is the reason I have not bought a new stereo for my new rig. I'm pretty tech savvy and have my share of car stereos and this is by far the crappies one. This is all my personal experience. If I was you, i would head out to a local Stereo shop and play around with the display unit. This is just my 2 cents.

bfschor

Wow! That's a horrible experience!! Now I'm leery of this whole thing! One I have little trust in people doing things to my Jeep and two, this unit may be a problem child! My factory unit works great..,.i may tell my uncle to come up with something else!