well...my old deck is busted...tried to fix it...it comes on, goes off randomly, w/o me reconnecting/disconnecting anything...so i've gotten frustrated and decided to get a new HU...and i'd like to get it professionally installed...last time a friend did it for my, just splicing the wires and stuff...and i just kinda wanna make sure it gets installed as good as possible this time....so i had a couple options...either get a HU and pay a place to install or get the HU from a retailer (best buy/circuit city/etc) and have them install it...which option is better in ur guys opinions?...also, if the 1st option is better, any good places that you know of that do it well and do it cheap?...i can get a decent unit for like 80 off msrp from www.onlinecarstereo.com or *gasp*ebay...any other places to get a cheap deck from?

 

Most big chain stores like good guys, or fry's electronics will install it for free. So just on that fact alone you would be better off going to one of them. Plus if anything goes wrong like before, you can take it back to them under warrenty and get a new one. Or you can goto a car audio place, because their prices arent set in stone and you can bargin down with them. Some of them charge for installation. Or you can get an ebay one, buy a new wiring harness and install it yourself. You would save about $100 or so doing it this way because everything on ebay is cheaper then it is in a physical store.

Edit: That website you linked, i went there and the first deck ( http://www.onlinecarstereo.com/CarAu...roductID=13630 ) is over $130 cheaper then i bought it for (installed)

 

Best Buy installed mine. I think I had to buy a head unit that was more than $160 or something, to qualify for the free install.

 

IMO a headunit is super easy to install. They sell premade harnesses to make the install really simple. Otherwise I would get it done at a local stereo shop. I dont really like large retail stores, they never seem to know too much about the product or have much experience installing. From past experience a smaller specialized shop is going to be way more knowledgeable.

 

if a shop installs it, its just a convience...otherwise, it is really easy to install.

 

HU's are very easy to install yourself. Just read the manual and be careful bout everything you do and you'll be fine.