F*ck Fry's. Tell me if this is possible:

I got a new deck installed Friday afternoon. Later that night I was driving around, and it was hella cold, so I decided to turn my heat on. Turns out, the heat-cold slider thing won't move (well, it would move a little, but slide back to the cold side). I call Fry's the next morning, and they told me to bring it right in. After checking it out, they told me that the cable that controls the switch is 'kinked', and that it was a complete coincidence that it broke the same day I got my deck installed, and started blaming me and making up lame-ass excuses. Bull sh*t!

Is it possible, in any way, that the Fry's technicians could have messed up the cable? I can't afford a diagnostic ($120), new cable ($50), and installation ($50) from the Honda dealer by my place.

:rant:

no
lol deck installs on 3gs are super simple and to be honest they would have had to do a hell of alot to kink/break that cable i mean maybe when/if they installed the back security bar but still they would have to do a hell of alot

if you've seen some of the installs by "pros" i've seen i wouldn't doubt they did it. they might have tried to move it out of the way then tried to jam in the radio. you ought to see the mess the best buy installers made of the 98 putting in the alarm,this was before i bought it. they didn't even anchor the remote start or alarm module down, just stuffed it up in the dash along with all the wires. i wouldn't mess with chain store free install places. they are probably the guys who were rejected by mcdonalds. I worked for a place like that for exactly one hour before i walked out. was told i wasn't paid to bundle wires and we were using wire nuts for home electrical wiring. 30 minutes to put in a full alarm and use whatever shortcuts possible. this was for a big name chain that is no longer in buisness. i quit,i'm not going to do that kind of shoddy work.

The switch/slider works now, but not correctly.

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Originally Posted by Charlie

The switch/slider works now, but not correctly.

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it's attached back there with a metal clip, they might have yanked on the cable or something. was this a free install place?

Fry's charges $40 per section (front two speakers, rear two, sub/amp, deck, etc.), so I paid $80, and I'm hoping to get $40 back, and have them pay for the part and installation. They (Fry's) showed me that the cable is still hooked up and (partially) functional.

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Originally Posted by Charlie

Fry's charges $40 per section (front two speakers, rear two, sub/amp, deck, etc.), so I paid $80, and I'm hoping to get $40 back, and have them pay for the part and installation. They (Fry's) showed me that the cable is still hooked up and (partially) functional.

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well if they are charging that small of an amount and trying to make a profit on the radio, chances are the guys working back there aren't getting paid much,and really don't care how much they damage, i've know a lot of them like that. most of those chain stores "certify" the guys in house,which means they can strip a wire. for that kind of money you could have gotten an adaptor plug, and installed the radio yourself for about 20 bucks. it's really easy and lots of info on here

yes they could, if they tried stuffing three miles of wire behind the radio, and the antenna wire not secured too.. .geeeesh

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Originally Posted by roodoo2

...and the antenna wire not secured too...

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You should see the back of my new deck. More wires than five of my previous decks, combined.

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Originally Posted by roodoo2

yes they could, if they tried stuffing three miles of wire behind the radio, and the antenna wire not secured too.. .geeeesh

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i should have taken off my lower dash panel in the civic to show you the best buy mess when i was up there. i don't have time to fix it now, it's so bad i'm going to have to deactivate the air bags and remove the dash to repair the damage. these were supposed "pros" i found a marker tag in there is how i know it was best buy

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Originally Posted by Charlie

You should see the back of my new deck. More wires than five of my previous decks, combined.

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i've seen some of these installation guys take a plastic hammer and beat on a radio until it clicks into the sleeve. this is after stuffing the wires into the dash. there isn't a lot of room behind the the radio in the three g, a good shop would have know to pull the wires down under the radio and secure them under the dash.

thats why i install my own decks !, hope you get it all sorted out

Times like these i love climate control. No damn cables going into the dash.

i still dont think they could have done anything to kink or break that wire its decent thickness

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Originally Posted by ghettogeddy

i still dont think they could have done anything to kink or break that wire its decent thickness

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those cables are a wrapped flat piece of metal in a plastic housing, the cable part is inside of that, it doesn't take much to kink a cable like that at all.

These cable cannot get kinked by themselves unless you apply force when the water valve is jammed in the enginebay or the cold/heat flap is stuck in the heater core.

Also, the cable is a solid core unit and can't get kinked beyond repair from normal use. Someone HAS to kink it manually.

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Originally Posted by carotman

These cable cannot get kinked by themselves unless you apply force when the water valve is jammed in the enginebay or the cold/heat flap is stuck in the heater core.

Also, the cable is a solid core unit and can't get kinked beyond repair from normal use. Someone HAS to kink it manually.

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it would have to have eather intentional or it jsut broke lol

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Originally Posted by carotman

These cable cannot get kinked by themselves unless you apply force when the water valve is jammed in the enginebay or the cold/heat flap is stuck in the heater core.

Also, the cable is a solid core unit and can't get kinked beyond repair from normal use. Someone HAS to kink it manually.

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it's the housing that gets kinked not the cable inside of it, he said it works but isn't right,it's possible they yanked on it and put it out of adjustment. with the mickey mouse crap i've seen with people trying to install stereos, who aren't qualified to drop fries, anything is possible.

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Originally Posted by Civic Accord Honda

thats why i install my own decks !, hope you get it all sorted out

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This. I'd rather do everything myself. I won't let anyone touch the wiring in my car!

^^^^^same here but i like to customise everything and i wont pay anyone to do something that ill probably change when i get it home lol

Oh, I forgot to mention something. When I took my car back on Saturday, the morning after, they attempted to fix it, and you guessed it; they f*cked up the cable going to the little tab between the two middle vents that turns them on or off. Now that doesn't work, either.

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/110/3...b3f7a6b859.jpg

dude
they would have had to remove liek your entire dash to even get close to most of that lol if they did that much work for a stereo thats should only take about 20 mins to install they do suck lol

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Originally Posted by ghettogeddy

...should only take about 20 mins to install they do suck lol

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It took them two hours.

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Originally Posted by Charlie

It took them two hours.

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ya no way in hell unless they were busy does it take 2 hours
even if they soldered everythign witch i know they did not cause they have a policy that everythign must be done with adapters
bell connectors and metra plugs thats it
k
and i can wire a harness in like 10 mins ask messy i did his on the way to picos lol

Some installer idiots decided to pry up the passengers side airbag cover in my gf's crapalier. The airbag cover that is ON TOP of the dash and nowhere near the stereo. She took it back a bunch of times, but it stayed damaged until she got rid of the car.

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Originally Posted by Charlie

It took them two hours.

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LOL they indeed suck. Took me less than an hour to do my first ever stereo install, with soldering and all that shit.

sounds like the idiots disassembled your heater controls.
not knowing what the hell they were doing

or when they took the old shit out someone prior had ghetto fixed it and it was all fucked up so they tried to put it back together...

i don't understand why people blame shops for shit on a 20+ year old car... if you are going to criticize do it yourself like the rest of us... like geddy said, deck install on a 3g literally takes 20 minutes if you have to wire it right then... speakers are about 2 minutes a piece unless you have to run new wires, then it's all of 10 minutes each side.

i could install an amp, subs, speakers, deck and new wires for most of it in 2 hours probably on 3 cars.

i'm not doubting they suck at their job but the fact is your car is old... you're not going to get anywhere trying to get an electronics shop to fix the shit that broke... i'm pretty sure you signed something saying they aren't responsible for it either... trust me, it's typically in there.

good luck you will definitely need it.

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Originally Posted by stat1K

or when they took the old shit out someone prior had ghetto fixed it and it was all fucked up so they tried to put it back together...

i don't understand why people blame shops for shit on a 20+ year old car... if you are going to criticize do it yourself like the rest of us... like geddy said, deck install on a 3g literally takes 20 minutes if you have to wire it right then... speakers are about 2 minutes a piece unless you have to run new wires, then it's all of 10 minutes each side.

i could install an amp, subs, speakers, deck and new wires for most of it in 2 hours probably on 3 cars.

i'm not doubting they suck at their job but the fact is your car is old... you're not going to get anywhere trying to get an electronics shop to fix the shit that broke... i'm pretty sure you signed something saying they aren't responsible for it either... trust me, it's typically in there.

good luck you will definitely need it.

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20 years old or not, they don't need to be breaking crap.

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Originally Posted by lostforawhile

20 years old or not, they don't need to be breaking crap.

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lol
i could remove one screw on the hatch in the right place and the whole dash could disintegrate lol

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Originally Posted by stat1K

...i'm pretty sure you signed something saying they aren't responsible for it either... trust me, it's typically in there.

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I wouldn't have signed anything if it would have said that. They do have a sign that says "Fry's is not responsible for the damage or loss of personal items", which isn't the same thing.

:)

And, having a 20-year-old car has nothing to do with it. What if I had a 2009 Accord and they messed up something? They'd probably say, "Well, it was bound to break sometime".

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Originally Posted by stat1K

or when they took the old shit out someone prior had ghetto fixed it and it was all fucked up so they tried to put it back together...

i don't understand why people blame shops for shit on a 20+ year old car.

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I couldn't have said it better myself...


Then people wonder why shops want nothing to do with older vehicles.

well there is 2 differences there lol

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Originally Posted by stat1K

or when they took the old shit out someone prior had ghetto fixed it and it was all fucked up so they tried to put it back together...

i don't understand why people blame shops for shit on a 20+ year old car... if you are going to criticize do it yourself like the rest of us... like geddy said, deck install on a 3g literally takes 20 minutes if you have to wire it right then... speakers are about 2 minutes a piece unless you have to run new wires, then it's all of 10 minutes each side.

i could install an amp, subs, speakers, deck and new wires for most of it in 2 hours probably on 3 cars.

i'm not doubting they suck at their job but the fact is your car is old... you're not going to get anywhere trying to get an electronics shop to fix the shit that broke... i'm pretty sure you signed something saying they aren't responsible for it either... trust me, it's typically in there.

good luck you will definitely need it.

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I hate the "well your car is a piece of crap anyway" defense. I don't think Charlie paid Fry's his hard-earned money to have them break his car.

Charlie, DO NOT TAKE YOUR CAR THERE AGAIN!!!! I can't emphasize this enough. They broke your car when you were paying them. They didn't care then and they care less now that they aren't making anything. You are only going to get it back more broken each time. Take your lumps and fix it yourself. Fighting with them will only make it worse. If you can't get it off your mind, just bust something in their showroom of equivalent value and then run out. Pour your soda on a laptop or something. I'm not really advocating that, but there are ways to fight back that don't involve getting your car broken if you need to.

Did ya check where the wire goes onto the adapter under the dash to see if its pulling the hinge right?

sadly man even if they did break it, there not going to fix it, no matter how much you kick and scream, all you can do is step back and repair it yourself (or a more well known shop known for doing good work) and just dont recomend there shop ever.

i still cant belive people take there cars to places like this, some of the nasty wire jobs i have seen from there shock me, alarms taped into place, twisted together wires, etc .

just gonna have to bight the bullet on this one man

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Originally Posted by Hazwan

This. I'd rather do everything myself. I won't let anyone touch the wiring in my car!

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i wont let anyone touch my car for anything haha

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Originally Posted by ghettogeddy

ya no way in hell unless they were busy does it take 2 hours
even if they soldered everythign witch i know they did not cause they have a policy that everythign must be done with adapters
bell connectors and metra plugs thats it
k
and i can wire a harness in like 10 mins ask messy i did his on the way to picos lol

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indeed it shouldent take more then 30 minutes to install a 3g radio

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Originally Posted by ghettogeddy

lol
i could remove one screw on the hatch in the right place and the whole dash could disintegrate lol

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haha for real man,i lightly bumped my dash with my leg one day when getting out and the botom half cracked and just sorta hangs there now haha and mine is not even 20 years old

It doesn't matter is your car is 20 years old or brand new from the dealer. Special care must be taken when installing radios or anything the customer pays you for.

They did a half ass job and will not recognize it.

It took me an entire day to install an amp in my girlfriend's car... yes, an entire day. I'm sure those guys would have done it in 2 hours at max and mess everything up.

- I took extra care to fabricate custom brackets to mount the amp so it's secure and doesn't interfere with anything.
- Made sure I didn't break anything when I removed the trims
- Route the 2 wires for the front speakers, route the power wire from the barrery to the back of the car, then route the 2 RCA wires separate from the power wire.
- Install wire loom and secure all the wires so everything looks stealth and pretty
- Reinstall the interior.

All this stuff takes time. Time costs money for these shops.

They will ask for the maximum price someone is willing to pay for it and do it the fastest they can.

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Originally Posted by carotman

It doesn't matter is your car is 20 years old or brand new from the dealer. Special care must be taken when installing radios or anything the customer pays you for.

They did a half ass job and will not recognize it.

It took me an entire day to install an amp in my girlfriend's car... yes, an entire day. I'm sure those guys would have done it in 2 hours at max and mess everything up.

- I took extra care to fabricate custom brackets to mount the amp so it's secure and doesn't interfere with anything.
- Made sure I didn't break anything when I removed the trims
- Route the 2 wires for the front speakers, route the power wire from the barrery to the back of the car, then route the 2 RCA wires separate from the power wire.
- Install wire loom and secure all the wires so everything looks stealth and pretty
- Reinstall the interior.

All this stuff takes time. Time costs money for these shops.

They will ask for the maximum price someone is willing to pay for it and do it the fastest they can.

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its to bad those days are dead

shit happens
nuff said
complaining is too easy, just move on

:kekeke:

while I do agree that there are people out there that will knowingly bring a broken car in for some work then later claim a 'problem resulting from the work performed', this is not what we're talking about in this case. Yes shops need to protect themselves from a predatory consumer, but what's good for the goose is good for the gander right. They say take responsibility for your own car and don't blame us for something we didn't do, but you have all the right (and responsibility) to make sure they're responsible for what they do too.

I've swapped out, replaced, un-installed and re-installed more decks in my 3G's over the years than I can remember. One of those times I was in a hurry and got frustrated when I couldn't tuck the 9 miles of wires and bulky adapters in completely for the deck to fully seat, and I too gave it a little 'forceful encouragement'. Needless to say, I had the EXACT problems you're having with the cable-operated controls.

So....

Did they cause the problem? IMO, YES.
Should they take responsibility and fix it at no charge? Yes.
...but will they? Not a chance in hell.

What to do?
...at this point, I would bite the bullet as said, and bring the car to a reputable shop and/or great car audio installer. Yes you'll have to pay out of pocket for this. ...but any good shop should (despite their claims on 'insurance says you can't be here') let you hang with the installer and watch his every move. You're not doing this to make sure it's done right, but rather to gain knowledge on how things are supposed to be done.

Be fully open with the new shop and let them know the exact reason you're going to them. ...to fix a problem you feel another shop created, but they won't fess up to.

They'll either tell you to get lost at that point, or on the other hand, they might not be surprised and respond with "you're not the first one to come here after they screwed something up".

Request in writing what they repair, what they see when they take everything apart (ie. damage resulting from a poor install, etc.). Also ask if you or they can take pictures of anything they see wrong during the install/repair. Request this prior to any work being done. If the shop is willing to do this, then great. If not, move onto another one that will. Remember, you're not asking them to say "the previous installer broke this due to negligence or poor workmanship", you're just asking them to plainly document "after removing deck, we saw improperly packed wiring" or "heater control cables were pinned between the deck and the dash sub-frame". ...something along those lines.

Once it's all in writing, the car is repaired, and all the new work is paid for by you, go back to Fry's and tell them that you have had it looked at and repaired by another shop and you have it in writing that it was their installation that caused the damage. Let them know that you just want them to repay what you had to come out of pocket to have it fixed and done right, and if they decline that you'll have no problem taking them to small-claims.

I know it seems tedious, lots of work in general, and might also seem to be going overboard, but if you drop this and just eat it, this will continue to happen over and over again until people (regardless of what they get paid) start to take some pride in their work and do it right. If the shop refuses to allow someone to work to a high standard imposed by themselves (if not imposed by the shop), then they should do what Tim did and walk. A shop that runs like that will not continue to run much longer.

Take this thing through as far as you have to. Not just for the money, but more for the principle of it.

(sorry for the stupid long post guys, but this is a huge pet peeve of mine. shitty work that just gets swept under the rug because a shop is run by assholes that are convinced they can get away with it, and even convince their [one-time] customers that they can)

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Originally Posted by ghettogeddy

its to bad those days are dead

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those days aren't dead, you just won't find a sirloin steak at Mcdonalds. at least a real one, not MCsirloin. if you go to a reputable shop, they have a reputation on the line, the fast food installers could care less. Good shops put stereos in classic cars a lot older then these all the time, that doesn't mean they screw them up. Any shop worth anything is going to do a really good job, because the they know the first thing you do is go show off your tunes to your friends, then they will want to know who put it in. If it's a good job they are going to go to the same place.

Wow isnt there an 15 dollor adapter for your head set? And whats happened with the cables? Did you find out why there not working yet?

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Originally Posted by lostforawhile

those days aren't dead, you just won't find a sirloin steak at Mcdonalds. at least a real one, not MCsirloin. if you go to a reputable shop, they have a reputation on the line, the fast food installers could care less. Good shops put stereos in classic cars a lot older then these all the time, that doesn't mean they screw them up. Any shop worth anything is going to do a really good job, because the they know the first thing you do is go show off your tunes to your friends, then they will want to know who put it in. If it's a good job they are going to go to the same place.

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in nor cal there might be maybe 1 or 2 good shops
and they could still do the correct work in the same time as a shitty shop
but
its dying off fast is the new quality work

Well, the only reasons why I took my car to Fry's are: I was in a rush, and didn't feel like taking the time to find a shop to do it (I can't do it myself). Bad idea, I know, but I have no patience. I was going to have a friend do it for me, but that didn't work out.

I can't afford to have Honda do the diagnostics...so, I'm just going to pay for the parts and labor, a whopping $150+. I'm never shopping at Fry's again, ever.

lol


i still would not rule them as the cause
they might have helped but i would not blame them for the whole thing

They probably yanked on the cable thinking it was the antenna wire or something...

The cables must be clipped in the correct position to function properly. Do it yourself, it's not difficult.

These should help you:

https://www.3geez.com/forum/showthread.php?t=60708

https://www.3geez.com/forum/showthrea...t=59810&page=4

https://www.3geez.com/forum/showthread.php?t=62330

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Originally Posted by roodoo2

shit happens
nuff said
complaining is too easy, just move on

:kekeke:

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lol...sad but true...only thing you can do for next time is do the install your self...these stereos are not that hard...geddy is right he did the harness on the way to picos house..and installed the stereo under 30 mins

horror sttories, i got a horror story. car toys in lynnwood installed a clifford concept 40 alrarm, pioneer deck with cd changer in the trunk. they call us 4 hours after it was supposed to be done only to find out the parameters werent sent right, the fuse for the radio was blown behind the deck, the cd changer wasnt grounded correctly and all the speakers were poorly installed.

they had to run new wires for my install and for this they removed the original plastic door panel weather cover and never fixed it. no tape, silicone nothing just cut off the panel. i made them repull the panel after all these other hassels. The drivers door panel wasnt aligned correctly and they scrathed the black plastic mirror cover.

The cd changer wires were seen through the rear door between the seat and the rear panel. The ground for the changer was grounded through a screw used to mount the changer in the rear deck lid. they didnt even bare the metal or put the ground under the changer. What a teabag.

The radio fuse blew once when we got there and again later at 11pm on the way to a concert afterparty on the freeway. Cause is unknown but im sure it was something them dumb fuckers did.

The m,ajor flaw, I had the battery backup alarm and regular alarm mounted on the firewall behind the intake just beside the black box. they mounted them high enough when the hood closed it kinked the wiring and shorted out 2 days after install. I was driving to the store, car on stopped at a red light when the alarm starts going off. Im like WTF the car is running. I pull over and pop the hood to find a 6 in electrical fire going from alarm sirens. I obviously cant put water on it so i blow like hell and yank wires till it stops.

Heres the best part. i call the shop in terrorifyling hiusterics, yelling blaming and cursing. The guy tells me sorry but were booked till nest tuesday 9 days later. I call the wifeys who gets very angry but more level headed. She gets it saeen that afternoon. 4 years later after them servicing the car every 2 weeks for false alarms, and issue after issue with the install i finally had the whole system pulled. I learned then those crack headed mushroom dope heads dont know shit and never had. they just figure it out and make it lok good. Most of society doesnt notice. if anyone here works at car toys no offence but Im referring to the idiots up here. i tried 4 shops, the owner (whos a deuche bag as well) and alot of other attempts. Cartoys wouldnt pay to have it checked by a real shop or verified by someone other than those bastards. man and to think I paid over 2500 for it back in 1999

Update: Still fighting Fry's for this, and it's been almost three years. They still can't prove that he didn't mess my climate control up, and I can't prove they did. The car is totaled and long gone now, and they gave me discounts on some stuff, but I'm still after them for the original installation and product costs.

are you still going to if you haven't gotten your 80 back and you don't have the car... there not gonna do shit...

You still going after them 3 years later? Wow!! I know its frustrating when shops do this but sometimes you gotta forgive them and let it go bro. You will feel a lot better when you do. There is a thing called karma that always comes back around to hunt those who try to take advantage of you. You can take this from a guy who had a tow truck driver bend my lower control arm and not want to pay for it

I honestly don't know what I'm gonna do at this point. Every time I go in I take a minute to mention it to the manager who's at the return desk, and he calls it in, and it's still "in progress". I dunno, maybe I should write them a letter, maybe I should just forget about it and move on. This isn't the only time they've screwed me over, but it is the only time they haven't fixed it. Ya feel me?

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Originally Posted by Charlie

I honestly don't know what I'm gonna do at this point. Every time I go in I take a minute to mention it to the manager who's at the return desk, and he calls it in, and it's still "in progress". I dunno, maybe I should write them a letter, maybe I should just forget about it and move on. This isn't the only time they've screwed me over, but it is the only time they haven't fixed it. Ya feel me?

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Yes I feel ya...I know places like that always find excuses not to pay for something, just like the Honda dealerships. They didn't want to replace a defective seatbelt in my hatch a few years ago even though they have lifetime warranties...They replaced it but pitched a fit the entire time

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Originally Posted by bullard123

Yes I feel ya...I know places like that always find excuses not to pay for something, just like the Honda dealerships. They didn't want to replace a defective seatbelt in my hatch a few years ago even though they have lifetime warranties...They replaced it but pitched a fit the entire time

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your right i took my car (04) in because my seatbelt does not click in on the first time. takes couple times and he told me because the SRS light was not on it was not going to be covered in the lifetime warranty. I told him i worked for Mazda dealership and later he told me that he was going to order the part for me and to come in so they could install it.

wow, 3 years and still nothing!

I give you credit for persistence Charlie.