Satellite Radio Installation Costs?

[CKDragon]

Hi guys, thanks for reading my post.

For Christmas I bought my girlfriend an XM Delphi SKYfi2 with the complete car kit and pre-purchased a year of subscription service. So she'll be all ready to go except for the actual installation. I plan to get her a gift card for wherever she can get it installed properly/quality assured.

I saw where Best Buy lists their Satellite Radio Tuner installation service as $41.99 to $71.99. I've never had any car audio work done anywhere, does this seem like a good deal and do you think this includes the antenna mounting? The antenna being run from the interior to the exterior is the part that concerns me the most.

All of your advice is very much appreciated. Thanks again,

CK

 

[TheToOTaLL]

DIY man!

Most likely they are charing you JUST to run the antenna wire. They will probably use the cigarette lighter adapter and FM modulation, which gives crappy quality and looks unsightly.

The antenna is no big deal, just a matter of pulling of some car panels and pulling some wire.

Get a hardwire kit from xmfanstore.com to tie into the switched 12v car power, as well as a aux input adapter that will work with her current headunit.

Save yourself the money and gain some learning experience in the meantime. Also check out xmfan.com forums for tons of help.

 

[rmrf]

that 41.99 to 71.99 is for basic installation only. if they need to spend any time at all on it, you will pay out the ass for their "installation specialists" to install it.

I almost fell for that gimmick about 6 years ago. I had a ford ranger that didn't have a stereo in it (the previous owner pulled it the day I bought it, conveniently he moved to Arizona 😀isgust😉, so I figured it wouldn't be very hard for them to throw a new deck in. I bought one that came with the free installation, and they got it into the bay. I asked them before they started about the "free installation", and they said that they would look at it and let me know. They came back and wanted to charge me $150!! I did it myself and learned something. Since that day, I've never had anyone install something on my car.

 

[CKDragon]

Thanks a lot for the quick responses, guys.

Ah, I also should have added that her current car is a 1996 Ford Escort that is scheduled to die about... 2 years ago.

So if the installation solution isn't the prettiest it would be acceptable because it's only temporary until the unit gets transferred into her new vehicle (likely in a year or so). If this were any type of indoors electronics, honestly I'd be all over the do-it-yourself solution. But I must have some sort of phobia when it comes to working on cars because the idea of removing panels from a car interior seems very foreign.

Regardless, I'm going to check out XMfan.com and see what I can learn. Maybe I'll give it a shot. I'd still be interested in hearing anyone else's stories about how much a more reputable dealer might charge for this type of job.

Thanks again,

CK

 

[BD2003]

You can do it yourself, it really isnt that hard.

You dont have to remove any panels. The only wire you have to worry about is the antenna. Run it down to the foot area of the passenger seat. Then follow all the way around the edges, and when you get through the door, slide it through the weather stripping. Run it all the way to the edge of your windshield, and then across to the middle and stick the antenna to your roof right in the front middle. The only scary part is partially removing your weatherstripping, but its not that bad, once you get over it. You wont spring any leaks or anything. Then take all the extra antenna wire, bundle it up, and shove it under the passenger carpet.

I personally ran the power adapter and line out through my vent, but you dont have to do that. Just handle the antenna and youre good to go.

 

[CKDragon]

Originally posted by: BD2003
You can do it yourself, it really isnt that hard.

You dont have to remove any panels. The only wire you have to worry about is the antenna. Run it down to the foot area of the passenger seat. Then follow all the way around the edges, and when you get through the door, slide it through the weather stripping. Run it all the way to the edge of your windshield, and then across to the middle and stick the antenna to your roof right in the front middle. The only scary part is partially removing your weatherstripping, but its not that bad, once you get over it. You wont spring any leaks or anything. Then take all the extra antenna wire, bundle it up, and shove it under the passenger carpet.

I personally ran the power adapter and line out through my vent, but you dont have to do that. Just handle the antenna and youre good to go.

You're right, that doesn't sound too bad at all, less intimidating than disassembling paneling. I'll google for some guides and try it out.

Thank you everyone,

CK

Thanks

 

[BD2003]

Hell, I'd do it for you if you were in the area (Long Island). Ill snap some pics of mine so you can see how easy it is.

And if you have a cassette, its highly recommended over the FM mod.

 

[CKDragon]

Originally posted by: BD2003
Hell, I'd do it for you if you were in the area (Long Island). Ill snap some pics of mine so you can see how easy it is.

And if you have a cassette, its highly recommended over the FM mod.

Our location is in Alexandria, VA, but thanks.

Oh, and considering it's a 96 Ford Escort of course it's outfitted with only the finest audio cassette technology! 😛 Good advice, thanks.

Matthew

 

[BD2003]

Honestly, theres a good chance that youll get a decent signal with the antenna just lying on the dashboard, which will be hideously ugly, but also ridiculously easy.