Sound Wave Customs

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Avoid this place like it was an Ebola ward. I wish I could find something good to say about them, but after 5 trips and 4 times back in their shop to install an adapter that would allow me to listen to audio off an Ipod, I was given the ultimatum to take the car with a new 4 foot cable hanging out of the dash or they would remove the unit completely. But in either case they would not refund the money for the installation as they had told me they would over the phone. This was for an Isimple adapter they charged me 200 dollars for that retails at Amazon for 74 bucks.



My husband and I had seen the display Sound Wave Customs had at the last auto show and had kept a card. I was a little dicey about these aftermarket adapters because I had read many reviews with folks that complained that they had other issues with the systems afterward with things like the nav screen locking up. The store was Va. Beach which is about 20 miles one way.



I went with my husband and spoke with the owner, Ethan and he sold us an Isimple unit that he was charging 200 for plus 2 hours of labor time. The next week I had to return for the install for that and a remote starter system, another long time wish for my car. I ended up staying there from about noon to well past closing time since they had problems with the audio unit not working after it was all installed and buttoned up. They told me they had to reprogram the unit and it took over 2 hours just to do that.



The unit worked for a day and then stopped. I called in and made another appointment for that following Friday at which point they told me it was the Apple connect cable to the IPod. I went and got a new cable and it still didn’t work. Again I called in and they told me to bring it back in. So the third week in I brought it back and them took it all apart and then swapped out the cable from the unit to the front of the dash. Again, it worked for about a day then stopped. In the mean time I was on the phone with the Isimple company and they told me they should have swapped out her unit the first time I brought it back in.



I went back again (remember this is a 20 mile one way drive each time) and they told me that I didn’t have an appointment and they wouldn’t touch the car. I made an appointment for the following Saturday and my husband went with me. They agreed to replace the unit. It lasted for about 2 days this time.



I called and talked with Ethan, the owner, who agreed to remove it and Ethan made the appointment for the next Friday at noon time. I’ve lost track if it was at week 4 or 5 at this point. I arrived on time for the appointment but Ethan was not there. He came in about 1-1/2 to 2 hours later. I was told by one of his employees that Ethan had called and told him to give me an ultimatum for a new cable or pull it all out but no money back. I let them put the new cable in since I would be out all the money and would not have her audio input. When I received the car back, there was a 4 foot long cable sticking out of my dash that had cable ties to the smaller earphone jack cable. Trim pieces were loose as well. And several times when I got the car back, I could smell cigarette smoke inside.

In all these trips, I never dealt with the same tech twice. Some of these guys were very nice, but the owner Ethan was much less gracious, especially as this whole saga ran its course.



If you really want to have one of these units installed check with the manufacturer for an alternate reliable, reputable retailer in this area.