The Pros and Cons of Installing Your Car Audio System Yourself
Many people choose to install their car audio systems themselves, rather than take the car to audio specialists. There are many reasons for doing this. Some people find a lot of enjoyment in the task; other people find that it’s cheaper.
If you’re considering tinkering with your car audio system yourself, and you are unsure if this is the right move for you, or not, then you should read this article, because here, we discuss the pros and cons of undertaking the challenge yourself.
The Pros of Installing Your Car Audio System Yourself
Of course, there are many pros with installing your car audio yourself, but here are the three that we hear the most often:
1. It’s cheaper: without a doubt, it’s definitely cheaper to install the audio equipment yourself. The only exception would be if you make a mistake that damages the equipment. At that point, it becomes more expensive as you need to pay out of pocket to replace the broken goods.
However, if you manage to install the equipment properly, it will actually be cheaper to do it yourself as installation costs around £100 when installed by a professional. Clearly, the more complex the installation, the more you pay the fitter, but on average, £100 is about right.
2. You can experiment: professional fitters won’t experiment on your car audio system. They’ll just do exactly what you ask of them. This can mean that you miss out on fun and interesting twists the sound dynamics. If you know a lot about sound engineering, you'll probably relish the chance at self car audio installation, because it gives you plenty of opportunity to experiment.
3. You can take your time: this is great if you’re strapped for cash, because it means you can add things to the system as and when you're ready to buy the various bits and pieces. If you have the system installed professionally, you will have to pay for the equipment & the installation, and that can run into the thousands. In one hit, that’s not easily manageable by the average person.
The Cons of Installing Your Car Audio System Yourself
On the other hand, there are some very valid reasons for using a professional for your car audio installation needs. These include:
1. You might make an expensive mistake: yes, if you make a mistake, it could damage your equipment. If that happens, there’s no one to blame but yourself, so you lose out on the cost of the equipment, or on the cost of having it repaired.
2. You normally wouldn’t be covered by insurance: if something goes wrong with the system now, or later down the line, you will have to pay for it yourself. Insurance companies do not protect against work that you undertake yourself.
3. It can take a long time: it can take a good three or four hours to install a new system – more with the higher end systems. That means finding something to do for the afternoon/morning, while someone else has your car. It can be frustrating.
As you can appreciate, there are pros and cons with self installation. Whether you decide to engage with it or not, should be a matter of evaluating these pros and cons and then deciding which the correct course of action for you is.
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