we all know that every thing about circuit city's car audio sucks.I have to go back one more time for a warranty repair,this time it's my fault. they don't need to know that though. basically my amp still works,but with too much distortion. and it doesn't get warm no matter how hard I push it. would they consider that a legitimate defect?
what would you do?,bring it in as is and risk getting denied service? or hook it up to a battery charger(start mode)unfused,0 ohm loops at the speaker terminals,with "dedicated high voltage signals" for the RCA inputs....basicaly finishing it off and releasing the factory installed smoke.risking getting stuck with an amp that is beyond economic repair? I know stage amp circuits,but I don't have the references and test equipment at home.I'd rather bring it in and have circuit city's "non-techs" use the trail and error method until every last circuit card is replaced,just like my CD player!

you got the extended service plan? take it to a different location.. i got my 3002 amp and BTL124 subs from them and had to return them several times.. the amp has been to mtx once for repair already (also my fault).. remember when you got the esp they told you that even if you drop it down a flight of stairs its covered? make them fix it.. :P but i havnt had any probs.. matter of fact last nite i decided to take my btl124's (over 2 yrs old and discontinued) under service, they wernt even blown and they were replaced at no charge with the new thunder 6000 series.. plus they farked up and renewed my service plan for free..

heres what i would do:

take it in and act like a complete moron that has no idea what he is talkin about. say that you were driven along one day and all of a sudden the speakers started to sound real funny. then ask them to take a look at it for you. u have the warrenty and as far as that goes, alpine should fix it no matter what happened to it.

let me know what happens

daniel

I've always had good results with their "insurance plans". They never give me any problems. They usually offer the newest model at the time to compensate me. Do take it to another location and ask them to replace it, either with the same or something better. If it's something better, you might have to pay a little bit more but It's kind of like that's what you bought in the first place.

Good luck, and keep us informed.

------------------
'82 Firebird, dead stock, 9 bolt disc rear, over 200,000 miles and still going strong, more to come...

I like asking my wife or mom to take it in and tell them it just do'nt work and they want a new one. Anyone knows it not nice to question your mom or wife.

they didn't give me any trouble,but that wife or mom thing is a really good idea!!

Returning it to a different Circuit City won't help much...the store just sends it out to one of their service centers.

I used to work there, and the service department was a running joke around our install shop. Often, stuff that was repaired by our service department would just break again a few weeks later. Sometimes it wouldn't even work right after it came back from service.

If we had a customer we liked or felt sorry for, we'd take their broken radio, plug it into the 110-volt wall outlet...lots of cool smoke would come out. Then we'd just tell the customer service girls that the car had a power surge or something like that, and to just give the customer a new radio.

chris, that reminds me.. when i bought my subs i was told by the one cool guy workin there that when the new line came out, plug em into the wall outlet, fry em an bring em back.. best way to get a replacement not service..

CIRCUIT CITY SUCKS, THE PEOPLE AT CIRCUIT CITY SUCK, THE SERVICE SUCKS, AND I HATE EVERYTHING ABOUT CIRCUIT CITY.

I had a ok experience with circuit city.

I was listening to the woofers at the store, and after finall figuring out which one i was going to pickup, the guy said that was the last one, the display model.

So i knew somethign bad would happen. i sort of acted like i wasn't that interested anymore (even thought it could have had a hole in the center for all i care, i swear, i can't hold onto money for ****.)

Anyway, he offerd the extended service plan for free on it.

so of course i took it.

took the woofer home, and hooked it up to my amp (my big amp, hehe). anyway, it sounded really awesome, for such a cheap price, it really slammed!

then suddenly, i smelled smoke. electrial smoke. At the time, it was evening, so i didn't notice too much, but when i turned on the interior light, i noticed with every bass note, about 5 CF of smoke would pour out of the port in the box!

Ahh! so i shut everythign off, and let my car air out overnight, and then set the gain on the amp much lower.

Everythign ran smooth for 2-3 months, when finally it sort of sounded sloppy, and started sucking.

So i took it right back to the store. the same person who i bought it from was there.
too bad they didn't have another speaker like the one i got. Instead, i got some kenwood, which was my distant 2nd choise.

so anyway, the guy runs out to check my woofer, and says, "yep, its trash" and proceeds to install the kenwood with an electric screwdriver.

heh, he slips on the last screw, and pokes a hole right in the rubber surround. man, he must have hung his head in my car for 5 mins.

of course that was the last speaker they had, so i had to drive way across town to get the same thing installed.

anyway, i invited myself into the back room while they installed it, and this guy dropped a wood screw right on the dustcap of the woofer. it didn't seem to do anything, so i didn't say anything.

still running fine in my car right now. hehe interesting though, watching what they do. its kind of scary actually. but all in all it has been ok. prices wern't too bad, and even if the people seem to screw up a few times, they correct their mistakes (as long as you are watching).

I'm a proffesional electronic tech. I laugh at thier so called "12V techs". when I was 18 they wouldn't hire me to work in the "road shop" because I told my interviewer that I never installed dynomat or fog lights.....even though I'd been to electronics trade school(9-12grade)wired stereos, computers ect. since I was ten. now I work with million dollar HF,UHF,VHF,FM,AM communications circuits,computer LAN networks and air/surface radar equipment,but I guess those jokers that screwed up my car so bad are more "high-tech" than me because of all the fog lights and dynomat they've installed!! I'm so behind in this world of tech....what do I do?? I have'nt got my amp back yet,but I heard they fixed somthing. I'll blow it up anyways and just tell the girls at the service desk that my car had a "power surge" or somthin I need a better amp anyways.

oh christ.. their techs are bumbling idiots there, its their service plan that i like.. i would never let them people actually install anything for me tho.. man ive ruined quite a few subs by havin a screwdriver slip (mainly installin subs in a bandpass box, where the subs are so close to each other theres no room for my big hands.. just dropping a screw on the sub wouldnt do any damage...

85Berlinetta,

AMEN

I've learned my lesson,..I wouldn't let a circuit city tech pump my gas!!

Fellas,

I am a Lead Installer at Circuit City in Georgia. I am MECP certified and have been for 3 years. I dont know what locations you all are dealing with that have problems but man dont speak for every other Road Shop. My shop personally handles 3 DB drag competitors cars and 2 IASCA certified cars one being an 88' camaro for different customers.

As far as the repairs are concerned. All electronic repairs are done at a regional repair house and the Installers in the shop have absolutely nothing to do with the repairs that are made.

As far as your amp is concerned. Any "GOOD" Circuit City store should do a short yet thorough R&R on the amp to see if it is a possible install problem. If the say that there is no problem with the install then you need to communicate to them that you are not happy and that you do not believe that it is functioning properly. The Roadshop employees then should send you to customer service where it should be shipped to be fixed if not it should be replaced with an amplifier of the same class of equal value. If you still have problems with the Circuit City roadshop then e-mail me or post the location number and the employee that you are dealing with and I will see what I can swing.

thanks 89bird, I first went to circuit city in saugus,MA and bought an "installed only" alpine cd player,thats when they broke the heater control/stereo panel with a power drill,after I told them there was no need to replace the fasteners becuase the interior was already taken apart for some reason.they refunded the install fee,but I should have made them find the new plastic piece (hard to find for an '84). next I went to the salem,NH location. I wanted the alpine amp but I didn't want them touching my car,the salesman understood where I was comming from and offered to sell it without the install,then I changed my mind.how could two stores be bad? the sales rep assured me that his guys did good work and I had nothing to woory about.......ahh no,however they did leave me a gerber multi-tool,so I guess I can find it in my heart to forgive them like I said,I wouldn't let a circuit city tech put gas in my car........just like I wouldn't go to pep boys for an oil change or tires,but I'll buy my parts from them.sure there is some talent in both companys,but I'm not willing to take that gamble.what is MECP certification? I am interested in getting qualified in different areas of electronics.

I bought a $210 pioneer head unit from CC two years ago. I bought the ESP too. the sales guy was cool, and told me everything I wanted to hear, "toss it into traffic, it breaks, get a new one. in 1 year, 11 mos, 29 days, bring it in, and well give you $210 credit towards ANY new CD player." man, I thought that was great. well, 6mos after I bought the damn thing, I take it out, rebox it, and bring it into the store, asking for my new '00 model. $#!T. youd think I asked the guy to steal it out of his own car. we dont do that here, who told you that, he couldnt have told you that, we cant take perfectly fine equipment back. so, being thats the only CC in a 30 mile radius of me, I took it back, and vowed only to SMACK the next CC mployee trying to hawk me into a deal.
sorry, just venting >
mike

[This message has been edited by mike88RS (edited December 17, 2000).]

They probably still wouldn't hire you, junkyarddog... hehe

I think the Circuit City RoadShops are jokes. I bought a head unit from there, and they wouldn't let me install it myself.

And when they did, they shorted the radio circuit, messed up the faceplate gear (MASK unit jammed up against the shifter while turning on the power) and when that was done, they ran the constant wire from my brake switch. They also used a big install kit that bulged the face out almost two inches from the console.

Then once they sold me a sub that the metal vent screen came loose inside the speaker. It was held sideways by the magnetic field and the cone was vibrating against it making a nasty sound and denting the cone. I took it back and they called in a Roadshop guy. He pulls the piece out and hands the sub back to me. I said that's nice, but what about this hairy dent that it made in the front, and he got pissed off and stomped out snapping at the service desk lady to give me a new one. There was rust on the sub anyway, I think they sold me a used one.

So f--k Circuit City and their cattle ranch Roadshops. I gave them two chances--one more chance than any place should get considering how many real shops there are out there, and they didn't make the mark on either one.


[This message has been edited by Jza (edited December 17, 2000).]

yea!! you said it best Jza!, see?,thats how it is,89bird. you shouldn't be wasting your talents with a company that has such a bad reputation. go in to business for yourself.I'd really like to get into something auto related when I finish my enlistment with the navy.whatever I do,I want to do for myself,even if it takes awhile to build up the business.

I am telling you guys. I do not know what stores you are dealing with but they do sound terrible. Let me know the location numbers if you know them so I can do some research on their managers and roadshop personnel. The ESP service is a wonderful protection plan. The way it is supposed to work it is a no questions ask we will fix at and if we cant we will replace it at no charge.

To whomever asked MECP stands for MOBILE ELECTRONICS CERTIFIED PROFESSIONAL.

I wish I could start my own audio shop and get away from the politics of working for a large coporation. I cannot do so though because I am a full time student trying to get my engineering degree and have neither the time nor the money to open my own shop. MAYBE ONE DAY THOUGH!!