Complaint Review: Car Toys 12815 Aurora Ave Seattle - seatte Washington

Short version

DO NOT go to Car Toys.  They will make a mistake installing your purchase then refuse to fix it in a timely manner while being argumentative and disrespectful.

Long version

On 2/14/15 I went to Car Toys at 12815 Aurora Ave, Seattle WA and purchased the Directed Electronics Clifford 5906X Color OLED 2-way security + remote start system for my girlfriend’s birthday (see her review above).   I left her car there for 10 hours to allow adequate time for installation. Upon driving the car home, we discovered that her dashboard backlight no longer illuminated.  After owning the car for over 7 years, we are familiar with the backlight settings and attempted to trouble shoot this problem ourselves (the lights functioned properly the night before).  Clearly the electronic connection was disrupted as the adjustment dials no longer worked in any capacity and the Electronic Stability Control (ESC) switch no longer worked either.  We returned as soon as Car Toys opened the very next day to report this.  The manager Ryan McLeod simply stated that he would not be able to look at this installation issue in a timely fashion.  He did NOT apologize and even stated that nothing was wrong with our car WITHOUT even looking at it.  I understand that the remote start has to be wired into the ignition as well as a power source in order to function properly and the dashboard backlight and ESC switch are both in the operative area of installation.  Presently, neither of these functions work in our car.  After spending $1124.50 and bringing the car back immediately, I am disappointed that they were not able to fit us in for repair in a timely fashion.  Furthermore, this mistake in installation has now made the car unsafe to drive at night as we are unable to see the speedometer or any of the other gauges.  To make matters worse, she is driving out of town today and even after expressing this to Ryan, we did not obtain any sympathy or help (not only fixing their mistake but calling other stores to see if they could get us in, etc).  I believe that he fully understood the situation and, given that Car Toys is clearly at fault, consciously chose to do nothing about it.  While we were patient and understanding but still expressed our need for a fully functioning car, Ryan was curt, disrespectful, apathetic, and unprofessional.

I will take this car to a different Car Toys and verify that there is an installation error.  I will then proceed to return this system given their extremely poor customer service (I understand that mistakes happen but what I cannot forgive is the refusal to fix these mistakes).  I will report them to the Better Business Burea for making our car unsafe to drive.   I will take my business elsewhere from now on.  And I will also encourage every person I interact with from now on to boycott Car Toys and take their money elsewhere (I am fortunate to have a job where I interact with a lot of potential customers and it is my hope that I can save them from this same ridiculous experience).  Here is a list of some of their competitors so that you may also avoid the worst workmanship and customer service in Seattle:  Best Buy, Radioshack, Ballard Custom Audio, Foss Audio & Tint, Stereo Centro, ICON audio technologies, Mobile Music Unlimited, Audiolab, Audio Visionz LLC, Platinum Mobile Electronics, Benchmark Motors, Audio Northwest, Stereo Warehouse, Stereotomy, Car Stereo Plus, Systems Unlimited, Sounds on Wheels, Sound Advice, Speakerlab, All about Customs, CTR, Sound Werks, Evolution Audio, Advanced Sound and Tint, Advanced Auto Design, Discount Car Stereo, Accessory Options, C&C Stereos, CNC Autodesign LLC, NBA Car Stereos, Omni Auto and stereo, Audio Express, Pep Boys.