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Gary, a 20-year-old car enthusiast from Manakau, Auckland, was surveying his dream car, a 2000 Nissan Ultima, in all it’s glory, stripped of it’s side panels and access panels. He had worked and save all year to put the deposit down on it and he was going to make it into one fat ride. Last week he set out his speakers, his in dash car DVD player from Chinavasion and thought he’d whip through it in half a day. That was a week ago now and there were still wires strewn all through the garage, his flatmates were demanding he get the job done or find another flat and he’d been late for work three times that week because he’d been forced to use the unreliable bus system.

Everybody in the world has their own particular strengths and weaknesses, some people can add and subtract with ease, handle complex personal situations or help people absorb information; some are skilled performers or artists; some are skilled at making things or maintaining them. There are also others who take an active interest in a particular skill but show no physical talent for it. Tradesmen all over the world and anybody who has watched American Idol will attest that there are some things that are best left to the experts. Installing an entertainment system into a car is one of them.

Instillation can be a drawn-out and frustrating process

On the surface, installing a car audio system or car DVD player shouldn’t take too much effort… after all it simply requires the instillation of one, or sometimes two drivers, several speakers and screens, several wires and one power supply in an area less than one square meter. But as Tim ‘the Toolman’ Taylor will attest, after trying to ’soup up’ dish washer in the first episode of ‘Home Improvement’, it’s incredible how much wiring and fuss can be packed into a small space. Cars aren’t like dishwashers and can’t just be left in the corner till they’re fixed. Usually it’s needed on a daily basis to get to and from work.

Many ‘budding’ auto electricians, builders and mechanics often end up calling up a professional to finish off their work anyway, with said professionals cursing the mess that has been made by the enthusiastic amateur, which they now have to unpick before they can complete the task. As one builder was once overheard telling a client: “My rates are $50 an hour unless you want to watch, then it’s $60 an hour…but if you want to help then it’s $100.”

Installer will not only make sure that your system works properly they’ll make sure it works well.

If the desired result is to have functioning speakers, a system that doesn’t cut out at inopportune moments or an external DVD screen that doesn’t flicker on and off or have lines all the way through it and have everything completed before the onset of global warming then hiring a professional usually guarantees a job will get done in time, unless the person with the car has a knack for electrical wiring. However, if the desired result is a system that works well and produces sounds comparable with a stadium, concert hall or church a installer is the only option. Especially if the black hole syndrome is to be avoided.

Black hole syndrome is when a person is in a car listening to music and the sound disappears in the middle of the dash, the sounds all seem to originate from the speaker near the door, or the sounds in the rear sound tinny and distant. How many parents have been deafened in the front because the children rear had demanded the stereo get turned up because they couldn’t hear it in the back? Or, alternately, how many people in the rear have watched people in the front singing away, enjoying the music, only to hear “mwff mwfff mwfff mwfff”? To get a car entertainment system working properly the speakers sometimes have to be relocated, rewired, and extra added components added, not an easy task.

A badly-installed system can be a safety hazard.

One of the trademark signs of a bad, or average, DIY wiring job is the “electrician’s spaghetti” look. If ‘the spaghetti’ is too thick then the wires will eventually fuse generating a temperature hot enough to combust, resulting in a car fire. While it is not a common occurrence it still does happen.

Unless you’re a dab hand with all things in general, working on a car that won’t be used everyday or can afford to use public transport for a month or so might be advisable to get an installer to put in a car audio system, car DVD player for you… guaranteed sanity, a better relationship with your significant other and the respect of your mechanic will be your reward.