I am having the HU in my TT replaced with a Kenwood system, and am looking for an experienced installer. Anyone have experience/suggestions?

Yep, Dave Diette is excellent. Contact info at www.rollingtones.biz. Tell him I sent you!

- Mitch

There's a few...

Number 1 all around: My "go-to" guy is John over at JDK Auto Sound in West boylston - he doesn't do extremely custom work like fiberglass and such but he is VERY meticulous, price sensitive and internet friendly (if you purchase on the net). Not a big shop or showroom with lots of products (he doesn't keep much in stock) but his main attraction is service. I believe JDK handles Kenwood. <a href="http://www.jdkautosound.com">www.jdkautosound.com</a>

Number 2: Chris &amp; Derek @ Auto Luxuries over in Tewksbury, MA. I don't know if they handle kenwood but they have nice people, good service and can do really crazy custom work. They always have a great "can do" attitude. I would use them more but they're a fair distance from me. <a href="http://www.autoluxuries.com">www.autoluxuries.com</a>

Number 3: Gary over at Wurlitzer Stereo in Marlborough. Again, don't know if he handles kenwood but I use these guys for hard to find car audio products like Eclipse (good stuff!), MB Quart, and Focal - thier install skills are pretty good (7 on a scale of 10) and you can haggle with them a bit on price which is pretty unusual in the car stereo biz. <a href="http://www.wurlitzerstereo.net">www.wurlitzerstereo.net</a>

Number 4: The always famous Rich's Car Tunes over in Watertown. These guys are EX-PEN-SIVE but they are the best installers in New England IMHO with more than 35 years of business under the belt. These guys are so good they're co-tenants with a professional mobile electronics school! I use these folks when everyone else claims it can't be done. <a href="http://www.cartunes.com">www.cartunes.com</a>

There you have it. Good luck and tell them Derek Kelly sent you! =)

I had a terrible experience with Rich's Car Tunes years ago. Only my second new car, and I wanted all the bells. I brought my car to them and they did a terrible job. Metal shavings burned into the roof, one extra drill mark, radio rattled, plus, they left it out overnight, and it was broken into. I was young and stupid, and let them get away with it. I would NEVER, EVER go there. I think they let the students work on cars they consider beneath them. Anyway, I will contact the other shops, and I appreciate the info.

WOW, never heard of anyone having a bad experience w/them! Sorry to hear thet - very unfortunate.

I may have sent this to you directly, rather than posting. Sorry. If you have one, how do you like it.

great guys... kenwood dealer and installer. Did great work on my car.

I do, and it's great! Very reasonably priced, great sound, and good nav system.

Thanks for answering. How accuracte is it? Last weekend I bought a Garmin 2620, and while I like it OK, I hate the way it looks on the dash of the TT. My concern is that the HK will not be accurate enough for nav. BTW, even thought the Traffic Pro is being discontinued, I hear they are coming out with new maps in November

I have not noticed any inaccuracies save for the obvious ones (e.g., Big Dig related). I had the navigator bring me to a remote spot in Maine and it did so without a hitch.

I have an old Garmin ColorMap which Dave also installed (where the ashtray used to be) and which I use for a map display. The Traffic Pro and the Garmin are almost always in agreement about where I am :-)

As for maps, TP has been promising new ones for quite a while now. I wouldn't count on it. But for $400, you get a good navigator, better sound than stock radio, Aux access (which I use with both an Ipod and XM Radio), and a radio over which the radio cover still closes (very important to me). I'm thrilled with my system and the way that Dave installed it.

- Mitch