Auto Radio Specialists

I went to Auto Radio based on the reviews I saw here as well as its proximity to work. I drive by it almost every day without really noticing it. I had an old Sirius radio installed in my car years ago and decided it was time to upgrade. As I waited for my unit to arrive in the mail I stopped in to chat with Sai about it and make sure he’d have time later in the week. I’m so glad he did! I dropped my car off on Thursday morning shortly after he opened. We discussed what I wanted done and I walked back to my office. He called me a couple of hours later and it was done! It looks great! He did a custom install to make sure it was just how I wanted it. He was easy to work with and seemed to really know his stuff. Bonus: it was super affordable! I would go here again in a heartbeat and would recommend you do too! Thanks, Sai!

I went here to have my aftermarket backup camera looked at as it was not functioning.
The tech that looked at my FJ Cruiser was Sai [who sadly is no longer with this business].
I was a little skeptical when I showed up as the place was entirely too clean, there was no mess or pile of wires/​equipment laying around the installation bays. But he did such a great job on my wifes car I decided to give this place a shot at my issue. Sai looked at my FJ and recommended I get a new camera as there was a connectivity issue. He told me exactly what camera to get, so I did and brought it to him for installation. When I came to get my vehicle Sai had completely disassembled the dash and center console. I was concerned as this was an issue with a camera in the back of the vehicle. Sai showed me a severely damaged wire that was behind the stereo head unit in the dash as well as other cabling issues and improper mounting of the aftermarket camera that i had installed. At this point I was impressed with his attention to detail and the care he took to ensure that he checked the entire video subsystem from front to back as I would have still had issues had he not looked. Not only did he do all this, he built a junction connector for the camera in the event we ever needed to work on the system again in future or if I needed to replace the camera again. This way we don’t have to tear apart the whole vehicle. I was beyond impressed at this point as it seems that no one now-​a-​days is forward thinking any more. It’s obvious that the quality of work done here is top notch and the attention to detail is stellar. I only hope that whoever takes the place of Sai here is as good. That being said I am giving this place 5 stars based on my experience with Sai. Those that read my reviews on here know that I absolutely DO NOT give out 5 star reviews very often. I mean you have to really have your $h!t together and wired tight to warrant a 5 star review from me. My experience with Sai at this business has definitely EARNED 5 stars and this review.
To the business owner.
Please ensure that you attempt to find a competent replacement for Sai as he has now set the bar very high for quality of work, attention to detail and customer service, not to mention honesty!

This place is awesome. Sai is an incredibly affable and professional guy who is quick as well as technically skilled. Definitely doesn’t corners and provides excellent work at a truly affordable price, I truly was impressed upon leaving the humble shop in Little Italy. I absolutely will be back.

Everyone on here talks about Sai this Sai that. Let me tell you they don’t even do him justice! I’ve had my share of installations from different places. Never again. He’s one of those guys you find and thank the stars you did. I was completely over quoted from two different installation shops on my most recent car. Sai completely blew them out of the water. Super clean and quick install. Not just a deck either. Interior speakers, tweeters, high powered amp, custom subwoofer box and a viper 2-​way alarm w motion sensors. All clean in my convertible 350z. No need to look anywhere else. I’m a bargain hunter and Sai is as straight up and honest as you can be. Saved me about $ 1,000 no exaggeration. I don’t think I even did him justice in this review. THATS HOW GOOD HE IS! THANKS SAI!!!

Just got a new pioneer cd stereo there today and worked with Sai. Sai really treated me well and was very honest and helpful. He got me a great deal and did all the work in an hour and 15 minutes! I got Bluetooth, USB, remote control, and he was easy to work with. I’ve been to other places where the salesman seem shady and try and upswell you. I’ll definitely refer my friends and family to Sai. It’s also a great location in little Italy to kill time at a local coffee shop across the street.

This place was awesome! Sai is a super chill dude and was able to fix my audio system extremely quickly at a great price. I’ll definitely recommend this place to everyone!

This place is the real deal. They give it to you straight and there’s no feeling of being ripped off. I recently had another stereo place tell me it would take hours to get a remote signal in my bmw to my amp, at significant labor cost. I took it here, and the guy had it done in minutes. He also tuned my amp intelligently, unlike other places which just max the bass boost and call it a day. Highly recommended!

Sai is the man. I showed up to have my speakers replaced and he was very sincere with the prices and methodology. He meticulously removed the rear seats to avoid having any unprofessional work done. I could tell he was very passionate and trustworthy about his work. I would highly recommend this place.

Sai is a good person and a very honest person. Even though our alarm was all jacked up he told us honestly what we should do and didn’t overcharge us. He never once tried to take advantage for profit. Really rare quality nowadays. Will be recommending him to everyone and will be a returning customer.

These guys are awesome! I took my car to get an AUX cord installed. They are super friendly, quick and very reasonably priced. I don’t know anything about cars, so it’s nice to find a trustworthy place to take mine.

Sai is awesome. He was very easy to talk to and very attentive. I went in to get a replacement on some buttons on my radio. He was very honest on the stock radio which I agreed on and recommended me into getting a radio that had more features than the regular stock radio. He knows his stuff and did not have a hard time doing the installation on the car.
After doing the installation on the radio he guided me on how the radio works and how to use the Bluetooth options and to make calls from the radio. I’m not to savvy with technology, especially using Bluetooth on the radio but Sai made it very easy for me to use.
I will be a returning customer. Thank you Sai for your good work, I will come back again to get my sub woofer and amp installed.

I am woefully ignorant about car stereo installation. I ordered a new stereo over Amazon, and brought it to Sai. I had no idea I needed some kind of kit to install the stereo. He had the kit, sold it to me at cost, and threw in a microphone for a few extra bucks because the stereo’s external microphone was missing. The whole installation took less than an hour, and he took the time to show me how to use all the new features of the stereo. Great guy, great experience, great service. I’d recommend anyone see Sai for anything related to car electronics.

Some people collect dvds, or watch tv. Me? I listen to music and collect mp3s. So being happy with my stereo is priority number one. I have done my own stereos in the past, and I just got a new (used) car and wanted it done right. I bought all the parts I needed, but I don’t trust myself to do a professional job. I found Auto Radio Specialists on Unilocal and gave them a call on a Monday Morning. Sai said he could fit me in, so I rushed down there from Chula Vista.
I show Sai all the parts I have. Pioneer 2700bs head unit, dash kit, wiring harness and back up camera. I also asked him if he could find a good place for a USB/​Cigarette adapter, and to hardwire in a radar detector power cord. He quotes me 80 dollars less than another highly rated place in SD.
After chatting for a little bit, I tell him I’m going to sleep somewhere since I just got off a graveyard shift. Then HE OFFERS TO LET ME TAKE HIS TRUCK TO GO HOME AND SLEEP. What a guy! I didn’t take him up on the offer, too paranoid about something happening to me in his car. So I slept near the water, a few blocks away.
It took a little longer than anticipated, but I told him to take all the time he wanted, and he is serious about his work and didn’t want to leave a half ass job. He had to finish his scheduled appointments first, then finish my walk-​in job.
I kind of expected someone with the name Sai to be Chinese, but he is a big Samoan with a big heart. Nicest guy. Being from Hawaii, we shot the breeze while he worked on the car.
It sounds great (factory amp + new head unit), looks professional and has no issues.
If I have any other jobs to be done, I will definitely return!
Edit: I was so happy I took him a case of his favorite beverage the next day.

Sai’s super cool and very honest. I went in because my car alarm no longer unlocked my doors. I thought I needed new actuator’s. Instead, Sai thought my locks just needed to be adjusted. He was right and I was on my way an hour later. Thanks dude!

There are no words… Sai is the ABSOLUTE best… Professional, honest, and super helpful… Don’t waste your time or energy looking any further… If Sai can’t do the job. NO ONE can… He even got our car started when the battery died at his shop…
Thank you for everything Sai… We will definitely do business again!!!

The first thing I gotta mention is that Sai’s the bomb! I entered this shop for a radio install without an appointment, and he was really accommodating. He runs an honest business and is very personable too!
You’re getting a good deal when you come here. The price that I paid for the radio install was super reasonable.

Don’t be fooled by what this place looks like. There is good reason this shop has been in this spot for so long. Knowledgeable and friendly… and more than fair prices. Whether you have a high end ride that needs the factory system worked on or have something as basic as an aftermarket horn you want wired up, these guys get it done quickly and done right for less money that you expect. Sai is super honest and knows his stuff. I am recommending to all my friends and co-​workers.

These guys are great. I work just down the street and one day borrowed my Dad’s Ford Ranger which had a stereo that was just thrown in by a blind monkey. Seriously, the head unit would move side-​to-​side and flop around with no rails on it. So just to get a quote for a repair, I brought it into Auto Radio Specialists. The guys were super busy already (had a full garage) and it was on a Friday afternoon. They took a look at my stereo and said, «No problem — 20 minutes». I took a walk down India St. and got lunch at the Burger Lounge, came back, and the stereo was mounted so clean and nice! I asked how much, and they said, «Don’t worry about it.» I was amazed! I had to forcibly allow them to let me leave a couple bucks for their time, but they were sincere about doing me, a random stranger, a solid. Great shop!

What can I say that hasn’t already been said? These guys are legit. Shai is the bomb and did a custom backup camera install in my Porsche 996. I had already installed the head unit and he was cool about working with it. Price was reasonable, and best of all he got me in right away. Add to that a great warranty and the labor covered for life and I couldn’t be happier. I’ll be back.

Been in serious need of getting an iphone hook up installed in my new-​to-​me 2003 BMW X5. After researching on the internet I ended up buying a box from a company online that specializes in BMW/​sound/​iphone hook ups. The whole thing seemed pretty basic as far as actually hooking up the part to the car, but I didn’t want to have to do the hard part of routing the cable through the car and out through the console. I took the part I purchased to Auto Radio and met Sai who hadn’t seen one of these before, but hooked it up real quick with me there to make sure it worked (it did), then said the routing part would be easy. I was in and out of there in an hour and he only charged me $ 65 for labor. Needless to say i was super stoked, everything looks great and you wouldn’t even know there’s a cable there unless the phone is plugged in. If i need anything else done, I know where to go.