Quality work, fast service, competitive prices and totally honest. Been here a few times over the years and will never go anywhere else after my last visit. Bought a truck a few years ago that did not have power locks (odd as it is an 04). Took it to a place in Berkeley near my job (for an alarm and locks) and they told me 150 per door (600 total) because my doors are unusually thin. I just did the front doors at the time even though I had some doubt. I mentioned this to Big John when I was in getting a new alarm installed and he looked skeptical. Did both back doors for under a hundred total. New alarm and power locks for under 200. Last time it was 400+. The alarm is better quality for the same price. They can be direct which is not the same as rude......this ain't Tiffani's people it's car stereo. I don't need an ass kissing. I need quality work, fast service, competitive pricing and honesty. read more

I was lost when my sirius xm radio stopped working, it made my long commute even more frustrating. I purchased another radio only to find out all of the big stereo installation guys could not do the install for nearly 6 weeks. I called Car Audio Warehouse and John said come on in. I asked if I could wait he said no problem just bring a book or something. I brought by computer and worked for a while in about 1 1/2 hours I was all done. When the radio was all installed I sat in the parking lot to get serius to activate my radio, to my dismay as soon as I pulled out of the parking stall it went off.. I went back in and talked to John and between he and one of his employees they got me up and WORKING in no time. THANK YOU, Car Audio Warehouse! PS It had nothing to do with the work they did, they just found me a station with better reception THEY WENT ABOVE AND BEYOND TO HELP! 2004 Pacifica read more

I brought my STI in for a new stereo system, decided to go with the LKW-122 1000 WATT 12" HI-FI Subwoofer in my trunk. The installation was quick and easy and their prices are unbeatable. The owner and his son are super generous and they really know their products. I bought this part online as they were having a sale so it was a win-win for me. Overall I am very satisfied and the speaker is amazing. Thank you Big John!!!! read more

I took my Beast Yesterday to install a Cedarslink amp with two 12" subs It sounds crazy now . Thanks Mike for taking care of me and providing the best advices. Definitely the BEST car stereo shop in the Bay Area. Best prices , Huge choice of products, and great costumer service. I'll recommend it to all my friends read more

Took my Cadillac there for a Viper alarm with Remote start. Prices were about average, Great Knowledge of the different types of alarms Fast and Professional installation. read more

I just upgraded my 4 speakers in my Honda Civic and also subwoofer.. The service was great and price was very decent. They even took me to the 24 hours fitness drop me off and pick me up back to take my car after service it was less than two hours.. Just wanted to say thank you read more

I recently purchased the Alpine CDE-SXM145BT from C.A.W. After describing what features I wanted the most, John recommended this particular unit. I think it's great and the install was quick and painless - they even returned all of my original equipment/parts (although not in a condition that could be re-used if I needed to). Aside from the friendly customer service and shop atmosphere, I rated C.A.W. 3-stars because of the pricing. I should have done more price shopping, but given the previous reviews of this establishment, I took John at his word that he was giving me a good deal/discount (rookie mistake). After researching more, I was sold the head unit at $50 above Alpine's recommended price (if my math is correct, that is nearly a 25% mark-up) and nearly $100 above other retail prices (nearly a 50% mark-up). I know they have to make money, but come on!! I would still use C.A.W. in the future as they do good work and are friendly to work with, but I wouldn't necessarily buy their products without doing a lot more research first. read more

Customer service and satisfaction mean nothing to the owners. Not a 1 Star review because the work itself is good. Be careful as they will give you a price when you walk in and try to pull a fast one on you once you commit. I like to visit and patronize local businesses, especially ones nearby on E14th street. However, on two separate occasions the owner has offered me what seems to be a great price at first, only to later have them change the price while making a bogus story as how it's justified and still in fact a good price. This last visit, I had a quote for some car radio cabling by the owner, and when I returned with the car a bit later I had another employee try to charge me 50% more. when I asked about it and asked to speak with the owner he gave me attitude and claimed that I was "making stories" and stormed off. I saw the owner come around and they had a quick huddle, whispering in front of me about the price they would agree upon, after which the owner I spoke with suddenly had changed his mind about the price and tried to say the price I was given was "labor only". Total BS I was honest with him and told him Best Buy was doing free installations on many car electronics and that they weren't doing good business as there was no reason to go to a local business like theirs. That seemed to change his mind. However, there was still some haggling to be done and having spent more time there than I had originally wanted, ultimately paid a bit more than the originally quoted price. The work performed by their technicians is professional work, but be very cautious. Not an honest shop and they will try to take advantage of you. If I had to do it again I would have gone to Best Buy. Last time I go there, and I suggest you consult some of the many audio shops on E14th street read more

10/10 I highly recommend this place John is so nice and kind I had a 1999 Honda Accord and I got a pioneer touchscreen with four speakers

I strolled in here on a cold Monday afternoon due to one of my headlamps being out. I tried to repair one myself but for whatever reason, the bulbs were tightly affixed to where I couldn't even unhook them. Me not being to well versed with these things and being frustrated after several failed attempts of switching out myself, decided to pay someone to do it. I think the persons name was John. He happened to be walking by and offered his help and admitted that it was tightly locked in, but switched it out anyway and when i tried to pay him he refused to take anything for it. He was absolutely amazing. Although I don't have a need for any audio services, I would go here just for the service. Thanks, John. Best, Dan read more

I love Big John, I've been getting speakers, Amps and installation since 2009. One thing I love is they honor their work beyond paper warrantees, I've never had a problem. read more

this place is awesome! I had an issue with an accessory in my car, and they quickly fixed it with no complaints. The staff was friendly knowledgeable and very helpful. I definitely recommend this place for all your stereo equipment business. I also noticed a lot of DJ equipment inside. Great job guys! read more

Big John is the best sales man ever.. he really takes care of you. I've taken every car to him ever since the early 2000s . All the staff is friendly and very helpful. read more

I came with my new ford fusion and he installed two amps 4 door speakers and 2 12 in subs in a ported box. Sounds amazing! Very professional service and installation. read more

Big John took care of me! I work at Best Buy, and even they couldn't help me out with the parts that I needed. The service at Car Audio Warehouse is unbeatable and I cannot wait to go back. They helped me out with my questions and concerns for installation as well. I recommend Car Audio Warehouse to anyone, great honest people well deserving of your business! read more

I have gone to Car Audio Warehouse many times over the past ten years and it's always been great. My recent visit was to get a new 12 subwoofer. Normally the big box takes up a lot of room in my trunk but Michael said they could make a custom mold to fit in the side of the trunk. I didn't think it could fit but once I saw it I was amazed at how well it fits. I don't even notice it and it provides plenty of bass in my car. If you want a great system go to Car Audio Warehouse. They have a great selection and the install is quick. read more

I went to two other places before I came here. John matched the lowest estimate I had previously received and the work was done quickly. I was also given a one year warranty on the equipment and installation. I walked away satisfied! read more

I got financed from snap but I got ripped off with the speakers Car Audio Warehouse provided for me. There was a one year warranty and when one of the speakers blown the owner Larry wanted to have a bad attitude with me like if it was my fault. Had to wait almost two months before I could get a new speaker. When I wanted to see and take a picture of the speaker the technician had a bad attitude. Months later another speaker blows and still under warranty they tell me I have to buy the next speaker. I told them to screw off!If you deal with these people make sure you are ready to enter the lion den. GO SOMEWHERE ELSE!!! read more

This place is awesome. I had alarms placed in my cars months back. The other day I dropped my set of keys at the boat ramp. Saltwater destroyed them. Went to get replacement fobs. They had cars waiting to be worked on. They were able to get my job right away. I was in and out in 10 mins with new programmed fob. I was a happy camper. Definitely recommend this place. read more

I upgraded my car stereo here. All Alpine system. CDE-141 HU MRP-M500 AMP Mono MRP-F300 AMP 4-Channel SWR-12D4 12" Sub SPR-60C 6.5s and 2 tweets SPR-60 6.5s Prices were competitive with amazon, and all the parts were installed on the same day. They had a big selection of parts, so when I got here I showed the big guy a list and he had what I needed. No need to wait or pay for shipping. The staff was friendly too and I got a demo after installation. My system sounds great and it was affordable, 5 stars. read more

My husband and I inquired about some speakers for my 2018 Honda EX some months back and talked to John. John was very informative and really listened to my needs and what I wanted as far as sound (I love my music). I made the mistake of trying a different company which was a local business in my area (Santa Rosa) that claimed to know what they were doing and totally screwed my music up and didn't listened to my needs...I decided to go back to Car Audio Warehouse (where I should have went in the first place) and give them a try. John remembered exactly who I was and heard everything I said without judgment and promised that they would take care of me (which they did!) and work with what I had to enhance it. Car Audio Warehouse did a GREAT job installing my 12 inch subwoofer and amp! I am VERY happy and unlike that other company, John actually took the time to show my husband and I what they had installed, how it worked and he made sure that I was satisfied with the work they had performed once everything was completed (great customer service). They even threw in and placed on a subwoofer speaker cover (or whatever you call it lol) to protect my sub after I inquired about it. I would definitely recommend them to friends and family. I would definitely do business with them again! The bay has always been good to me! #OaklandNative read more

Nice guy at the register. Only gave my one option and I stupidly took it . Cost was 170 for what I needed, then said it was another 100 to put it in . After I left I found it pretty much everywhere else for half the price , or other places even installed it for what I paid for the parts. Now I have a stereo I didn't hook up or one I don't really want knowing it's not worth that much. read more

Quick service, clean place, friendly staff. My moms car radio had not been working. I decided to stop in just to see if they could fix it. They were able to help me out and not draw out a small problem. read more

This is the third installation I've had done here. All of them have met or exceeded expectations. Competitive prices and PROFESSIONAL installation. Highly recommended. read more

John & Larry are brothers and co-owners who handles the sales there.They offer honest good old customer service, tell you how it is and have an amazing stock of stereo, audio components and DJ equipment. I saw their ad on Craigslist and decided to drop by their store after I had already shopped around and experienced some shady outfits who had tried to rip me off.. I believe that they have integrity in the products they sell & offer competitive pricing. I bought a Pioneer stereo w. Ipod/USB hookup and JL speakers and they installed them clean in 2 hrs. The system sounds beautiful and I was able to walk away feeling great that I got my money's worth. Thank you guys! I will definitely come back if I need another stereo upgrade and will refer my friends!! read more

Treat him(Jim) nice,and you should have no problem!Hey ,we all need our respect for each other,act like a slob,he will be more snobby than you !(lol)I go back to him( see my experience at Street Beat),I might need to see him again,the new deck didn't sound as nice as my old deck,but I don't mind, because he is straight with you up front,honest ,Got out with Alpine deck and alarm on my 1999 Honda Civic EX,Will go again there for my next Honda,either S2000,or Type R!yes , installation not cheap,but it's a pain doing it yourself,more so with the newer model,with all those computers involved!tell him the X man send you! read more

My boyfriend took his 2004 Corvette here after going through many shops in the bay area for the best price on installing a Pioneer stereo system. All the workers were very knowledgeable about their products and are very helpful with picking the right stereo. No pressure was given in purchasing a stereo. They installed the stereo in a decent amount of time. The workers also showed him how to use all the features the system had to offer. All in all, it was a great product and the service was wonderful. read more

I came here to get an alarm installed for my car. Michael, Miguel, Big John and the other technicians were super helpful. When I went home, I realized one of the doors wasn't setting off the alarm, like all the other doors. I called them and went back and they took care of everything and got me out of the shop within 20 minutes. These folks are great and I will definitely be coming back when I need other services they provide! read more

One of the best car stereo store I been to Don't believe the negative reviews this store takes care if their customers thanks john.

I called a few places and asked a few questions. They were by far the most knowledgeable on the phone. I dropped by without an appointment on a Friday afternoon. I talked to who seemed like the owner. I told him what i was looking for and he recommend a stereo. The price was great and and it was installed and I was out of there in less than an hour. Overall this was a great experience. One of his staff even sat in the car with me and showed me the ins and outs of how the stereo worked. It has been about a week since I have had my stereo installed and it has been working fantastic. read more

My husband and I have bought several pieces of equipment from this place and we've always received great service. We did have one little snafu on a statelite stereo installation. They were quick in their offer to fix it and followed through despite that fact that we didn't bring the car back for a couple of months. We're remain loyal Car Audio Warehouse customers. read more

These guys are awesome brought in my pioneer 5500bhs I got and had it installed with a super clean finish! They even hooked up my amp and have me a good deal on a alpine 12 with a box and installation. I highly recommend anyone who wants to upgrade their system to come here. Very professional and easy to work with. read more

Dishonest sales practices - dealing directly with the owners! Very bad customer service - also the owners. Decent inventory, but not accessible to customers, so you can't browse to see what is available. Went in for advice. walked out with a "good deal" on an AudioControl LOC the owner promised would handle my unique requirements for balanced inputs. Since I had no capacity to do a full blown research project in his store, I chose to believe this person who runs a business and has years in the industry. He lied. The "good deal" was actually about 33% more than the recommended sticker price, and an even bigger differential compared with comparable stores. Nice.... After reading through the AudioControl materials and realizing there was no mention of compatibility with balanced inputs, I called AudioControl to confirm. They have a very helpful support line. Unfortunately, they confirmed this component would not work for me because it will not handle the balanced input. When I went back to the Car Audio Warehouse to return the equipement (based on the fact that their recommendation wasn't actually compatible with the intended use case), the owner began to tell me I was doing it wrong anyway and should use the output from the crappy Bose Amp instead of the the balanced lines from the head unit. Well, this is exactly what I don't want to do because I don't like the Bose Amp and I'm trying to eradicate it from the system entirely. He continued to argue that his method would be better than the one I intended, and that the component was fine for his use-case (using the stock amp output). He would not accept that this was not my plan, or that his advice to address my plan was flat out wrong. He even pulled his installer into the discussion to tell me how stupid my plans were and how it would not sound as good (based on what criteria exactly?) OK. fine, let's say it's not a good plan, I don't care. IT IS STILL MY PLAN! Once they accepted that I would not modify my plans for the upgrade, we were able to continue talking about a return, thank god..... Nope! They refused to accept a return. The sales receipt I signed indicated they didn't accept returns, which I was aware of. However, these are obviously extenuating circumstances, since the owner of the store gave me bad advice and swore up and down this AudioControl component would handle my needs. Deliberately or not, he misled me into a purchase that did not fit my requirements. After much heated discussion with both brothers or whoever these people are, they agreed to give me a partial refund. They kept about $35. To be fair they did say they'd apply it toward any future purchase I made from them. Ha! These guys love turning the screws, don't they? I'd pay ANOTHER $35 if I could forget this place even existed. No way I will ever shop there again, even to get back the $35 these slimy rip-off artists took from my trusting hand. Don't shop here. These people don't deserve to run a consumer based business. read more

Needed a new sub and paid 20% less than MSRP. Very pleased.

Thought I should rate this place since I have been doing business with these guys for almost 20 years now. For the beat shops left in town, they remain strong and most knowledgeable when it comes to what I need from ride to ride. I have systems in my work vehicles and recreational rides as well, and they have always taken part in them either by providing the equipment, or the install. One of the best parts about them is Big John (my opinion and if you try them it may be yours too) and his knowledge of the types of systems you can get in your car. Weather your going for sound quality, a street pounder, video system, new head unit, or whatever, he will walk you through your options and even work with you on what your trying to spend. Most people think they have to go in and spend a million bucks to shake the block or have that crystal clear system...... NOT TRUE. You can achieve your goals by just sitting down, talking about what you want, and trusting him to out together a package for your ride. Now with their new product as well, the Cedarslink stuff (which also has a crazy line of DJ equipment that compares to my Mackie products I purchased through them years ago) I was able to purchase a single bass amp that will run 4 woofers in one of my work vans and this thing has never shut off no matter how hard I push it. Im already juiced to get my next system put in and I will post photos when I'm once again a satisfied customer. Sad they have some of these reviews on this page (which is why I'm adding mine) but do your homework, haters with 0 friends and 2 reviews aren't real Yelpers and take it from someone who has been a repeat customer for over 20 years when I say, this place is your best deal with quality installation with products in house that they warranty. Check out the Cedarslink stuff, you won't be disappointed, and if you need to know how to get you ride bangin, talk to John, he will know what you need. read more

Car Audio Warehouse - This was my last wall of madness. Wish I had a finished photo, this was the day I sold it and had it partially taken out. - Electronics Near Me - San Leandro, California

Very long over due review. I have been coming here for years. Every vehicle ive owned they have installed security systems in and ive always received the best customer service and price. Big john and mike always take care of me and everyone I send to them. Spread the word and stop looking, this is the ONLY shop you need to go to for all of your car audio/security needs. They also carry a wide selection of dj equipment as well. Thanks guys for all of your services! read more

My purple Honda Del sol had been stolen. Got her back and fixed but was taking no chances on it happening again. I needed a kill switch. Went in ended up with an alarm kill switch. Service was fast and two hours later drove out with extra piece of mind. read more

I will give them four stars because I do love the stereo I bought from them. Also they fixed a connection to my DVD player in the back it wasn't working properly. I felt things got added on the original quote at the end so I had to downgrade some of the things I was getting because of the unexpected cost. Love my system, but I don't think the pricing was anything to write home about especially since I was a referral from a friend that owns a car repair abd sent me there after my car got robbed. But overall decent service product is good just not enamored with the pricing. And they were very busy so it took quite a while due to my custom stuff read more

I will give 5 but the guy it's on sales I think he's only in hurry or something that's why 4 we'll overall installation clean product real good and the owner it's really cool I explain my situation and what I need and he hook me up thanks read more

Took my wife's dodge durango in for a stereo upgrade and these guys knocked it out of the park! They did a superb install of an alpine double din unit with navigation, Bluetooth, and backup camera. My wife was ecstatic and so was I! They gave me a fair price for parts and labor and got it done in a day, just in time for mothers day! read more