Sat install - LA area?

[wsmknicks]

Hello! Brand new owner here...just bought a new 06 Guards Red C2 Cab. Been following the satellite radio soap opera for a while. Is there any dealer or private mechanic doing the Cayenne --> 997 Satellite radio brain transplant on a regular basis? Cost, timing, etc. (just round numbers would be great). I miss my XM!

Thanks in advance! 1,801 miles to go in the break-in period...

Will

:drive:

[geoff]

Talk to Steve Ellis in Porsche service at Rusnak Westlake in T.O. I asked him about this for a friend with a 997 Turbo last time I was in there, and Steve said one of their techs figured out how to hook up the Cayenne sat radio into a 997. 100% Porsche parts. I think it involves moving some of the electronics for the sat radio into unused space in the front trunk. Make sure you understand the reception issues before you go for it! Disclaimer: I've always had excellent service out there with both our Porsches, but that dealership (like so many others) has their share of detractors as well.

[wsmknicks]

Thanks so much! I will call Rus / Westlake. :thumbup:

Anyone w/suggestions on the Westside / South Bay?

[geoff]

Anyone w/suggestions on the Westside / South Bay?

And pass up a good reason for a drive up the coast, then through the canyons?! :drive:

[Hank]

After messing around with this for what seemed like months, the service manager at the dealership I bought from (Rusnak Pasadena) told me that he had talked to the manager of the Al n' Eds in Santa Monica and that they had done the install a number of times (as well as other Porsche audio upgrades) and had been successful. He was careful to limit his recommendation to this particular shop. I checked them out and had them do the install. It took them a few days to get the Cayenne parts (which were a little more expensive than had been discussed in this forum) but they did a very clean install which works great. They said that they had had better luck with the stock XM antenna and, with my permission, used that instead of the Cayenne antenna. They also did a very conservative install and did not mess with the antenna for the nav system (there are now two living under the cowl), which relieved me greatly. They charged $200 plus the cost of the parts, but I think that they are concluding that they undercharged.

I have had XM radio in a couple of cars and this install works the best of any of them. The reception is clear and of high quality. The area of LA in which I usually travel can be pretty bad for satellite's line-of-sight requirements, but this particular install really minimizes this. In many ways, it has better reception than the FM radio.

There may be reasons for using a dealer, but my install was great.

[wsmknicks]

Hank - That is AWESOME! I used that Al n Eds (on Wilshire?) for my XM install in my Boxster (pre-PCM days). They did a very nice job then.

The Al n Eds got the parts for you? And used a standard XM antenna under the cowl? Or on the dash (as in my previous car)?

Who should I speak with at the Al n Eds?

Thanks so much!!!

[Toddman]

I have been wondering the same question...just picked up an 07 Carrera S, coincidentally enough from Rusnak in Thousand Oaks. This was only a few days ago, so I actually just met Steve Ellis and talked to him about hooking up my Sirius. He gave me the impression while it can obviously be done, and they used to do it there, it cost around $1,800 parts and labor, and for reasons unknown, they did not want to be bothered with this anymore. He referred me to a high end stereo store they apparently have dealt with, Phantom Audio or something, used to be in T.O., now in Simi Valley.

Frankly, the price didn't scare me so much, because I figured the only people I want tearing into this new jewel is an actual Porsche agency, so I'm a little leary about taking it to Al & Eds....but if you guys have had good luck with it, maybe that is the way to go.

[john in lb]

Sorry to say this - but I had a bad experience at Rusnak in TO also. I was driving through the area in my '03 Cab, when my engine blew on the 101. Blown engine replaced under warranty there. Later on, I went to my trustworthy Porsche dealer in Bakersfield. He went over the car and found a couple of things wrong with the new installation - including a missing bolt between engine and transmission (the one on top - hardest to get to).

I personally witnessed the inspection by my mechanic - and I agree with him... the work was sloppy.

[Hank]

I have to say that I was VERY leery about taking my car to Al N Eds. I think that the "jewel" comment pretty well says it all. My first choice would have been a dealer and my second would have been a high-end installer. Having said that, the service manager at my dealer was actually pretty cool about researching this (he was adament that they wouldn't do it), talked to the manager of the store at the LA car show and carefully limited his recommendation to this particular franschise (Wilshire Blvd; it has an LA address but they call it "Santa Monica," to distinguish it from the other LA stores, I guess) because they had done it before successfully. I talked to them and thoroughly understood what the install was going to entail. I was thrilled when they recommended the installation of a second antenna because I was nervous about the idea of messing around with the navigation system.

The whole install was done under the cowl, is neat and rattle-free and was integrated into the stock audio system perfectly. As I said in my last post, the sound quality is great and the reception is as good as or better than any other sat sytem I've had and parts of LA are lousy for sat radio. I ended up dealing with Robert. They got the parts (from Rusnak Thousand Oaks) and did the install in a couple of hours.