- Average user rating: 1.5 stars out of 18 reviews Back to product review
- My rating: 0 stars
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1 out of 1 people found this review helpful
1.5 stars
"poor customer service"
Pros: very stylish unit, good integrated functions
Cons: poor rerouting after missed exits, price too high, unit only lasted few months before needing repair
Summary: I really wanted to give Alpine high marks for this unit, but i just can't. Buy a garmin instead.
I originally purchased an Alpine B100, and paid full price for it when it came out. I was thrilled at first, then noticed its lackluster performance. Many of the original issues were rectified, but the unit quickly devalued months after I bought it to half the price I paid. After 11 months of ownership, my B100 was stolen out of my rental car in St Louis. I pondered buying a different make, but when the insurance man told me about an upcoming Blackbird 2, with enhanced features, I was ecstatic, and waited patiently, (and waited, and waited) for its release and shipment. I finally got my new and improved version of the Blackbird.
Well, I also pondered getting the IVAw205 head unit to dock the BB into. Not only am I not buying the IVA W205, Im regretting seriously buying a second Blackbird, shame on me. After using my Blackbird B200 from Novemeber 2007 - February 2008, maybe, 3.5 months, my Blackbird's internal antenna fails to connect to satelites. It "sees" them, but does not connect. This problem developed while I ate dinner at a restauruant I used it to navigate me to. After dinner, it failed to be able to guide me back.
So, I now need service. Despite registering my product online with Alpine's website, it has taken me up to 9 or 10 phone calls to Alpine's support, to arrange a return for repair. I still do not have a confirmation number or a return box, evidence they have acknowleged my calls and problem. On two occaisions, I got a recording that stated their call volume was too high, and I was disconnected. On another call, I was told it was the support department's lunch hour, and to call back later. On the last 3 calls I made, the voice recording says that the wait time is......and the actual time turns out to be at least twice or three times that long!
As for the IVA-W205, priced at a whopping $900, paired with $750 for the Blackbird, that self reboots sometimes, has short battery life, and does not sound all that very well for a high end audio company like you expect Alpine car audio to be, the combined price is just too much to swallow. I shopped around at Christmas time to see if the $900 head unit would be on sale or discounted, it had been out for a year by then. No sales, no discounts. I was told, that to make the overall rice for the headunit and nav unit lower, Alpine was working on a display-less Blackbird to dock inside the W205 headunit, which would retail for around $400, enabling them to keep the head unit price point high.
I can deal with the Blackbird making some quirky mistakes. I will hope that Alpine will issue a firmware update to correct those.
I can deal with their attempt at keeping the price high on the head unit, "charge what the traffic will bear" is the old adage, if they can get it, they will.
What I cant deal with, is their ineffectual, slow, limited, and poor customer service. It should not take me 10 phone calls to affect a repair. If I registered the unit online like I did, with my first phone call, Alpine should know my name, my unit's serial number, when my unit was bought or registered, my address, and all of that, and have taken steps to correct my problem inside the first week, or even same day. Not spread out over a months time and 10 phone calls.
I travel for work, Im not always home, thats why I have a GPS in the first place. Alpine doesnt seem to care that much. They already have my money. But, they don't have yours yet! So if you are reading this, please listen, the Blackbird is stylish and sexy, and you are tempted to buy it. But heed the warnings of us dis-satisfied consumers, and buy another brand. If I disuaded 1 person from buying their product, I will feel better.
Joe
