Car Audio Centre Reviews 

1,965
TrustScore 4 out of 5

4.0

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Review summary

Created with AI, based on recent reviews

Looking at 76 reviews, reviewers had a great experience with this company. Customers frequently praise the highly knowledgeable support staff, competitive market prices, and exceptionally quick delivery times that make purchasing car audio equipment entirely straightforward. Many buyers deeply appreciate the smooth online ordering process, professional installation advice, and the consistently reliable quality of the specialized items received. However, some reviewers were not happy with occasional shipping delays, poor courier handling, and missing items discovered inside their delivered packages. A few people also reported frustrating communication breakdowns regarding stock availability, alongside extremely slow response times when trying to resolve order problems.

What people talk about most

Product

Reviewers highlight ambiguous aspects of product quality, with some consumers praising great sound... See more

Delivery service

Clients share ambiguous opinions on delivery service, with many praising the fast delivery times, excellent... See more

Service

Consumers find service to be exceptionally positive, praising the prompt delivery times and great... See more

Order

Customers had ambiguous experiences with order, highlighting both very positive and frustrating interactions.... See more

Price

People report positive experiences with price, frequently highlighting affordable costs and the best deals... See more

Reviews shaping this summary

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

Initially when I had my first return due to a faulty unit it went swimmingly. When I returned my second damaged unit the circus arrived and e mail and phone calls galore before a single person took ow... See more

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

Excellent service from car audio centre. Order arrived promptly and communication was excellent. Only concern was how the courier delivered item and tossed it over my gate. Fortunately it was well p... See more

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

I hesitate when I saw the numbers of negative reviews on Trust pilot, but decided to give it a try because of a discount code. Anyway, long story short. Goods was ordered on Wednesday 7am in the mor... See more

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

Snooper SMH-580VW 8" brought this mid feb 26 by end of march i sent it back under warranty, disc failure,with a disc still inside, six weeks later after having to ask for an update they returned a... See more


Company details

  1. Car Stereo Store
  2. Car Accessories Store
  3. Hi-fi shop

Written by the company

Car Audio Centre is the UK's leading car stereo retailer with stores nationwide, stocking over 3000 product lines. Use our Car Stereo fitting accessories finder if you're looking to replace your factory fitted car stereo and don't know where to start. As authorised dealers for all of the car stereo systems, speakers and car equipment on the site, we offer a unique service online and at 5 local stores in the UK. Our friendly, expert advice means that customers come back to Car Audio Centre time and time again. Install a dash cam to benefit from lower car insurance. Dash cams, in car cameras and accident cameras are highly useful to legally support you in the case of defending liability in the event of an incident.


Contact info

4.0

Great

TrustScore 4 out of 5

2K reviews

5-star
4-star
3-star
2-star
1-star

No recent history of asking for reviews

This company hasn't invited customers recently, so reviews may not be representative

Hasn’t replied to negative reviews

How this company uses Trustpilot

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4.0

All reviews

(1,965)

77 reviews in the last 12 months

Write a review
Companies on Trustpilot aren't allowed to offer incentives or pay to hide reviews. Reviews are the opinions of individual users and not of Trustpilot. Read more

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

This company advertise items on the…

This company advertise items on the website they don't even have in stock, The they call you to try and sell you something different and even said oh we found the item that was missing in the warehouse on stock take, When i said to the advisor what was the item missing he couldn't even tell me what it was, I choose to get a refund and 2 days later even though i had emails to say the order was cancelled they still didn't send a refund, Eventually i opened a case with PayPal and they send a refund but by E cheque that takes 5 days to clear, this was on the 1st July, its now the 10th and still no cleared funds, Stay away from this company if you don't wont a world of pain and issues,

July 1, 2023
Unprompted review
Rated 1 out of 5 stars

AVOID AVOID AVOID

I bought Speakers from this company on the 26th of May. Thought okay will get them in a week or so. 3 weeks later Nothing. I sent a complaint and they said they can either uprate me with "better" speakers or wait as theyre on backorder and will be with me the next following week from June 14th.

Rolls around June 25th Nothing.
I stated that If I didnt get a order has been sent email by July 4th Id get paypal involved. They said that my order didnt arive on the last shipment and asked If I wanted to cancel my order which I said Yes.

July 4, 2023
Unprompted review
Rated 5 out of 5 stars

First class fitting service

Right from my initial phone call Leon identified the perfect stereo system for my vehicle. Fitting was excellent, and I’m really pleased with the way it all functions. Leon’s knowledge and attention to detail was excellent. Thank you very much.

July 1, 2023
Unprompted review
Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Charge extra for next day delivery they can't meet and then refuse to refund the charge.

I placed an order on-line for a package with two units. The package was showing as in stock. I paid an additional £10.00 for next day delivery. Next day I got a message asking me to ring them. Hung on the phone 5 - 10 mins before I got through only to be told that part of the package was out of stock and would be a few days. I accepted that but said I would expect the next day delivery to be refunded. The chap on the phone said no - It was my fault I hadn't read the screen properly and it stated that next day delivery was when the item came back in stock!. I cancelled the order!

I logged straight back into their site, and looked at the package offering again - It has been put up by £100.00 and now very clearly states that next day delivery is available when it is back in stock - either organisational shoddy practice or someone was covering up their mistake.

Either way a different attitude on the phone, refund the £10 next day delivery and then say it would be normal delivery when back in stock would have worked.

Shame on you Car Audio Centre.

June 22, 2023
Unprompted review
Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Placed order 20th May got an email 22nd…

Placed order 20th May got an email 22nd May saying item was despatchd Today phoned up 29th May then suddenly get an email from DPD saying they are awaiting the item. Got another email from car audio saying items are being picked and packed.

Disgraceful lied to me on 22nd Better not be lieing to me again.

May 20, 2023
Unprompted review
Rated 2 out of 5 stars

I'm dissapointed, but specific problem not likely to affect many people

No issue with their prices or the products they sell. They're competitive, & sell a good range. Delivery is quick.

They're after sales when an amplifier I bought from them in January 2023 went faulty was okay as they did replace it. I even spoken to their Nottingham store on a weekend for advice & they were helpful.

My problem is both that the amplifier in question seemed to be a fire risk as it overheated, & smoke came out of the vents while the fuse just carried on not blowing - the automed email responses didn't even touch on my query about this issue. My 2nd problem is that the amplifier in question took my Kenwood subwoofer with it that I bought from them, & Car Audio Centre has decided that's my problem because it's out of warranty. I appreciate that the sub was bought in 2020 (from them), but I don't appreciate having to pay additional money out to replace my property that was broken by something they sold me very recently.

May 2, 2023
Unprompted review
Rated 5 out of 5 stars

JVC KD-R794BT stereo radio CD

Bought a single din JVC car radio/stereo with blue tooth and a bonus CD player. Delighted with everything. Ordered Sunday night and came Tuesday morning. It looks great in my car, it’s easy to use and sounds crystal clear. Absolutely love it. In addition it was in the sale so this piece of happiness cost under £90 inc the postage

April 18, 2023
Unprompted review
Rated 1 out of 5 stars

AVOID AVOID AVOID

Looks like I have fallen victim to this atrocious company wish I had seen these reviews before ordering!
Placed an order but never received the items, was the order lost or was it even sent who knows but the fact is I am nearly £800 out of pocket!!
Let’s talk after sales & customer service, if you like being spoken to like a piece of dirt then look no further! Oh and if you also like to be accused of lying and committing fraud then these guys can do that too! I have never in my entire life experienced service like this I wish I could rate them zero stars because after the treatment I’ve received they deserve nothing at all.

If you are unsure whether to use this company still then take my advise and go elsewhere! Even if it means paying a little extra I would rather that than go through what I have.

February 13, 2023
Unprompted review
Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Item not received 1 year on!

I placed a review on the car audio centre website and they did not include it in their reviews, so it is showing a fake representation of their business. Ordered a pure vision product 1 year ago today and still has not arrived. Unbelievably they are still advertising the product to everyone that the product will be delivered in March. No one has informed me of updates with customer service or solving the issue. Someone mentioned they received the exact same product '6 months in of waiting' well where's my exactly the same product car audio center instead of keep adding the product as available to buy?

February 4, 2023
Unprompted review
Rated 1 out of 5 stars

AVOID! Absolutely utterly disappointing, awful customer service.

So unhelpful, worst customer service ever! Took them two weeks to acknowledge my order and ship it, it was almost a month before I even managed to get my hands on the order. No response from emails, nobody answering the phone and no response on social media etc.

Finally arrived, parts missing as were described by customer service (first point of contact - actually really helpful!) when I chased to find out why I had been given incorrect info I got no response, just ignored constantly, after finally getting in touch with someone I had to practically beg for good will gesture for parts to be sent, that I was originally told were in the kit I bought! In all of my emails with them you can see the history of me chasing 5 times over a couple of weeks before I get a reply and I still received no apology and having to ask for a cable to be sent free of charge is even worse. I do not expect amazing service, just a standard polite service will do and I would not have asked for a good will gesture had they not been so utterly rude and careless during the bare minimum contact they could just about barely provide me.

The response time was properly appalling, their staff are rude and do not want to help and I can't stress enough the issue is the lack of an apology or sympathy to the mess. Will take my business elsewhere, I suggest you do too. Avoid if you want a stress free purchase!

July 10, 2022
Unprompted review
Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Billy BS

Billy BS

Radio didn’t turn up in the 3 to 5 days
When I chased
They sent an automated e mail stating picked
When I chased by e mail they said it was on back order
BS when I purchased stated they had stock levels
Then they said they had kept me informed by e mail
Again BS I search all inboxes

Hopefully the radio and waste of time will be worth the messing about

January 30, 2023
Unprompted review
Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Good customer service

I made a mistake purchasing wrong product online, staff were very helpful in cancelling order and arranging the refund, great customer service 👍

January 16, 2023
Unprompted review
Rated 1 out of 5 stars

AVOID- awful company

Ordered a radio and fitting kit on Sunday 8th January and paid for next day delivery ( knowing it would be shipped out Monday or Tuesday) when I didn’t see any sign of any emails other than the auto reply emails on Wednesday,I messaged them. They hadn’t even took the part down to the warehouse. And they wouldn’t even refund the delivery! Which they only state they can’t if it’s the couriers fault! To then be told this morning they” had a glitch with their label machine”. So I asked for a refund! We will find out in 3-5 days if I actually get my money back!! Disgraceful

January 12, 2023
Unprompted review
Rated 2 out of 5 stars

Terrible company

Terrible company, twice I've ordered and both times either items have been missing or completely different brand/quality to what was advertised.
Customer service is shocking, idiot on the phone seemed to think I was being unreasonable due to the fact they had sent me a much cheaper and not fit for purpose amp wiring kit rated at less than half the wattage of the one advertised on the kit.
Will never use again, 2 separate orders and problems both times.

December 5, 2022
Unprompted review
Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Purchased a subwoofer from here and it…

Purchased a subwoofer from here and it wasn't as expected, give these guys a message and no problem, return it and we'll refund you. Although I wasn't happy with the product, the service was great and fast refund too. Will definitely use again in the future

December 28, 2022
Unprompted review
Rated 3 out of 5 stars

Good products when you get them!!

Good products when you get them! If you order and something and its not in stock, you only find out when you open the package once they have sent it.....this isn't helpful at all!!

December 12, 2022
Unprompted review

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