Of course, once we dig further into the situation, we find that the "Professional Installer" was some recently hired young person with very little or no experience at some Big Box store or worse, some friend of a friend who knows some guy who earns extra money doing audio installs in his garage. In 95% of these types of customer situations, we are able to convince the customer that their "Professional Installer" was mistaken and that the device they have is indeed the right one and it will work very well in their vehicle when properly installed by someone who knows what they are doing.

Now, let us point out that there are many, and we do mean many, very good qualified installers doing some very good work installing interfaces and adapters all over the USA. We know....we talk to them every day, because when they have questions or a problem regarding interfaces and adapters, they call us. At the same time, it is also very scary the number of hacks and inexperienced people who are out there calling themselves a "Professional" installer, when if fact their only experience is that they once replaced the factory radio in their own car with an after market headunit and that went pretty well, so they must know what they're doing.....NOT!

So that brings us to the question of "How do I know I'm getting a "Professional Installer" when I go to a "Profesional Installation" place? Actually, its as easy as asking the shop owner if "their installers are MECP certified?" MECP stands for Mobile Electronics Certified Professional and is a certification and training program owned and operated by the CEA (No, not the CIA, that's a whole other program! This is the Consumer Electronics Association). It is a certification program for installation technicians of the mobile electronics and aftermarket automotive equipment industry. MECP is the only nationally recognized program that certifies mobile electronics installation technicians and sales people on the installation techniques and capabilities of automotive information technology, entertainment, navigation and safety/security systems.

MECP issues four certification classifications, which are Basic Installer, Advanced Installer, Master Installer and Mobile Product Specialist. These certifications are issued to mobile electronics professionals who pass a written exam and meet the professional experience criteria set by MECP. To retain their certification, installers re-certify every two to four years and are encouraged to progress toward achieving Master Level Installation Technician certification, which represents both a professional commitment to the job and an ongoing willingness to keep pace with automotive and consumer electronic technologies.

The MECP program has certified more than 35,000 installers since its creation in 1991. Nearly 12,000 professionals at thousands of retail locations across the county hold current MECP certifications and more than 4,000 installers take the certification exam annually.

Why use an MECP certified installer? The MECP program is designed to provide a higher level of professionalism in the mobile electronics installation field. The benefits of using an MECP certified installer provides you with the peace of mind that your car is being worked on by a qualified industry professional. Remember, besides your home, your automobile could be one of your family’s most important and valuable investments and it’s one you rely heavily on each and every day. You shouldn’t trust this asset to just anyone.

The best way to locate an MECP certified installation technician is to call your local mobile electronics retailer and ask if they employ MECP certified installation technicians and, if so, which level their technicians have achieved. Currently MECP has over 4500 Basic level technicians, about 1700 Advanced level technicians, and about 100 Master Installation Technicians working throughout the country with current certifications. The higher the technician’s level of MECP certification, the more experience and knowledge they will have! Often with the highest level of MECP certified technician, the Master level, comes expertise and technical acumen across a wide area of disciplines that few technicians will ever achieve. There is a pretty good chance that your local retailer, if they have been in business for any length of time, will have at least one MECP certified installation technician on staff for aftermarket 12v products. If not visually posted in the sales area, be sure you ask to see the technician’s MECP credentials so you know you are dealing with a qualified, certified MECP professional.