New avionics equipment comes with manufacturer's warranty which ranges from 1 to 2 years (though up to a 5 yr warranty is obtainable in rare cases). Some manufacturers offer extended warranty programs. Though the warranty period is important, how warranty situations are handled is paramount. Here are a few things to consider in a warranty situation:

1. Does the manufacturer offer loaners?
2. What is a typical repair turn-around period?
3. Does the manufacturer offer new or overhaul exchanges?
4. What is the perception of the manufacturer's status in the industry?
5. Can the shop you are dealing with provide any examples of exemplary performance of the manufacturer with respect to warranty situations?

There are two levels to warranty/repair situations:

1. The level of service the manufacturer can provide; and
2. The level of service the dealer/shop can provide.

The ultimate scenario for the customer is when both the dealer/shop and the manufacturer are providing the best possible service in synchronicity. From experience, I feel that we have been limited by the manufacturer's policies on a few occasions. A shop can only provide the kind of service it receives from the manufacturer. The reverse is also true.

Warranty on workmanship from the installing facility is just as important as the products you buy. For example: a few years ago, a customer squawked that the autopilot would no longer track the Loran which we installed 6 years previous. After several hours of troubleshooting, a poorly crimped splice was the culprit. The splice we had previously installed was replaced and the customer was not charged. It was considered a workmanship defect. What kind of workmanship warranty does your shop provide?

Installation

Much of the new avionics equipment sold today can only be purchased through Authorized Manufacturer Dealers. These dealers are bound by contract agreement not to sell "over-the counter" to the end user unless the selling dealer is also the installer. Infractions in this area can result in a shop losing its dealership. Exceptions can include factory "Re-Man" products or new products being sold to be installed in "Home-Built" aircraft.

The best products on the market combined with a poor installation techniques can result in poor performance. Though I cannot substantiate the claim, experience has convinced me that any condition as part of a poor installation can cause premature equipment failures that cannot readily be traced back to the installation. Examples of this include:

1. Use of 20+ year old wiring/cabling
2. Use of 20+ year old antennas
3. Use of improper pins/contacts
4. Use of improper crimping tools
5. Poor grounds
6. Inadequate Cooling
7. Mix-Matching equipment not directly compatible

Whenever the subject of "Aircraft Resale" comes up, the first thing a customer is told is he/she will have to absorb any costs related to installation. However, shopping around to get the "Best Installed" price is not necessarily the best move assuming you are expecting a fair degree of reliability from the system. In most cases, "You get what you pay for". There is certainly nothing wrong with shopping around provided you are getting the best value for the dollar. Assuming you want such a degree of reliability, here are a few questions that should be answered to your satisfaction from the prospective shop:

1. What are the conditions of all equipment and accessories to be installed? Is everything new or is it a mix of new and used?
2. What accessories are required/optional to complete the installation (if any)?
3. Will I be receiving ALL new harnessing? If not, what portions won't be new?
4. Will I be receiving ALL new cabling? If not, what portions won't be new?
5. What will happen to any old harnessing? Will every unused wiring from removed equipment be removed?
6. What antennas will be replaced as part of the installation?
7. What will happen to any removed equipment (traded, sold on consignment, etc.)
8. Does the shop offer any formal training associated with your purchase? Is there any additional charge?
9. Does the shop offer any other no charge incentives? Example: free software upgrades as they become available?
10. What kind of Lead-Time should you expect? Long lead-times are not necessarily bad. If you are shopping and find some shops are quoting 3 weeks and others are quoting 3 months, one may want to consider why one is so much busier than the other. It may be a reflection on the quality of work performed. Patience on your part potentially can pay off in dividends.
11. What kind of Down-Time should you respect? Reasonable down-times are ok, excessive down-times are bad but bear in mind that the projected down-time can be related to the quality of work to be performed.

I find the cost of installation labor is the largest diversity between shops. The cause of this is not usually the labor rate or expertise of the install technicians. It generally is mostly impacted in the quoted number of hours associated with the task which is directly proportional to the answers obtained from the above questions. A difference of $500-$1000 can be seen simply be reusing old wires/cables.

Does it make sense to install, for example, a new GPS/Nav/Com which costs you $7000, is your #1 Com, your #1 Nav, maybe your only ILS, and your only IFR GPS, only to have a shop cut the wires from your removed 20+ yr old system, strip those wires, crimp on new pins, and connect them to your new product just to save $1000?

Reliability can work hand-in-hand with safety. It was heard somewhere that a consumer looks at three things: Quality, Price, and Time. Of these three, the consumer can demand only 2 of the 3. Try and apply this to your situation and see how it suits.

We hope you find this info helpful.