I thought I would do a post on car reverse sensors as I had much difficulty in finding a reputable one despite Googling and searching on Aussie forums.
Our second hand car did not come with reverse sensors which comes as a surprise to us as it is pretty common in Singapore. When I asked my apartment Concierge Manager for recommendations for car installers, he laughed and said who needs the reverse sensors (my husband or me?)...haha.
For a couple of days we counted the cars on the roads that had reverse sensors installed and realised that around 50% did not have sensors installed.
We only installed the reverse sensors after 3 weeks of using the car and Mr Taro discovered that he doesn't really need them. However, for me, I definitely need the reverse sensors given my (lack of) driving skills. In fact, I wanted the front sensors and camera as well...but was rejected by Mr Taro.
I was deciding between Carbon Car Systems and Thecarkitcompany which has mixed reviews.
Carbon Car Systems is located at Blacktown which is slightly far for us but we could not find another installer that has good reviews close by. They do not do off site installations.
I emailed Daniel who replied with a quote of
1) Kinetic rear parking sensors x 4 AUD 59. If you refer to their online shop http://carboncarsystems.com.au/product-category/reversing-parking-aids/, the sensors on sale are Steelmate. According to Daniel, the Kinetic brand sensor is made in Europe and comes with 3 years warranty on product and painting.
2) Labour charge for installation AUD 180. You could probably save much if you install yourself but we are obviously clueless about this.
3) Colour coding for sensors AUD 55
Total amount that we spent is AUD 294, with 10% deposit required. 2 days prior booking is required to get the sensors painted with the car's paint code.
The installation took around 3 hours and we walked to the nearby Westpoint Shopping Centre (10 minutes walk) to wait.
Overall the experience was good. It was fuss free and the sensors are still working fine to date. They offer window car tinting as well but we did not take up in the end due to budget constraints..
Carbon Car Systems
Unit 21/ 47 Third Avenue, Blacktown NSW 2148
Tel: 02 9831 3288
daniel@carboncarsystems.com.au
