Jason Renzi, who recently moved his automotive electronics business, In Tune, to a new location in Redmond, will host a grand reopening celebration Friday and Saturday. Renzi agrees he is living the dream that he, like many of his peers, nurtured in high school: assembling first-class sound systems.

REDMOND — In the car stereo business these days, audio is only the beginning.

At In Tune, on Southwest Indian Avenue near 15th Street, owner Jason Renzi or manager George Gosheff will install seat warmers, backup alarms, GPS navigation systems and more.

Customers can add rearview mirrors with directional and temperature readouts, or those that can display video when the camera at the rear of the vehicle — say, in a license plate holder — sends images to help the driver back up a trailer.

Of course, Renzi, 32, also will install car audio systems, the components of which can be found throughout the shop or within In Tune’s sound room. He estimated a basic Kenwood AM-FM radio/CD player, along with parts and installation, for a two-door Toyota would run about $170, using the existing speakers.

It’s not just cars, either. In Tune will install equipment in boats and RVs — or homes.

Renzi, who holds a specialty contractor’s license with the state Construction Contractors Board, handles pre-wiring in buildings under construction. He can also wire and install TVs and audio in existing homes.

“Lately, it’s been hanging TVs, installing surround-sound systems and outside speakers,” he said.

He has a trailer filled with parts and materials to take to remote job sites and a workshop at the store to customize equipment for vehicles.

“Pretty much, if you can come up with the idea, we can do it,” Renzi said.

In Tune also offers services for a select set of customers: banks and dealers who need GPS tracking and remote vehicle disabling ability to repossess vehicles, and people ordered to install an ignition interlock device, which prevents a vehicle from starting if the driver’s blood-alcohol content exceeds a preset level.

Other car stereo shops in Central Oregon also install the devices, although the state’s list of providers shows only one, In Tune, with a Redmond address. The others are generally in Bend.

Born and raised just south of the Canadian border in Watertown, N.Y., Renzi moved to Bend in 2001, after traveling to the region to visit friends.

“That was the end of that,” he said. “I went home, sold the duplex, got the dog, the book bag and left.”

After working in various businesses around Bend for several years, Renzi decided to open his own shop in 2005, on Southwest Veterans Way. He chose Redmond, which offered more affordable commercial rent and fewer established car stereo stores. Bend had four to six at the time, he said. Redmond had only one. Renzi also is a mobile electronics-certified professional, a certification often required by big-box stores that provide car audio installation.

In late September, In Tune relocated to Southwest Indian Avenue. The new location, which will host a grand reopening celebration Friday and Saturday, measures about 2,500 square feet, about 35 percent less than his prior location.

But Renzi bought the building. He remodeled it, adding a 12-by-12 demo room filled with various car stereos and a variety of speakers. He built the interior room with exterior-wall materials and doors to improve the sound quality. The Indian Avenue shop has three work bays and more parking.

“Sharing a parking lot with a high-traffic retail place (on Veterans Way), we ran into parking issues. We lost a lot of business last summer because boats and RVs couldn’t get in the driveway.”

Renzi agreed to answer a few additional questions from The Bulletin.

Q: How long have you been installing audio equipment?

A: Since I was 16 and got my (driver’s) license to go to work in high school. I (also went) to school near Boston at Ritop (School for Mobile Electronics) and took courses to prepare for the national test.

Q: What advice would you give those interested in a career as an installer?

A: If you’re interested in this type of work, go do an apprenticeship and see if you enjoy doing (it). You end up with a lot of busted knuckles, scrapes and cuts.

Q: What about the business keeps you interested?

A: Every year you get new cars, new equipment, new people. It’s not the same boring thing every day. Cars change. The equipment changes.

Q: How have you survived in difficult economic times?

A: My dad had his own business when I was growing up. (And he said), treat people the way you want to be treated and you’ll do fine. You might not get rich, but you won’t starve, either. That was our biggest goal when we opened this place, customer service.

Q: Has it paid off?

A: I’ve done four (different) car stereos for the very first customer (who came in) on my first day.

Q: Any trends in the industry?

A: Mainly lately, (the equipment is getting) more efficient. (Some of it has) been around for a while. It’s just starting to get affordable.

Five years ago, to be able to listen to your iPod in the car was expensive. Now your $99 CD player off the shelf has an iPod jack in it. People are wanting to listen to their satellite radio or download all their music and listen to it in the car. Now you can. Most radios even have USB drives.

The basics

What: In Tune

Where: 1538 S.W. Indian Ave, Redmond

Employees: Two

Phone: 541-923-1636

Web site: www.intuneredmond.com