We all know that aircraft ownership isn’t for shoestring budgets and neither are avionics upgrades.
One of the reasons you absolutely must bring the aircraft to the shop for an accurate quote is so they can identify systems and accessories that will need to be replaced or reworked while the bulk of the new gear is installed. They can identify problems with the existing wiring, antennas, structure and other things that can add to the bottom line in a big way. It’s better to know up front than to be surprised when you’re handed an invoice that’s thousands higher than you expected. But it’s also the shop’s responsibility to keep you informed of any cost overruns. That doesn’t always happen and for aircraft that haven’t seen avionics upgrades in a while—and even those that have been upgraded incrementally—there are plenty of gotchas that tip the budget, made worse when the project is quoted sight unseen.