New Car Stereo

MockTurtle

I've finally had enough of the manufacturer fitted stereo in my Mk IV Golf and have been looking at stereos on Halfords website.

I quite like the Alpine CDE-W296BT at £194.99 because I wanted Bluetooth connectivity and it seemed a reasonable price. But when you add it to basket it makes you check that it will fit your car and then tells you all the extra bits you'll need to fit it (antenna adapters etc) which, with fitting cost too, adds an extra £83 to the price!


Considering the last time I bought a car stereo was circa 1994, I have no clue on this subject! Can someone tell me if this is what I should be expecting to pay or if its too much?

AdrianC

There are only two types of antenna - ISO and DIN. An adaptor is a quid or so from eBay or Amazon, whichever way round you find you need.

You might need a wiring loom adaptor - again, a few quid.

Don't think you'll need a facia adaptor.

DUTR

MockTurtle wrote: »

I've finally had enough of the manufacturer fitted stereo in my Mk IV Golf and have been looking at stereos on Halfords website.

I quite like the Alpine CDE-W296BT at £194.99 because I wanted Bluetooth connectivity and it seemed a reasonable price. But when you add it to basket it makes you check that it will fit your car and then tells you all the extra bits you'll need to fit it (antenna adapters etc) which, with fitting cost too, adds an extra £83 to the price!


Considering the last time I bought a car stereo was circa 1994, I have no clue on this subject! Can someone tell me if this is what I should be expecting to pay or if its too much?

You will require some kind of facia adaptor as the unit you like is a double din, yet the MK IV Golf takes single as standard, but can be adapted for double whilst losing the cubby hole, the constant 12v and switched 12v may need swapping and you will need an aerial adaptor to phantom feed the existing aerial.

loskie

get a professional auto electrician to do any fitting avoid halfords

lewishardwick

Be wary of just 'plugging in'. I'm not sure about VAG cars, but in Citroën/Peugeot you need an adapter for the loom and another for the ecu/computer. I've heard stories of people having weird issues if they didn't install correctly. Could just be a French thing!

worried_jim

lewishardwick wrote: »

Be wary of just 'plugging in'. I'm not sure about VAG cars, but in Citroën/Peugeot you need an adapter for the loom and another for the ecu/computer. I've heard stories of people having weird issues if they didn't install correctly. Could just be a French thing!

An auto electrician has just told me that this happens on Nissans a lot.

gilbert_and_sullivan

Adaptors and fitting kits are a fraction of Halfords prices so get those online.

Though if you are buying a head unit in Halfords better than half price sale then that will take some beating.

DiY fitting isn't especially difficult, you might have to find a permanent live feed for one wire or the station and sounds memories might be wiped when you leave the car, you may not know if this is the case till you try it out.

Be aware that OE speakers might show their lack of quality once they get 4 x genuine 50w RMS fed down to them (assuming your chosen head unit has such output), so be prepared to replace the speakers too.

Also, if you can either find good reviews or go and have a play with a display model of your chosen unit, some makes (haven't had an Alpine unit) are more complicated than they need be.

Personally i find Pioneers to be good quality durable and reasonably simple to use, not trying to persuade you away from Alipne, just mentioning.

Norman_Castle

"you can even adjust the button and display illumination colour separately with a stunning 150,000 colour variations for every mood!"

150,000 illumination colour variations. Why? What colour represents perplexed?

foxy-stoat

MockTurtle wrote: »

Considering the last time I bought a car stereo was circa 1994, I have no clue on this subject! Can someone tell me if this is what I should be expecting to pay or if its too much?

Indeed....back in 1994 when I was driving my first car, Astra MK2 Merit (the one with the fuel gauge!) I used to snip the wiring loom and use soldier and black tape....on my next car I used bullet connectors.

Now due to complicated intergrated wiring, K bus etc etc you really need the proper adaptors, my 08 Civic needed £100 for the fitted kit, to change the standard headunit, on the Wife's RX300 I need to spend £350 before buying the headunit, so £83 for the fitting kit isn't too bad, to make everything work as it should.

AdrianC

It's a Golf IV, !!!!!!. Mid '90s-tech.

almillar

Golf Mk4 will be single DIN, and will need all those adaptors you've seen, no matter what you fit. Double DIN is simply the taller stereos - this won't fit in your Golf unless you fancy doing some extensive modifications to your dashboard.
You will possibly need an adaptor that goes from your car's wiring to the standard ISO wiring your stereo will have (a block for speakers, and a block for power etc), a real cheapo aerial adaptor, and an adaptor for steering wheel controls. All (including the stereo) available cheaper than from Halfords. You absolutely do not need to spend £200 to get a bluetooth stereo - even Halfords will have those for £50. You're paying a premium for Alpine too - Sony/Kenwood/Pioneer might be better value.