Car Radio Replacement

Kilivek · 01-19-2005, 05:02 PM

I have a 1997 Mercedes S320 and the piece of shit doesn't have a CD Changer. So i'm thinking i'll get a new head unit with CD/XM etc and be happy camper.

What i don't know is if the krauts have fucked up the works and done special shit that prevents me from doing this

my radio looks like this.
http://www.autotoys.com/New_Tech/Our...a_Mvc-001f.jpg

Would there be anything preventing me from ebaying a new headunit and sliding it in no problems?

Kan · 01-19-2005, 07:08 PM

you need to see if it requires a special holder for the new headset best bet is to look up info on the net about the size and if those holders are made for that car , if they do then i would think you need one. i dont remember the exact of those damn holder things ill look around and see if i can find the damn name of em.

Templor · 01-19-2005, 07:20 PM

You will need a new harness and some mounting brackets... All can be purchased for like 20-25 dollars total. They had all the stuff I needed at circuit city and I saved like 50 bucks installation doing it my self right behind the store. Not sure how difficult it is in a mercedes but I doubt it is any more complicated than any other car.

Solariss · 01-20-2005, 06:14 PM

Yeah, gonna need the mounting brackets so it fits into your dash. Should be able to purchase them for the make of your car at autozone or pep boys. I believe that's where I got mine for around 20 bucks.

Eomer · 01-20-2005, 06:57 PM

I hate how some manufacturer's have different deck sizes and so on. Some of them aren't too bad, where you just need a small trim plate around your deck. But in my BMW I am not sure what the solution is, the current stereo is a good 2 or 3 inches wider than a standard one. It would look goddamn retarded to put in a regular deck with a big ugly piece of trim plastic all the way around. One of these days I am going to take it into an audio place and see what suggestions they have, cause BMW's stereo's are shit. Total shit. Sound quality is good, speakers are good (Harman Kardon or whatever, premium setup) but the deck is garbage. No time elapsed display? Have to press a button marked "M" to go to "manual seek mode" to advance through a track, then press "M" again so you can advance to the next track? Skip constantly because there's no memory buffer at all? Yessir, all of the above.

Kilivek · 01-21-2005, 06:26 AM

Talked to guy at local stereo place bad news:

My car has a factory amp in the trunk so it's not just plug and play unless i want to bypass it

The Bose system won't work correctly with the surround sound or whatever.

I'm not sure how my integrated phone is going to work because it silences the radio when connected.

Dexz · 01-22-2005, 09:28 AM

Thats not really bad news, it just makes it a little more complicated than you might want to tackle yourself.

Best place to buy car audio online is crutchfield.com. They will give you the run down on what wiring harness and mounting brackets you need.

I would buy the head unit at a store of your chosing and going to circuit city and just paying them the small install fee and get it done correctly. If your tight on money, i would google search and see if you can find a message board with the info to disable that amp. Now, if you can find that info, just buy some new speaker wire and spend a nice sunday rewiring the whole car.

01-19-2005, 05:02 PM	#1 (permalink)
Kilivek Banned Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: WVa Posts: 1,078 +0 Internets	Car Radio Replacement I have a 1997 Mercedes S320 and the piece of shit doesn't have a CD Changer. So i'm thinking i'll get a new head unit with CD/XM etc and be happy camper. What i don't know is if the krauts have fucked up the works and done special shit that prevents me from doing this my radio looks like this. http://www.autotoys.com/New_Tech/Our...a_Mvc-001f.jpg Would there be anything preventing me from ebaying a new headunit and sliding it in no problems?

01-19-2005, 07:20 PM	#3 (permalink)
Templor open up my eyes... flooded with daylight. Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Tampa, FL Posts: 1,284 +0 Internets	You will need a new harness and some mounting brackets... All can be purchased for like 20-25 dollars total. They had all the stuff I needed at circuit city and I saved like 50 bucks installation doing it my self right behind the store. Not sure how difficult it is in a mercedes but I doubt it is any more complicated than any other car. __________________ Vever - Eonar What were they psychos? They look like psychos? Is that what they look like... they were vampires. Psychos do not explode when sunlight his them, I don't give a fuck how crazy they are!

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01-19-2005, 07:08 PM	#2 (permalink)
Kan Banned Join Date: Sep 2002 Posts: 1,909 +0 Internets	you need to see if it requires a special holder for the new headset best bet is to look up info on the net about the size and if those holders are made for that car , if they do then i would think you need one. i dont remember the exact of those damn holder things ill look around and see if i can find the damn name of em.

01-20-2005, 06:14 PM	#4 (permalink)
Solariss Registered User Join Date: Jul 2003 Posts: 410 +14 Internets	Yeah, gonna need the mounting brackets so it fits into your dash. Should be able to purchase them for the make of your car at autozone or pep boys. I believe that's where I got mine for around 20 bucks.

01-20-2005, 06:57 PM	#5 (permalink)
Eomer You mean I can change this? Neat! Join Date: Feb 2002 Posts: 9,746 +27 Internets	I hate how some manufacturer's have different deck sizes and so on. Some of them aren't too bad, where you just need a small trim plate around your deck. But in my BMW I am not sure what the solution is, the current stereo is a good 2 or 3 inches wider than a standard one. It would look goddamn retarded to put in a regular deck with a big ugly piece of trim plastic all the way around. One of these days I am going to take it into an audio place and see what suggestions they have, cause BMW's stereo's are shit. Total shit. Sound quality is good, speakers are good (Harman Kardon or whatever, premium setup) but the deck is garbage. No time elapsed display? Have to press a button marked "M" to go to "manual seek mode" to advance through a track, then press "M" again so you can advance to the next track? Skip constantly because there's no memory buffer at all? Yessir, all of the above.

01-21-2005, 06:26 AM	#6 (permalink)
Kilivek Banned Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: WVa Posts: 1,078 +0 Internets	Talked to guy at local stereo place bad news: My car has a factory amp in the trunk so it's not just plug and play unless i want to bypass it The Bose system won't work correctly with the surround sound or whatever. I'm not sure how my integrated phone is going to work because it silences the radio when connected.

01-22-2005, 09:28 AM	#7 (permalink)
Dexz Waiting for the day Potam gets perma banned Join Date: Apr 2003 Posts: 450 -1 Internets	Thats not really bad news, it just makes it a little more complicated than you might want to tackle yourself. Best place to buy car audio online is crutchfield.com. They will give you the run down on what wiring harness and mounting brackets you need. I would buy the head unit at a store of your chosing and going to circuit city and just paying them the small install fee and get it done correctly. If your tight on money, i would google search and see if you can find a message board with the info to disable that amp. Now, if you can find that info, just buy some new speaker wire and spend a nice sunday rewiring the whole car.