A Question About Car Stereos

[RiG]

Anyone have any ideas about to go about 'upgrading' or simply replacing a car stereo/CD player in a Ford Focus?

I would have thought it would be super easy but the CD player in my car (the Focus) takes up a huge amount of space on the dashboard (if that is actually the correct location!) and so the ones you get in Halfords or online at Amazon etc. (I guess) wouldn't fit?

My flatmate said that if I got one from the aforementioned suppliers you would need to get the leftover space 'filled in' with some kind of plastic cover?

Seeing as I rarely explain myself well here is the 'default' player I already have - see first attachment (courtesy of eBay)

And the other picture shows how a 'normal' sized CD player would look in the car.

Any ideas or advice?

Cheers.

[Dmacca]

RIG, May be worth checking with Ford to see if they can supply an infill piece for that reason. It may be a complete cover that can be cut to size ?

[RiG]

Good point.

Any Ford garages in Sneck?

[Heilandee]

Macrae an *****,parts bitty roond the side

[Johnboy]

A few ***** to be found in there, too.... :004:

[L_G]

RIG - If you are upgrading yours, can I have your old one.  :015: :015:  Mine's gone on the blink and looks like the same model.

I was just thinking exactly the same thing tonight about getting a new stereo myself.  Spooky or what.

[CaleyD]

My only advice on replacing car stereo's....it doesn't matter how good the stereo is if the speakers are bog standard.  Unless your upgarding in order to add the convenience of MP3 or something then you'll get far more bang for your buck with a new set of speakers if your looking to improve the sound quality.

Do a search for Ford Focus fascia adaptors/plates/kits for the make of stereo you are looking to install and you should be able to find what your looking for.

The panels for blaupunkt stereos can be found here

http://www.bluespot.co.uk/install/show_model.asp?id=85

[RiG]

Main reason for upgrading is to add the convenience of a link up to my MP3 player as well as having a CD player that supports MP3 CDs.

Cheers for the responses - still expecting one from Caley100 and perhaps DJS!  :001:

[Alex MacLeod]

I have a Blaupunkt something or other complete with 10 disc changer looking for a good home if anyones interested in making an offer. PM and I'll give full details. Had it in last car for about six months. Couldn't be bothered fitting it to current car.

[The Mantis]

RiG- I just use one of those radio transmitter things, plugs into the lighter socket and takes my iPod. Best £40 I ever spent, hardly ever use CDs in the car now.

[L_G]

FM Transmitters sell for £30 to £40 in the shops, but you can get them on ebay for around the £6 mark and that includes a car charger in most cases.  Just search for fm transmitters.  Some of them take a while and come from Japan (they do work though), but I just got 2 from within the UK in a day or two.

[RiG]

RiG- I just use one of those radio transmitter things, plugs into the lighter socket and takes my iPod. Best £40 I ever spent, hardly ever use CDs in the car now.

Ah but would that take an iRiver?  :016:

Good idea though. I'll have a agnder through eBay (cheers LG)

[L_G]

You can use them with anything that has a small headphone socket.  You can even use it to play your MP3/ipod through your home stereo.  Just tune it in to the best FM frequency and away you go.  They are really good and you can use them with lots of different things. 

[Heilandee]

Think you may have talked yerself out of a gash replacement stereo for yer broke one L_G

[CaleyD]

:015:

[L_G]

:015: :015: :015:

Good point.  I can't even use mine as it's the fm that isn't working.  :020:

[The Mantis]

The thing I have is called a Podgear.

No sockets, it's just like a wee holster that plugs in the cig lighter and has a ball-joint so you can turn it, and the iPod slots into it using the dock in the base as power and charger. You set it to a frequency and away you go. Put it on shuffle and bore Naelifts to death all the way up the A9.

Obviously it's dedicated to Apple iPods, but there must be others for iRivers and the like. Mind you with iPods having 83% of the market or whatever it is, the market is full of gadgets for them (in a nice reversal of the usual problem I have as a Mac user).

My mate Dougie has a Sony and his plays in his car, but I think it has a cable.

Was illegal to use in the EC when I bought it but apparently they became legal the other week.

I've had it about 18 months, it was impossible to get them for less than £40 back then even on eBay.

I had a quick Google search for a photo but my gadget, unsurprisingly, is obsolete. Loads of other things with remotes and so on.

[L_G]

This is a neat wee thing which fits into any headphone socket.  They have about a 30m range, so if you really wanted you could have the same music playing all over the house from one source.  They are battery operated, but most come with a car charger.

My friend has limousines and he uses them all the time, allowing the people to bring their own music on ipod or mp3 and he tunes it in through the car stereo.  Works pretty well.

[Heilandee]

Just like to say Thanks RiG,yer post on here got me to thinkin i must get maself sorted with some kinda MP3 for the car as i'm still siftin 1 handed thru cd's while trying to eat an apple and answer the fone while finishing off paperwork and no spilll coffee (only kidden honest,i would never eat an apple while driving!!) Anyways ,the upshot is i am now £200+ quid lighter than when ya posted this  :009:  THANKS A FECKIN LOT!!!!!

[RiG]

Glad I could help  :015: