so i'm seriously thinking about getting a new deck for my car. Seems the stock unit skips every now and then, plus i want some new features. i've got a couple of decks in mind. I just want to hear some results from people who have them and then decide.

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?sk...d=1197678618405
This deck has everything i want such as Aux Input and Bluetooth. However, i went to a sound system specialist store, he says Sony isn't that great of a brand when it comes to car audio. he recommends Kenwood or Alpine. ( i like Alpine as well, recently had one installed in my dad's mercedes) the reason i want this one is because it's Sony, cheap, and i can get a pretty good discount through a friend.Any feedback on this deck?

http://www.alpine-usa.com/US-en/products/p...?model=CDA-9885
This is the other deck i was looking at. the downside is that this doesn't have built-in bluetooth. It costs another $200 for bluetooth box for this deck... looking at $500 basically. (at least he told me it was $250 for the box, but free install)

http://www.kenwoodusa.com/Car_Entertainmen...e_Video/KVT-512
This deck is truly amazing, imo. it's got everything. He'd sell it to me for $900 w/installation. About $200 cheaper than the unit itself i believe. However, i looked around, alot of people says it doesn't fit the S. The guy says he can make it work, and if it doesn't he'll uninstall and give me another deck of my choice.


If anyone could recommend any other decks i can look at that'd be great. to be honest, i am pretty set on buying that Sony, but Alpine sounded pretty damn good in my dad's car...

 

I'm an Alpine fan (happy with Alpines in previous cars) and am putting a CDA-9887 in mine (hopefully this weekend), but they sure do charge too much for add-ons like BT or HD radio!

Are you ever considering a GPS? You could get the BT function in the GPS. None of the non-earpiece BT's are going to be great in our loud convertibles but my super-cheap Garmin C550's BT gets the job done in city driving.

 

i don't really want to get a mobile GPS, but a GPS is a nice feature to have ya know. i also want to upgrade my sound system, so that's why i was looking at the kenwood, has the best of both worlds and some. i'd have to say the Navi isn't necessary, but the screen begs for navi, so if im going to be excessive might as well get it all right? lol.

i have to agree, the extra BT unit for the Alpine is practically the cost of the deck, which is ridiculously expensive, imo. Which is why i'm considering the sony over the alpine, but i haven't heard the quality of a Sony deck in any car before, but i'm willing to give it a shot, i like Sony products.I dunno, he keeps telling me Sony is no good, and that Alpine and Kenwood is the best when it comes to upgrading my system, plus he's giving it to me much cheaper since my friend who's big on audio keeps going back to him.

The Alpine in my dad's car works awesome though, i figure i'd just get the lower end one which i think was the model that came before it, pretty much the same.

 

i have an OEM cd changer in my car. If i go with a new deck, can it be used with the oem cd changer or do i lose the cd changer like i would my dash controls? i'm getting the new deck for my mp3 player, but i might forget it sometimes, CDs for backup.

 

I've heard bad things about Sony. I would go with Alpine or Kenwood. Alpine has a nice PnP harness, while Kenwood has nicer looking decks IMO.

 

well i got a new deck this morning. the Kenwood KDC-BT838U. since the CD changer wasn't wired onto the new deck and since it's useless now, im selling it.

Brand new these things run for $400.
I'll sell for $300obo.

anyone interested?