just looking to confirm a few things here...

will a 5th gen Bose HU fit in a 3rd gen? i'm just talking chassis fit here. not really concerned about fabbing a harness or buting one from internetautomar.
i know the 4th gen will but i'd like to get a stock-ish 6-disc in dash if i can.

also, i've read that there are adapters for using an aftermarket hu with the oem bose speakers but what's the situation with using a bose hu with aftermarket speakers? is there any wiring that needs to be done? can the oem bose hu put out enough juice for aftermarket speakers?

thanks folks

 

I've sold my non-bose headunit out of my GXE (single din just cassette radio) to a 4th genner and he claimed it worked (the harness matched up). so i'm assuming if the 4th gen works in your car, the 5th gen will too.

u could also go to a best buy/circuit city and go compare wire harnesses and see if they work for certain year maximas, that will ensure it as well

 

ok so the harnesses are ok...but what about the chassis of these stereos?

looking at the 5th gen bose hu, it seems like the have a taper to them - i.e. the top of the hu is wider than the bottom of the hu...is this so? i would imagine trying fit a trapezoid into a rectangular hole would yeild an awkward fit/finish

but again i've only seen pics of 5th gen hu's and never the real deal

can anyone stay if the unit is tapered or is it just a bezel of some sort than can be removed?

 

its still a rectangular chassis - should mount fine

its only the front bezel of the bose headunit thats tapered - u just need a metra dash kit to make it fit