First of all, I would like to thank you for reading my post. To me, this is mind boggling, but for some of you, this issue may be a walk in the park. (and yes, I did read the stickies) Hopefully someone will take a few minutes and address my situation with their level of expertise. All suggestions are welcome.

So here is the situation. I own a 6th gen max with Bose and Nav. The left channel cuts out when I listen to CDs for some reason or another. I read in a post that aftermarket head units sound 200% better, even on a Bose setup. I primarily listen to my IPOD through the cassette adaptor and rarely CDS (I dont mind losing the in-dash 6 disc changer). I also love my steering wheel controls... (I also know of the PAC adaptors that allow us to maintain those controls) but it all seems sooo....

Installing a car stereo is something im not very good at. On a 95 Chevy Cavalier..yeah it was ok, but on the Max...I wouldnt dare. Would a Best Buy installer know of all these issues with steering wheel controls and converting the HU signals to work properly with the speakers?

So my question is....how would I go about the transition from stock to aftermarket. I know that if go to an installer and say "Make it work" hes gonna say, "you needed this, its $100, and you need that, which was $75." I would like to go in and have an idea of what I need.

PS- a nice head unit with a DVD screen would look nice but I wouldnt want it to block my climate controls..any recommendations? Thanks a million!!

 

I think your best bet may be to have Don, the resident audio surgeon to help you with this. If I recall, the radio on these max's (6th) gen is wired into the navi, so if you go aftermarket you have to keep the oem radio installed and stashed in the dash...(someone correct me if i'm wrong)...gets a bit messy/tricky...i'll do some research for you.

 

yeah- your right nupe. And the problem he is having is not uncommon on 6th gens. I remember getting my car sereviced and was talking to a guy with the exact same problem as this, as well I have read about this before. I would have the dealer fix the radio. I dunno if going aftermarket, with a NAV system would be an easy thing to do, or if it would even be worth it. It can get REAL messy. good luck BTW, as far as steering wheel controls, most aftermarket HU that alow such a function simply have a realy that you need to purchase. and viola- it works. nothing too crazy. but where the heck would you mount and aftermarket head unit in your car, taking into consideration that all your controls are intergrated in this particular car?