I want to update my factory stereo for an up-to-date stereo. Is it cheaper & easier to do it yourself or not?

Question

I want to update my factory stereo for an up-to-date stereo. Is it cheaper & easier to do it yourself or not?

Answer 1

It depends on many factors...  What car is it, and what are you looking to add?  Most cars have higher-quality, higher-power 'drop-in' replacement speakers available for the front-doors or the dash-board, and rear parcel-shelfs (in either saloons, coupes or hatch-backs) lend themselfs to easy installation of larger speakers, commonly up to 6x9 inch.  

    A step-up in sound quality comes from fitting a good amplifier, and here you get what you pay for.  A decent 4 x 60 Watts RMS figure should suffice for most listeners.

    Finally, the head-unit itself.  Widely available are CD/Tuners with sockets to take your iPod, USB connection for that type of MP3 player, and a front SD Card socket.

So, a new head unit with 4 good speakers all round, running from an amp, should transform your cars' sound.  Make a few web-searches for installation tips, it is far too much to go into here.

Answer 2

it depends on your car and how hands on you are.  you will need three things, stereo, wire harness, and faceplate adapter.  the harness and the faceplate are around $10 each.

If you buy your cd player from somewhere they usually do the install for free, otherwise they usually charge somewhere from $50 to $75 for and install.  If you do it yourself it will only cost about $20 not including the CD player.

As for how easy it is, the hardest part is usually getting the old radio and any stock amplifiers out.

Answer 3

go halfords, buy one over a certain price and you can get it fitted for free