Sunday, January 8, 2017

My New Car (Radio)

My 12 year old car has about everything I want- except for one thing.

It has 4 wheel drive, heated leather seats, sun roof, allow rims, rides great, and runs great.  What else is there?  It lacks a modern radio.  It does have a quality sound system with JBL radio which was top of the line in 2005.  But the OEM radio doesn't have a auxillary input, Bluetooth input, or XM radio.

My Old Car Radio Is Getting an Upgrade
My Old Car Radio Is Getting an Upgrade

Why does this matter?  My wife was looking at new cars that have a modern radio with these features, but has decided to drive my old car instead.  But what about the radio?  She wants to be able to listen to XM satellite radio and stream podcasts and music from her phone.

The good news is that you can buy a new radio with all of these features for under $200.  The new radio also has a USB port for charging and for receiving streaming music from a phone.  Add another $100 or so for installation and cables, and she's all set.

The Replacemet Radio
The Replacemet Radio with Bluetooth, USB, CD player, and Adjustable LED lighting effects



Of course, it would be less expensive to skip getting a new radio.  But spending $300 to fix the one thing wrong with the car seems like a good investment to make the old car more enjoyable reduce the risk of ending up buying a newer car which would cost over 100x more than upgrading the radio.

XM Receiver Module for Radio Upgrade
XM Receiver Module for Radio Upgrade

I haven't looked into this yet, but I might even be able to sell the old JBL radio with 6 disk CD player.  Why would anyone want to buy an old car radio?  Someone who has upgraded the radio in their car (like I am doing) may want to take out the upgraded radio when they sell the car.  I can use any proceeds from selling the old radio to offset the cost of the new radio.

I can't wait to get the new radio installed!  This reminds me of when I was 16 years old and installed a new stereo in my car with a cassette tape player and FM stereo.  This was a big upgrade to the original AM radio that came with the '81 Plymouth Horizon.

If you want to extend the life of your older car, upgrading the radio can be a cheap way to enjoy driving it for years longer and save money over buying a newer car.  The radio is one of the easiest tech items to upgrade.   I have been using my 10 year old Garmin GPS unit that attaches to the windshield with a succion cup, so it has a navigation system too.

Stay tuned for an update on how the car radio upgrade works out.


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