For Car Stereo Enthusiasts - what are my options?

Factual Questions
1

Hey folks.

First, for those who remember my last GQ thread, apparently Entergy straightened out whatever they’re scewed up on my bill.

Instead of owing $260 for one month’s electricity, I ended up getting charged $34 for two months’ electricity.

Anyways, this one is about the car.

I do far too much driving, and I can’t stand most of the crap continuously cycling on the radio. So, I’m a big fan of books on tape. They really do make the time fly past much less painfully.

So, naturally, I’m a big fan of MP3s on CD. Around 20 hours of audio on a single CD. Convenient.

But then the mighty '88 Volvo 240DL died on me. I haven’t pulled out the MP3 CD player yet because, well, I’m lazy. And I’m not sure what I can do with the CD player.

My new car is a 2001 Jetta GLS. First nice car I’ve ever owned, everything is in great shape, leather, blah blah etc. It’s got a VW Monsoon stereo it. There are track and volume controls on the steering wheel. The CD player on the Monsoon is pretty big (about 1.5x the size of a normal one by my guess), and so is the tape/radio deck…the same size as the CD player, of course.

Now…what are my options?

I’ve considered putting an MP3-capable CD changer in the trunk. Will this work?

What about the rest? The buttons on the steering wheel sure aren’t a big deal, but it’d still be nice to have them work.

My bigger concern is the size differences, though. I just don’t see how things will fit.

Suggestions, anyone?

-Joe, left is clutch, middle is stop, right is go, and about cars, that’s what I know

2

The only way you’ll be able to keep using the steering wheel buttons is to keep using the factory stereo, which will mean getting one of those MP3 CD changers that uses an FM transmitter.

The size difference is no problem, many cars have nonstandard sizes for the factory stereo. You can get an installation kit for about $20, which is basically a plastic bracket shaped like your factory stereo, with a standard size slot where your MP3 CD player will fit. You’ll also need a wire harness, which costs about the same and connects to the plug that’s currently going into your factory stereo.

These are standard parts used for any stereo installation, and you should be able to find them at any car stereo shop or catalog. If you call the audio department at Best Buy or Circuit City and tell them you have an aftermarket CD player in your Volvo that you want to move into your Jetta, they’ll be able to tell you what you need.

3

Standard for your car’s make and model, that is. Depending on the shape of the hole in your dash, the part you need might not actually be an installation kit, just a “pocket” to fill up the empty space under the MP3 player.

In any case, it should be easy to find whatever parts you need for a 3 year old car.

4

Crutchfield allows you to enter the make/model/year of your car, and then they can only display CD receivers that will fit your car (they include the receiver mounting kit with the price of the receiver). If your Jetta has the radio opening that is 4 inches high, then this is Crutchfield’s page for you.

You won’t be saving a lot of money with Crutchfield, but they provide good instructions, good support, and have a decent return policy.