Hey guys, got a little problem here , plz take a minute and help me out.

I drive a 04 Infiniti. The CD player in my car had always give me little problems (stop dead all sudden then change to another CD). Anyway, recently it just stopped playing all of sudden, shows the CD ERROR msg on the display. CD changer works, so is everything else.

I did some preliminary research on the site and realize that it’s quiet a common problem. Based on the description of my situation, do you guys think this problem can be repaired by an after market audio shop? Is that the (economical) way to go if I were to sell the car? I live in Canada, not many shops in my area, a few of them quoted me $100 to just disassemble the HU, and don’t even give me the guarantee that they can fix it.

I also read a few threads on installing an aftermarket kit. To my knowledge, a double DIN JDM conversion kit cost about 400 CAD, right? With labour and a fairly decent DVD player how much would that cost me in total? is that the way to go if my CD player is not repairable?

Also, is it possible to just install an aftermarket CD player (not double DIN) without a new HU and get on with my life? I wonder how much will it cost me as well.

One last thought, I wonder how much would it cost to just install an ipod adaptor for the G. How much would that cost? Will it work even though my CD player doesn’t work?

Sorry guys, my knowledge of car stereo is REALLY limited.….I wonder if there are some sites I can explore that give a thorough overview of car stereo system (subs, amps, deadening all that stuff, and HU, etc), and some basic upgrading tutorials are welcome

 

Nope, aftermarket shop can't repair it, it requires an actual electronics repair place to take care of it, like radiomedics.com

I don't know canadian, but US prices, you can get a decent dvd unit (Pioneer 3200BT or 3200DVD) for around $400-450. Complete swap with a good unit and JDM is about US$800.

Repairing just ain't worth it really, it runs US$250-300 and they'll fix one of the 3-4 things that typically go wrong with it.

You can put a basic single din with the metra kit for about $300.
$150 single din stereo + $95 metra kit combo + free antenna adapter + free wiring harness from crutchfield.com.
$42 for a PAC steering wheel interface from amazon.com.

Pretty much any aftermarket unit (even $150 single din ones) will support your iPod better than any of the ones that interface with the stock stereo.
They run from like $150 - 250.

If you're looking to start learning, crutchfield.com's LEARN section is good basics, from there www.the12volt.com is pretty good. diymobileaudio has a lot of guys only interested in how much neon you have in your trunk, and how big the numbers on your equipment is.

 

Hey bro, thanks a lot for the quick and thorough reply (I bet you spent quite some time typing it up..) I think I will start doing some research into single/double din aftermarket stereos in the next few weeks (and come up with more questions xD).

Oh just one more thing though, I saw a few threads discussing how Metra kit will look "inferior" to a JDM? how so? From several pics of the Metra Kit, I don't think it look that bad, although it doesn't quite resemble the stock setting. But why people claim it's "cheaper", as in quality or it's just personal preference.

And just wanna your opinion on this: do you think it's a waste to have a double din setup w/ stock bose system? Because I am not really an audiophile, and spending nearly a grand on a decent double din setup but keeping the stock stereo system seems to me is a bit "too much". What do you think? or what you have done?

 

https://g35driver.com/forums/audio-v...urce-list.html

I've got comparison photos of the Metra/JDM.
03-04, metra looks fine.
05+, metra is definitely inferior, but if you're gonna be cheap about it, it's the way to go.

 

Oh, and second question?

It's not a waste to go aftermarket headunit with Bose.
I ran it for a couple of days while I was wiring up the amps and such in my car, it sounded better than with the Bose headunit, but since ditching the rest of the bose, the quality has skyrocketed.

 

double din time, by the time you have someone take out your oem deck and get it fixed you can find a used dd w/ kit for sale.

 

don't get the metra kit... it looks cheap in real life... it WILL kill how ur interior looks...
if you are going DD, save up and get the JDM dd kit

I had the same problem. then eventually, whole audio died. no radio, no ac, no CD
I was going to get DD and nav installed but I am not that into music in the car...
so I spent $200 and got a fixed used OEM bose unit with warranty.
works fine, everything is perfect.

 

Yeah def don't do Metra kit what ever you do. It makes the color look cheapy if you know what I mean. It took me a while before I got a DD kit. But never thought about buying a Metra kit.