Reputable place to have a new car stereo installed?

[TameRacingDriver]

As above really, my CD player has decided to give up the ghost, does anyone have any recommendations who could supply and fit a cheapish stereo and make a decent job of it, and not rip me off?

I could go to ebay and replace it with a stock one but apparently they have a habit of dying so I'm not going to bother going this route.

[SeanyD]

Cheap=Charlie Browns or whatever they're called these days (across the road from The Denton, good bunch of lads). Not so cheap=Autosounds, Scotswood Road

[ED209]

If its in your puma it will be a piece of cake to do yourself, dash plate/fitting kit from fleabay, one of these from aldi

http://www.aldi.co.uk/uk/html/offers/offers_week21...

Half an hour of your time and it will be done for 60 quid, I stuck a stereo in the x reg mondeo snotter i had last year and if a numpty like me can do it so can you.

[Hedgetrimmer]

I use David at Incar Tunes. Really good value, great service and is very helpful.

[TameRacingDriver]

ED209 said:

If its in your puma it will be a piece of cake to do yourself, dash plate/fitting kit from fleabay, one of these from aldi

http://www.aldi.co.uk/uk/html/offers/offers_week21...

Half an hour of your time and it will be done for 60 quid, I stuck a stereo in the x reg mondeo snotter i had last year and if a numpty like me can do it so can you.

Yeah I was thinking of trying myself, but as I normally fk any DIY job up to do with cars, I thought I would ask... but I suppose like you say how hard can it be?!

[peterattheboro]

It's really not difficult to fit an aftermarket stereo. All you need to do is fit the new fascia and wiring loom.

Get's more tricky if starting wiring in amps etc.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=izspQtgOI8g (This is for a Fiesta. Should be the same for a Puma.)

[TameRacingDriver]

peterattheboro said:

It's really not difficult to fit an aftermarket stereo. All you need to do is fit the new fascia and wiring loom.

Get's more tricky if starting wiring in amps etc.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=izspQtgOI8g (This is for a Fiesta. Should be the same for a Puma.)

Cheers

I think I will give this a go myself. I've got too used to having other people do jobs for me that I could probably do with a bit patience / effort...

[TameRacingDriver]

SeanyD said:

Cheap=Charlie Browns or whatever they're called these days (across the road from The Denton, good bunch of lads).

I think they have gone out of business BTW Sean.

[chrisw666]

If you buy a facia buy one from a ford dealer, they fit better and when I last bought one it was cheaper than Halfords.

You could just go for the easy OEM option, ford parts on the team valley trading estate will have one on a shelf and will probably swap it for you it's a job that takes 2 mins from start to finish.

[TameRacingDriver]

chrisw666 said:

If you buy a facia buy one from a ford dealer, they fit better and when I last bought one it was cheaper than Halfords.

You could just go for the easy OEM option, ford parts on the team valley trading estate will have one on a shelf and will probably swap it for you it's a job that takes 2 mins from start to finish.

Thanks for the suggestion. Not that keen with the OEM replacement though as when I searched on Projectpuma they were saying they are very unreliable head units in general. Plus I'd quite like something I could just connect to my phone via bluetooth or stick an SD card in, CarAudioDirect have a good selection of "Mechless" headunits (i.e. no CD player).

[TameRacingDriver]

Oh incidentally, the bloody thing started working again this morning - I guess it doesn't like the rain

[chrisw666]

To fit one yourself you'll probably need to buy a wiring adaptor, this will convert the plug for your OE unit to the standard ISO connector on aftermarket stereos.

[TameRacingDriver]

chrisw666 said:

To fit one yourself you'll probably need to buy a wiring adaptor, this will convert the plug for your OE unit to the standard ISO connector on aftermarket stereos.

Yeah I've been looking at all of the bits on CAD last night that I'll need, which from what I can tell, is a fascia adapter (from Ford as you recommend), aerial adapter, wiring harness, removal tool and the stereo itself. Should be able to sort it quite cheaply.

[ED209]

TameRacingDriver said:

Yeah I've been looking at all of the bits on CAD last night that I'll need, which from what I can tell, is a fascia adapter (from Ford as you recommend), aerial adapter, wiring harness, removal tool and the stereo itself. Should be able to sort it quite cheaply.

It will i bought a complete kit for the mondeo, cost about a tenner if i remember.Heres what you need though a little bit more expensive.

http://www.fitcaraudio.co.uk/ford-escort-fiesta-pu...

or the bits without the fascia adapter.

http://www.dynamicsounds.co.uk/ford-puma-car-stere...

the cheap version

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Ford-Focus-Stereo-Radio-...

[TameRacingDriver]

Nice one!

I'm going to be too busy to get this done in the next couple of weeks, but after that I'm definitely going to have a go, and I'll post the results (or lack of) on here

[MuZiZZle]

I bet you write the car off doing it! ;p

[TameRacingDriver]

MuZiZZle said:

I bet you write the car off doing it! ;p

What's that you say, you want to volunteer to do it free of charge you say, to protect me from myself, that's very generous

[Gad-Westy]

TameRacingDriver said:

What's that you say, you want to volunteer to do it free of charge you say, to protect me from myself, that's very generous

Paul, if you need a hand give me a shout. I even have a fire extinguisher

[TameRacingDriver]

Hopefully that won't be necessary (the fire extinguisher). I got rid of the Renault last year

[Gad-Westy]

TameRacingDriver said:

Hopefully that won't be necessary (the fire extinguisher). I got rid of the Renault last year

Yeah, been there!

Seriously though, the offer stands if you want some help or reassurance.

On a positive note, swapping stereos is generally pretty easy these days. I don't know the exact set up that Ford use but most manufactures have their own design of wiring connectors where as aftermarket DIN units all use ISO connectors. In the olden days, you used to have to fart on chopping out the old connector and splicing in a new one. Nowadays, you just buy an adaptor (ford to iso), and as mentioned earlier an aerial adaptor as well. It's a good idea to disconnect the battery negative cable before you start. In terms of physically mounting the unit, the adaptor plate should just clip in. The new stereo will come with a cage frame. Poke it in the hole, and then, using a flat blade screw driver, bend back some of the tabs all around so that its mounted solidly. Then connect up your wiring and poke the new unit in. If it doesn't want to go all the way in, it's probably wiring behind getting in the way. In that scenario, try to guide the wiring downward so that it falls away as the unit slides in. Some cars also have a round hole right in the centre behind the unit. This is used to stabilise the back of the unit and you'll find that the head unit will come with a rubber peg thing to match up. If there is no hole for it to slide into, just leave it off. Reconnect your battery and bob's your father's brother.