People don't buy aftermarket stereos for their cars like they used to. amirite?

It's gonna be a shame in like 20 years when all these cars have extremely dated but almost impossible to replace electronics.

by Anonymous 1 week ago

My 2006 Saab 9-3 has hilariously outdated screens, like 4 of them, but it's so retro and weird that I honestly find it cool. Straight up jet cockpit situation going on lol

by Strong-Efficiency 1 week ago

Idk if this is bait, but I'll bite it. Saab manufactured aircraft as well, and deliberately incorporated odd features into their cars that gave them that feel.

by Illustrious-Room2200 1 week ago

Saab made two Viggens. One's a jet, the others a car. Your choice

by Alarming_Orange 1 week ago

A noble spirit emviggens the smallest man.

by Anonymous 1 week ago

cromulent

by Proof-Ferret 1 week ago

Wasn't that no longer the case after the early 90s when GM took over 51% of their car making bits?

by Walker49 1 week ago

Sounds very much like Saab

by Anonymous 1 week ago

Did you ever have one or work on one? I was shocked at how quirky they were, but all the quirks made sense. Like, the oil drain plug in the 900 was right up there by the left front wheel. You can't take the key out of the ignition until you put the car in reverse. The fuse panel is under the back seat, which just pops out. It was a cool car.

by cshields 1 week ago

My family had a few Saabs when I was little, and being a Swede living not too far from Trollhättan I know a few people who know other people who worked there. Apparently it was an absolute engineers playground; they could spend all day constructing cool innovative solutions to every single little problem without too much interference from those pesky economy/business people who ran all the other car companies. Perhaps understandable that it ended the way it did, but it will always be my favourite car brand

by Anonymous 1 week ago

real odd how there was a 5.3 Trailblazer with a Saab badge on it for a minute

by Anonymous 1 week ago

My 2007 Volvo S60R has a similar set up. I won't ever change it. Works just fine.

by Routine-Ocelot2768 1 week ago

"Saab, the only car that leaks oil from the headlights" was a saying a buddy of mine used to say. Are they high maintenance?

by Anonymous 1 week ago

I have a car from the mid-teens right before the Android Auto and CarPlay interfaces became pretty much standard, and a couple of years later I was out of date. Sure, I have a built in BING and Gas Buddy (LOL) but that still doesn't make up for the worst Nav system known to man.

by Particular_Sector 1 week ago

I have an '07. It has bluetooth. For phone calls. Not for music.

by Raulbernier 1 week ago

My dad's van is the same way. It's a 2019. Probably the only time I miss not having an aux port on my phone nowadays.

by Anonymous 1 week ago

I bought one around 2007 and I think it was $400. It's probably still in a box somewhere. I'm not sad though, that damn thing gave me the courage to just hit the road and not worry about being lost. In its first weekend we went 7 hours from home, then another 8 in a different direction the next day, with no cares in the world.

by Anonymous 1 week ago

If your head unit wasn't a pioneer sporting the race cars and dolphins don't talk to me. I remember the two systems I had. 4 punch dvc 12"s and then 2 10" and 2 15" Kicker Comps. Miss those days, kinda. Now I'm more of a get off my lawn type older person lol

by Quintonconnelly 1 week ago

I take that very personally

by Anonymous 1 week ago

My 2008 Honda Odyssey lost track of time on Jan 1 2023. I'm a little fuzzy on the details now, but it had something to do with a GPS date rollover, and the car insisted it was now August 2012. It had to wait 6 months for the next GPS date increment before the car was able to cope again. Even now it still seems to be confused about my time zone.

by luther47 1 week ago

To be fair the world was supposed to end about 5 times between 2008 and 2023. How could we reasonably expect the engineers to plan for us still being here?

by kennedy32 1 week ago

Car dementia.

by More-Tonight 1 week ago

According to data from S&P Global Mobility, the average age of cars and light trucks on U.S. roads is a record 12.5 years this year. It won't be worth it in 20 years either.

by Anonymous 1 week ago

That is really interesting. I wonder if it's become too expensive to drive long distances or cars are built better.

by Born_Customer7659 1 week ago

The problem really isn't the head unit. It's that it's all bundled up with AC and other functions. I would be really surprised if there was even a way to interface with all that. Because you can do a pretty simple version now. Plenty of screens that are plug and play Android Auto/CarPlay devices. But you have to put them somewhere besides over the included screen because you still need access to stuff.

by Raulbernier 1 week ago

In 20 years you wont have access to your Tesla electronics without paying your monthly access fee anyways.

by Santino30 1 week ago

planned obsolecense

by Pretend-Win7883 1 week ago

Worse because 3g was decommissioned and that's the radio every car used to update maps and such.

by adrien29 1 week ago

Just use your phone/tablet or what ever we have then. That's what everybody does know, right?

by schaeferignacio 1 week ago

We don't blame you. Sure, you develop the stuff to break, but because you are told to do so.

by Cruickshankheat 1 week ago

I had one of the first pull-out Alpine CD players, I think it was $600 in 1989! Skipped on every big bump. But it was very cool to have at the time.

by Anonymous 1 week ago

They aren't hard to replace. There's not not point in replacing them because vehicle manufacturers are putting quality head units in now a days, unlike back in the 80s/90s when the head units were crap.

by FlimsyDiet1423 1 week ago

I think it'll end up pushing a shift toward leasing over buying in order to keep the latest equipment. Yep, we'll end up just paying a membership fee for our cars like we do everything else.

by halvorsonkatlyn 1 week ago

And are otherwise perfectly functional

by Anonymous 1 week ago

I used to fall asleep as a teenager reading a mail-order catalog from Crutchfield (still around) desiring one of their 'enthusiast' lines of head units. IMHO the advent of music streaming + Apple CarPlay / Android Auto + bluetooth connection killed the head unit.

by jude76 1 week ago

I have all that in my aftermarket head unit and more. They're still way better than stock

by Icy_Vehicle_4995 1 week ago

Man, those magazines were so much fun.

by Sea_Theory_9569 1 week ago

It feels like convenience killed a lot of high end audio stuff. I don't see much about home theater other than soundbars

by Ancient-Town 1 week ago

I feel like open floor plans have a lot to do with that too. Lot less places to put wires and speakers

by ocollier 1 week ago

Head units are alive and doing well.

by PracticalDeparture 1 week ago

Mostly because everything to control the vehicle is accessed through the head unit now. Amps, speakers, and all the supporting stuff still exist but reverse engineering all the controls costs money for limited value to the company.

by Anonymous 1 week ago

Previous owner of my Toyota Sienna put in an aftermarket stereo. The backup camera, DVD player, steering wheel controls, etc. no longer work.

by Hillsdixie 1 week ago

Can confirm, swapped the head unit in my nissan rogue to a cheap android powered unit. Was too lazy to get the steering wheel controls programmed correctly

by clemensohara 1 week ago

Depending on how stuff is wired, you may be able to get the backup camera to work with the unit too.

by Alternative-Art 1 week ago

The unit to integrate those controls is called a Maestro. Any car audio should be able to install one for you.

by Anonymous 1 week ago

Is that universal?

by Born_Customer7659 1 week ago

I'm gonna go out on a limb and say he probably didn't follow the diagram reinstalling that stuff lol

by Anonymous 1 week ago

Decades ago, I had replaced the stereo in my 2001 Honda Civic. For the remote entry I had to keep the old head unit plugged in. Honda specifically engineered a small empty void/spot inside the dashboard that you could mount the old head unit (out of visibility), so that you could replace the stereo AND keep the old head unit. And companies sold splitters. At the time, Honda cared enough to have that as an option. Which was nice. The reason I had switched my headset to begin 20+ years ago with was it didn't have a cd/mp3 player and I wanted that. My car now has bluetooth and hooks up to my phone and I play audiobooks/music from my phone without effort. I see no need to replace it.

by Anonymous 1 week ago

It's a very costly way of saying ‘rob me please'.

by Born_Initiative_9136 1 week ago

The trunk rattling pulling into a mall parking lot didn't help. Source: my trunk used to rattle like a mofo…untz untz

by Complete-Climate3294 1 week ago

Should have used more dynamat

by Anonymous 1 week ago

Rich people used that…I shoved paper towel behind the license plate.

by Complete-Climate3294 1 week ago

Not if you bring in the detachable face! Then you just get your window broken.

by Anonymous 1 week ago

But people are more likely than ever to get a mount to put their phone somewhere on the dash, or to use some solution that puts their phone audio into the car speakers and lets their phone be the GPS.

by Spiritual-Present 1 week ago

Yeah if my car comes with that garbage I am not going to use it. Screw getting charged for map updates. I will just use my phone with the aux and a charger.

by Extension_Aardvark48 1 week ago

Not to mention, the interface on those kinda sucks too. I'd rather have my phone with full functionality that I am familiar with then have to stumble through half functional apps.

by leannonivy 1 week ago

Seems car stereos aren't been stolen at the same pace either. All the electronics being integrated and better standard sound systems probably plays a part.

by skylarflatley 1 week ago

Yea, now they just take the entire car.

by Anonymous 1 week ago

Nowadays, even used cars have at least an aux input for someone's smartphone. So there's less pressing reason for anyone to replace the stereo that came in their car.

by Anonymous 1 week ago

These kids will never know the feeling of plugging a thumb drive full of music into your car's radio for the first time. 2002 version of Spotify

by OtherwiseSpot8 1 week ago

Idk I work at Best Buy and we get a LOT of business for people buying aftermarket stereos

by Anonymous 1 week ago

You can get an aftermarket stereo and retain steering wheel controls. We do that all the time

by Anonymous 1 week ago

Nobody rocks the Alpine anymore

by Anonymous 1 week ago

Rockford Fosgate

by Anonymous 1 week ago

I don't think they're as good as they were back in the day. Just put a Sony in my STi and Alpine was not even in the running when I was in Crutchfield's store. It was down to Sony, JVC, and Kenwood

by fwindler 1 week ago

Its cause its so much more of a pain now. You have to swap out the whole screen/console for a pricey replacement if you just want to upgrade your stereo. Its also harder to do.

by Ok_Umpire 1 week ago

In my mini cooper I have to practically disassemble the car to swap the speakers lol

by Every-Return-2636 1 week ago

I've swapped out the head unit on every car I've owned until my current one in much the same manner. But many cars today, have some form of integrated display screen as well as wheel controls and handsfree mic. You can just swap the stereo out, you have to replace the whole unit, or lose a lot of features. I've also found its gotten progressively harder to even remove the paneling and get at the hardware.

by Ok_Umpire 1 week ago

I hate integrated displays with non removable nag chimes and important features hidden in deep menus. Give me 1DIN or 2DIN and i'll be so happy. Or at least hacked firmware for the manufacturer's crap. Spyware options disabling would be nice bonus.

by Anonymous 1 week ago

What a lot of people aren't mentioning is that built-in car audio systems have improved a lot since the '70s and '80s. It may not be great, but it'll definitely get you from point a to point b. And with most cars having Android Auto / Apple CarPlay built in, that's almost people need.

by Anonymous 1 week ago

3 kicker 12" should do

by Anonymous 1 week ago

Because lots of radios are not being manufactured to be able to be swapped out like they used to.

by Anonymous 1 week ago

I pictured a sad grandpa saying this as he watches the young man from next door honk his customised Tesla horn than blares "SKIBIDI GYAT" into the neighbourhood

by Dangerous-Canary5172 1 week ago

A lot of cars do weird sound processing through the sound system. Like playing the inverse sound wave for noise cancellation so they could remove sound deadening material. You dick with the sound system and all of a sudden your car has all sorts of weird problems.

by brekkeclaudine 1 week ago

Not to mention those vehicles that pump fake engine noise through the stereo system so it "feels" like you're driving a real car.

by trompsabina 1 week ago

Coding that out of my car made the audio so much better

by botsfordaurelio 1 week ago

I do, but I only buy used cars.

by Anonymous 1 week ago

it was easy to buy n install yourself. now it requires ripping the whole dashboard apart. aint nobody got time for that!

by Anonymous 1 week ago

Aftermarket head units are better than ever. I have a full 10 inch 1080p android tablet molded into the dash of my '14 Corolla. Can take its own sim card or use the wifi hotspot from my phone. Precached Google maps, 10gb of my own music, or hell, downloaded YouTube videos if I don't want to connect. And wireless android auto if I want to run everything off my phone instead. Supports backup camera and dash cam with internal storage/SD cards, I can even add a USB hard drive in the glove box if I need more space for footage. And all the steering wheel controls still work too.

by Icy_Vehicle_4995 1 week ago

You can't anymore. Even like late 90s cadillacs made sure you couldn't use anything but their parts without changing all the wiring.

by Anonymous 1 week ago

It's worth considering (at least in my first few cars in the 80s and 90s) the factory stereo was absolute garbage. Most factory stereos today are decent or at least passable in all but the most stripped down cars. But my first car (a 1984 Toyota Celina) didn't sound as good as my iPhone. I had to replace that thing pronto.

by Bednarguy 1 week ago

Did the same here, 2005 Sierra 1500 that looks … questionable, but the sound quality is unbelievable. It's like a sanctuary inside.

by Illustrious-Rise 1 week ago

I installed a Bluetooth receiver on the stock radio on my car from 1999

by heidenreichlexu 1 week ago

Sure I do. I'm putting a double din head unit with bluetooth, carplay, and a backup camera in my '99 Tacoma later this week.

by joana85 1 week ago

IMO, the company, Crutchfield is the best to work with to help you find a great, compatible head unit replacement. (even Alpine haha) They have all the prewired connection harnesses and trim kits etc that you need to make a pretty easy swap out of the old stock unit. Over the years, I've used them 5 or 6 times to upgrade the systems of various vehicles and they've been flawless. Highly recommend! Crutchfield.com

by Anonymous 1 week ago

I did actually for my mercedes. Have 2015. 2015 no carplay, 2016 yes carplay. Bought an aftermarket and so happy i have carplay.

by No-Confection 1 week ago

I just replaced the original sat nav in my 2009 Landrover with a wireless/android/apple head unit. Designed a 3D printed bezel to con er and integrated with the original stereo, looks totally stock.

by Glad-Recipe5812 1 week ago

Probably because smartphones have done the heavy lifting for the past fifteen or twenty years, so even used cars are likely to at least have an aux input. At least as I remember it, most aftermarket stereos were prompted by format conversion. Replacing a cassette player with CD, because a cassette converter from a CD Walkman is kludgey and the fake tape breaks all the time. Or a few years later, adding an aux input next to the CD slot because smartphone aux radio transmitters sound like ass. Spotify made a "car thing" that tried to be the next version of this, but it failed because it was mostly redundant to the Bluetooth connection and touch screen many cars already have.

by Anonymous 1 week ago

After market radios haven't changed in 30 yrs. Tech has but display hasn't. Wack.

by Jealous-Air8429 1 week ago

I sold my pioneer animated LCD stereo to a gearhead that was building a late 90's aesthetic racer, and it made me feel great it was going into good hands

by erodriguez 1 week ago

Yeah I don't have a binder full of cd's in my car anymore either. If it has bluetooth it has every feature I need. Everything else can be sorted with a phone holder.

by Novel-University 1 week ago

Speakers and amplifiers though? You betcha. Stock can't handle my taste.

by Anonymous 1 week ago

oh man about a year ago i bought an 04 oldsmobile alero coupe from a guy luckily, he was a mechanic and took VERY good care of it, and he even installed a touch screen after market radio that had bluetooth being able to use bluetooth in a car that wouldnt have it otherwise...chef's kiss and before anyone says it, those bluetooth to radio frequencuy adapters are COMPLETE ASS lol

by Limp_Independent 1 week ago

I would for sure if my headunit in my truck didn't require me to absolutely rip the entire dash out to replace it. Not to mention everything is controlled through the factory unit. It's not even worth it to me.

by Anonymous 1 week ago

Car companies realized the sound system was a big selling point for a car.

by Anonymous 1 week ago

Honestly, growing up working class and semi-rural, we often just bought aftermarket stereos to add functionality. My first car, a 1994 Pontiac Sunbird, didn't even have a cassette deck - just a radio. I added a JVC stereo unit so I could play CDs and also gain an AUX jack just in case. These days, every car seems to have at least an aux jack.

by Ross43 1 week ago

Everyone here is taking about maps and apps and I just want a better amplifier and speakers

by candice88 1 week ago

I bought my touch screen off Amazon… so I did.

by Anonymous 1 week ago

I do, because I still drive those cars 😂

by Anonymous 1 week ago

Can confirm. I work in auto parts. 10-15 years ago we sold lots and lots of car radios/cd-players. Probably up to 50-100 units a day, if I'm guessing, sometimes more (wholesale, not an actual stereo shop). So far this year, I have picked and shipped probably no more than 5 in total.

by Oconnellcooper 1 week ago

imo most people also don't care that much about audio quality right now. a lot of songs are produced to sound decent through run of the mill speakers like phones and soundbars, oem car stereos sound good enough for the most part. obviously people who care a lot still exist, but the days when almost everyone had beefy amplified stereo system in their house is over tbh.

by Anonymous 1 week ago

Just bought a 2005 honda and put one on ...they're dirt cheap now , put a 7inch touch screen wireless apple carplay with backup camera and dashcam & all bells and whistles for like $130

by giovanimills 1 week ago

They've completely abandoned the industry standardized hole-sizes! Even if you want to, you can't effectively. Maybe some 3rd party vendor somewhere makes one for your vehicle (Like Jeeps and Stinger and Alpine) and then you get to keep your "leveling" system integration and such... but the aftermarket stereo industry is just in compete disarray. Also, why don't any of those aftermarket units with touchscreens accept HDMI and USB in. It's so hard to add your own tech to a car.

by dareole 1 week ago

I have a 2016 Tacoma and just missed the boat with CarPlay etc. Still rocking the stock entune head unit which has always been total hot garbage. One of these days I will upgrade to an aftermarket with CarPlay.

by Anonymous 1 week ago

My first vehicle didn't even come with a radio in it, so me and a friend of mine installed an aftermarket radio in it. I also installed one for my friend who didn't have one in his car either.

by Mwiza 1 week ago

People don't steal stereos from cars like they used to either. I feel like I never see that anymore.

by Happy-Discipline7950 1 week ago

mobiles killed head units in the car♫

by Superb_Cake 1 week ago

I literally did like 3 years ago

by Anonymous 1 week ago

I drive a 2013 Hyudai. Bluetooth works fine. If anything you would think Infiniti would at least make basic features work.

by Hodkiewiczkiara 1 week ago

I didn't know you could buy a stereo for a car. Right it was all part of the package. Like how you can't replace the speakers or steering wheel.

by Commercial_Front_587 1 week ago

You can replace all of that though.

by Anonymous 1 week ago

That cause stock systems finally got to a respectable level. No more untreated paper cones with magnets that size of quarters.

by Anonymous 1 week ago

Still bumping an Alpine deck with Kickers in the hatch.

by Bergstromrosali 1 week ago

I installed a Bluetooth receiver on the stock radio on my car from 1998.

by Delphinerice 1 week ago

I replaced mine to get Android Auto support. It sounds way better, but that's down to putting in actual speakers lol

by ogrant 1 week ago

It's because cars aren't made in a way that makes them easy to swap out anymore

by peterpagac 1 week ago

The title should read : Car manufacturers are making it difficult for car owners to use aftermarket stereos.

by Anonymous 1 week ago

I might buy a decent one if I decide to keep my old Ford for a couple more years. Or if I buy a truck of some sort.

by Anonymous 1 week ago