I personally do not need the most fancy mp3 player ever available. I just need to have something that behaves like a 100 disk changer and will work with my Head Unit controls. Therefore I have been looking at eBay for the 4gb iPod mini. They are not the newest so there is less demand and are around $75. I have found that it will take about 7gb to hold ALL the songs I'll ever need so if I fill up the 4gb, I'll gust get another. I can get about 130 songs in 1gb. All the music I have right now will fit in 6gb so two iPods will hold that and enough to grow into. I don't have to have EVERY one of my songs in a single iPod. This also means I spend the money when needed.

If I have two different iPods containing my music, I'll just plug the different one in when I want to hear different songs. I'll probably have one be classic rock and the other be newer stuff, or something like that.

That is a good option, I'll keep it in mind. I suppose the cost of making this whole thing come together and work properly would play into my ipod choice as well. I need a couple of connectors and some wire, right? What do you think the parts for the modification will cost? I was thinking $215 for the ipod and maybe $25-$35 in parts to get it to work in my car. Does this sound reasonable?
Grant

Don't forget you need an iPod adapter. It is an electronics "black box" that makes the head unit think it'* talking to a CD changer. They can be $100-$150.

this is what I'm considering.

http://www.audiowarehouse.peachhost...._PRaux-pod.htm

Crutchfield has a similar one for $149.

Ouch, $150. I don't know enough about audio and electronics to know I even needed that . Maybe now I'll consider putting that $150 towards a HU that accepts an ipod jack instead of purchasing the adapter. Any suggestions on a HU that is reasonably priced, is the correct size(double din or 1.5 din?), and will work with my steering wheel controls? It seems as though I will need to upgrade the HU anyway if I plan to upgrade the speakers later. This changes things a bit but I won't give up on it. I wish the ipod purchase was already taken care of!
Grant
EDIT: What about this one? All criticism welcome.
http://www.crutchfield.com/*-LTycLs1...0&I=077DTS603W

Be careful Grant!

It looks like you are being penny wise and pound foolish...

Cost of iPod mini . . .$80
PAC Aux-Pod. . . . . . .110
PAC harness . . . . . . . 10
Wiring for car . . . . . . . 35 (this is just a guess, I suspect it can be much less)
Total . . . . . . . . . . . . $235

A few posts back, you were talking about spending that on just the iPod. Also, saving $150 to spend $450 doesn't make sense to me.

And don't forget that putting an aftermarket Head Unit requires an adapter to keep the RAP and door chimes for your car. I think they cost $100-$150. Plus you'll have to buy an adapter to make your steering wheel buttons control your new head unit, etc., etc...

Well, the reason I jumped ship so fast was because I figure I will have to upgrade the HU eventually anyway, right? If I spend $150 on an adapter for the stock HU, it would be a waste down the road. I didn't realize the need for the extra adapter to keep my other features working after the new HU install, which cancels out the savings from the ipod adapter. It is looking as though I just can't afford the audio game as everywhere I turn it is very expensive. This may sound like a stupid reason, but I was looking at the video ipod because I was planning on the ipod being a semi-permanent fixture in a small, custom holder which was to go where my ash tray is now. Why keep an ash tray if I don't smoke, right? Because it was to be removable, but always present and visible when I was driving, I wanted the more impressive model. I know its stupid but hey, I'm 18 and having "cool" accessories is what its all about. So that put me at $215 + $110 + i'll just say $50 for miscellaneous=$375. I would hate to spend that much just to make the ipod work and have no improvement in sound quality. I don't think there is any possible way I could afford the HU upgrade since you reminded me about the adapter needed for full feature function. Well, now I'm not sure what to do. Do you think the stock HU is a high enough quality to merit a $375 investment? I honestly do not know. I do sincerely appreciate the advice and input from someone who is educated in this field.
Grant

Why, Is there something wrong with what you have? I'm 50, so I don't know what an 18 year old needs to have in the way of sub woofers and shear sound volume. So if you expect to be adding all the extra stuff later, yes, I can see it could be a waste.

Do you need the 'Video' while you drive? Or is it that you want a nice display so you know what song.artist is playing?

NAW! It'* not stupid. The difference between men and boys is the price of their toys. Why do you think they have all the fancy stuff in new cars! I'm just looking for creative ways to get you the most "Cool" for your buck. Since I'm possibly older that your father, I may not know what cool is for you (that'* why the first questions).

Sound quality in many ways is like beauty - "it'* in the 'ear' of the beholder'. Are you happy with the sound? Do you need to satisfy your friends' tastes (or your girlfriend'*)?

Keep in mind that you can upgrade your HU with one from a Bose system and then add your own amps, crossovers, speakers, subs, etc. If you do that, you haven't wasted anything. It keeps the stock look and functionality and the iPod stuff will be needed for it too.

That is actually what I'm going to do. A member is selling me his Bose HU for $75. I already have amps from a previous installation in a different car.

Everyone is telling me not to bother with any system upgrades(speakers, amps, etc...) until my stock HU is replaced with a good aftermarket unit. Apparently the stock HUs are a pain to wire amps in?
No, I dont need the video. I want the 30gb, the video is just an added bonus. It seems like the larger versions are expensive no matter what so I figured I might as well have a video if I was going to spend that much. I don't honestly know when I would ever use the video feature though. The only reason I am looking at the 30gb is because a friend has a 30gb and says he already has 10gb full. I was using it the other day and there really isn't that much on it considering 1/3 of the space was already full so I figured I would need alot of space for all of my music as I listen to EVERYTHING.
I don't have a problem with the system, I think it sounds very good for an all stock system. There are other friends which I could attempt to compete with but I can't afford it and am not sure if I want to afford it.
I never considered that option. I am assuming it is a direct plug-in with my current setup? Would this decrease the difficulty in amp installation? Does the Bose HU put out more watts RMS per channel?
Grant
EDIT: This is from a truck but I figured I would throw it up here anyway. I was wondering if GM used the same dimension recievers as well as the same plug in on their cars and trucks? I know the chances of this being compatible with my car are slim but it would be a nice upgrade, Bose system already setup for an mp3 player.
http://cgi.ebay.com/GM-Bose-AM-FM-Sa...spagenameZWDVW

I found this on ebay too, it looks to be the correct ipod adapter that I need. Can you confirm this? I would really like to try to win this auction if it is the part I need. I won't give up on the ipod w/stock HU conversion yet.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...889019&rd=1,1\
Here is a link to the specs on it. It says that I can't have an in dash cd player? I am still unsure of whether or not I have a cd changer input which looks like is a requirement.
http://www.discountcarstereo.com/detail.aspx?ID=724

The Bose HU is a pre-amp only. You would need to add amplifiers to make it work. The amps you use will determine the Watts RMS. The radio looks exactly the same as the non Bose unit and plugs into the the same dock-and-lock connector. You will need to rewire the 40 pin connector (the one you will be working with for the iPod mod) to go to your amps instead of the speakers and then from the amps to the speakers. The only caveat is that if you use a Bose HU, the dealer will need to recode the Theftlock for it to work.

The ONLY GM radios that will work with your car are 2000-2002 Bonneville radios. It could be possible that you could find a way to make something work, but you would have to know A LOT about what you are doing.

It looks like it only will work with 1999 and older Bonnies and not 2000+. It could be because they don't have a harness for the dock-and-lock but they don't list the newer Bonnevilles in the user manual.

Yes... you do. The thread I pointed you to earlier, has posts from someone that has added a changer using the same HU as you. The write-up he will post is going to tell you how. You will be adding three wires and pins to the 40 pin connector mentioned above.

Ok, thanks, I didn't know that it was a pre-amp only.
Yea, I saw that my car wasn't listed specifically but I thought it may have still been the correct kit. Too bad it isn't. :(
I thought that was the case when you mentioned it being a dealer installed option but I was still a little unsure about it. I think I may finally understand what I need to do to make this work. Could you repost the link to the adapter kit you were looking to buy, it wasn't working for me. Once again, thanks for all the help and patience throughout this.
Grant