Thanks for the replies on radio size. Now that I know I have to go with a single din, do you have any advice? I'm looking for something with a flip out screen, with all the basic features. i would also like to be able to add a TV tuner and backup camera. I'm trying to stay around a $1000 or less, is this possible? Thanks again for any help.

 

Pioneer AVIC-N1 if you can find a new one on eBay, watch out for refurb units. I paid $1300 for mine (brand new). Pioneer (and others) make all kinds of accessories for it, xm, sirius, camera, tv tuner, ipod adapter, etc. Plus it's a navigation unit.

 

You can find many units under $1000. Step into the name brand units and it gets a little tough but for equal units like Jensen, Valor DVD, Audiovox and others you can get for much less. For the month of december I ran a sale for Valor DVD 7" fold-out monitors for $550.00 and they were flying off the shelves. Most of my customers that purchase a Pioneer AVIC nav radio admit that they rarely use it after awhile. Cool at first but then they realize they don't go anywhere...lol Wishing they had went with a cheaper unit and putting the money elsewhere in the vehicle.

I installed a Jensen 9510 into my brother-in-laws suburban for a demo. Wanted to see how the bass and the cheaper monitor worked together. No video bouncing or anything. TV tuner did pretty good. It features dual zones so you can listen to the radio so the rear monitors watch the dvd. It also has a rear camera input. Also has front, rear, subwoofer, center channel RCA outs.

 

I can definitely understand this. When I purchased the unit, I was living in AZ where I had lived my whole life (almost 30 years). I didn't use the navigation a whole lot because I knew where everything was. The only time I was using it was when I was going out of town. BUT..... I recently moved just outside of Pittsburgh, PA and without the navi, I'd have never made it out here. It's definitely a great buy for anyone new to a city or for someone who travels to foreign places but if you stay close to home the majority of the time, navigation is an unnecessary feature.

 

Recently I've seen a rise in the purchase of personal GPS navi systems. I personally like the Lowrance iWay 500C. It contains a 20 gig hardrive with 10 gig of it saved for MP3 files. I recently have been putting them into the ford dealers trucks with the P.I.E. interface to run it into the radio AUX. This unit is totally transportable. Can even be mounted on your motorcycle. I have a customer that flies out of town every couple of months. He takes his with him and when he gets into his rental car he just plugs it in.

Enterprise just signed a contract with Garmin that will put a GPS Navi into the rental car for a $7.00 fee a day. Portable navigation is starting to be the trend. Allowing you to put more into your audio system then having your budget wiped out to just have a unit that you may or may not use to make up the money you spent on it.

I personally have the AVIC-D1 in my Excursion. I am one of the guys that uses it all the time. With my business I provide on-site installation services. The D1 gets me to thier house without a problem. Hopefully soon here in Kansas City the Nav-Traffic feature will be available. The Nav-Traffic runs through XM Satillite and will guide you through traffic accidents, road work, or other hazards or delays. It also gives you news and stock market numbers as well.