The stereo in may car is playing up and it looks like I need to replace it, but… I don't want to spend a fortune as my car is 11 years old and may be going in the next year.

So what is good in the budget end of the market as they all look same and makers seem to be in an arms race to see who can get the most flashing lights and graphics into the smallest space!!!

maaaaaan… Don't do it.. I've been cursing the fact that I was tightfisted with my last head unit… thin reedy music anyone..? TOTAL lack of bass..?

Don't get me wrong.. I'm a very long way from being a boom boom merchant but I like to hear Ben E Kings.. Bjorks.. Bowies.. Bobs.. Blurs or Bassment Jaxx basslines..

very frustrated at the moment

I got a sendai one from Halfords because it had a) bluetooth, b) a usb port and c) an aux port. They're currently £99 for that model but there are others available for less from the same brand. It's been fine so far – and the sound is great.

If it were me I'd lookonline at halfords site – they often have soem pretty good deals going on and most head units from £50-£100 are going to be much of a muchness.

Muffin Man, I've got a couple of good quality, but slightly old, Alpine headunits that are now redundant due to not having cars they will go in any more if your interested. They'd be nice and cheap but much better than anything new for the same money. If you're interested then email me on matthew@screamingjaffa.co.uk and I'll sort out some details.

Keep your eye out for headunits from Lidl and/or Aldi if you;re in no rush

I can heartily recommend the Sendai CD789 from Halfords for £50.

The only reason i took it back is so i could get this one for £90 from sparesworld as it allowed me to feed usb/aux cables into the glove box where my ipod lives. It is a refurb, but immaculate and saved me £40.

I just got one of these;

http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/5005907/Trail/searchtext%3EWHARFEDALE.htm

Mainly because it'll play my ipod while charging it with control stright from the headset. Plenty loud enough for me. It's not very intuitive though and takes some getting used to.

as always…ebay.
my sony with tape radio and 10 disc cd changer which cost me £300 back in the day is worth so little im just gonna keep it… 😥

Bought a Sendai from Halfords for £50 (it was on offer at the time) for my wife's car so she could plug in her mp3 player. The display is a bit flashy but the sound quality is very reasonable considering what it cost me inc fitting.

backhander – could you go into a bit more detail? I currently use one of these

http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en&q=alpine+ipod+headunit&meta=&aq=f&aqi=g-s1g-sx1&aql=&oq=&gs_rfai=

in the main car and was thinking of getting another for the toy, but if that option is loads cheaper and does the job well, I could go there instead. What are your gripes?

Just takes a while to get used to really. Controls are a little fiddly but I can happily now scroll through the ipod on the road from the HS and it doesn't run out of battery. DO NOT THROW THE INSTRUCTIONS AWAY! It comes with a USB and a jack which plugs right in.
It's been great for the price. No remote control and not as pretty as the alpine. Plenty loud enough, music quality seems fine.
I've not used the bluetooth for anything so can't comment on that.

I've got a Sony Minidisc headunit and in boot 10 cd changer you can have for not much money if you like?

Came out the car before she was retired.

Email me for pics if you like.

Tim

thanks!

H