i know this has been discussed before, but i want to add an in-dash cd player to my new 2002 C230K. i know there's the Audio 10 route, but to get it i either have to spend $600+ from autoclass.net or buy it from a shady ebay.de. are there any other options out there?

i'd love to install an alpine unit with MP3 playback but i dont want the install to look crappy and i'd love for my steering wheel controls to work. the display i dont much care about.

Metra makes a dash kit (plastic mounting bracket) to fit the 2001+ C-Class (incuding C230K C-Coupe). It costs something like $30. With that and a volkswagen wiring harness (It's the same layout as the Mercedes), you can install any ordinary rectangular head unit in the dash.

I love the alpine hu, you do lose steering wheel controls, to me not that big a deal considering the audio improvment.The Alpine 7995 plays mp3's, and I think the Alpine changer that fits in the glove box plays mp3's too.

You quoted a VW wiring harness? Are you 100% positive that this works with the c-coupe???

Yes. 100%. I used the Metra one. Scosche also makes one.

One other thing though. You will need to wire a line from "accessory" (i.e., a wire that is switched on when the key is in position 1 or position 2) to the wiring harness for the aftermarket radio. The stock radio switches on and off using CANbus (a digital communications network for the car), so there is no accessory wire in the radio compartment (or at least I couldn't find one).

Got my deck installed. Check out the pics. Its a Eclipse deck (model 5542), with the Metra Adapter (Part Number 99-8711) and they used a VW wire harness. What do you guys think?

Looks good, having good sound makes this car complete, did you change speakers.

David Luker at sfxaudio.com says that the Metra kit is currently backordered. I've been waiting for one for 3 weeks. It's annoying. I've tried to find the kit at some local stores, with no luck. Most stores don't have it. Some places like Best Buy and The Good Guys refuse to sell you the kit unless you pay them to do an installation. Other places just don't have it.

Does anyone know of another online store that carries it besides sfxaudio.com?

Contact Metra (mikeb@metra-autosound.com) and tell them where you are located (city), and they will tell you who their distributors are and which ones are in your area. Thats what I did.

jigga,

I see you are also in San Diego, like me. Did you order your Metra kit or did you pick it up locally around here?

And regarding the VW wiring harness...this will work with the W203 C-Coupe and allow you to hook up an aftermarket stereo to the Bose speaker system??? I was thinking about replacing my Bose system with all new speakers and getting a new deck, but do you think it would be worth it to just hold onto the Bose system and get a new deck? What about with the center speaker? You don't lose that when you hook up an aftermarket stereo do you?

im using the metra kit with an alpine 7995, i used to have a 7878 but i think the 7995 is better and even cheaper, dont even dare keep that goofy looking stock unit

Cryptnotic - mine got sent out from SFX today, so yours should be ready as well.

jakobud,

I got the Metra Kit from La Jolla Audio. They do excellent work over there. They only deal with "High End cars". If I had the Bose system I think I would hang on to it, unless you decide to go competition and replace everything..ya know. My deck sounds GREAT..I love it. Hey, do you have any mod's on your car?

Dude, you have class Eclipse or nothing else; 55090, 55060, need I say more

Just wondering where I can find the accessory line so I can hook it up (that's so I can still use the radio when the engine's off right?)

And as for the Volkswagon harness...would a VW Scosche 2002+ one work?

Any other pointers are welcome too, just in the process of purchasing all the parts.

Thanks a lot.

BTW, I special ordered the Scosche dash kit for only 20 bucks at my local Good Guys. I think they didn't have a price for it or something.

HEY GUYS, I HAVE A PIONEER AVX-7300DVD...... I BOUGHT IT FOR $2000... IT IS THE BEST ONE OUT RIGHT NOW, I LOVE IT .. I HAVE IT HOOKED UP TO PLAYSTATION, IN MY DASH.. I WILL POST UP PICTURES BY NEXT WEEK... BUT IF U WANT UR C230 TO LOOK NICE, GET THIS HEADUNIT...

CHECK IT OUT AT PIONEER.COM
OR BESTBUY.COM

Any idea which VW wiring harness they used? There are a few listed on the site, and I am not sure which one to buy?

Thanks,
Craig

Ditto that, any more information on this guys?

Found a solution guys, check ebay.

Still having problems. I cant get my cd player to keep the settings in memory.. Ive checked wire after wire after wire. Any ideas?

I went with the VW harness modded.

The Metra harness is a 70-1784. Mine was easy to connect to the new unit, because it's color coded to industry standard. The MB wiring, not so much. Don't assume ANYTHING. lol