edan82

So my car is 03' E55. I have the head unit which combine CD player (on top) and cassette player (on bottom) with a 6 cd changer right below it.

The thing is:

1.When I press NAV it ask me to insert navigation cd which I don't have, therefor NO navigation.

2.it doesn't have BT connectivity (I do have some mobile crib inside hand rest but no mobile, only crib).

I want to solve those 2 issues, preferably with other HU which have NAV/BT.

what are my options?

Sound quality is fine for me, not looking to upgrade it, just to have BT/NAV, in addition, I prefer to keep the OEM look, I know some aftermarket companies (Alpine, Pioneer etc') have double din to replace our system with the needed options but it usually look bad- display/buttons illumination doesn't match the dashboard and it doesn't,look "slick".

I prefer OEM command unit that can replace mine if possible.

Will appreciate your experience guys!

forcefed4door

most of the new headunits allow you to change button colors to match factory. night and day over oem technology

edan82

Would you mind to tell some technology differences so I know what your talking about?

I'm open minded, can you reccomend me a double din which can integrate well with my car? (Meaning it can be controlled from wheels bottons, can be connected to the current OEM speakers/amp/cd changer etc' without breaking the whole car).

If go aftermarket better go with pioneer, alpine, clarion, but again- I'm open for suggestions.

Thank you!

Edit- do not offer me Dynavin, it's a crap unit.

Thanks

forcefed4door

highly recommend Kenwood. any of the newer models with 7" screen. I always get factory refurbishment ones. they are very cheap and will amaze you with all the goodies that they have. best website is saletronics.com. they have a bunch of deals on eBay too.
perks- DVD play in motion, best navigation out there (Garmin), usb inputs- buy a 32gig thumbdrive and drag/drop music,videos,dvds,pictures, whatever you want it will play them. has simple iPod integration. obviously built in satellite radio. touchscreen is very nice to making going through menus simple. and there are all sorts of other features too.

the bad- you will lose steering wheel controls, you will needs wiring adaptor that runs over 500$ and will no longer have front to rear fade ability, which actually makes no difference in sound. (the aftermarket hu sounds way better then oem unit with much more base too)
I personally went with the Kenwood 9180.

edan82

Thank you so much for the info!

Main problem for me is I don't want to lose wheel control (I have a fetish- I like all my car features to work properly...).

Beside- 500$ just for wiring?? Sounds like a lot of money.

If taking one of the machine of other brands such those I mention earlier, should I still expect losing wheel control and a very costy installation ?

Thank you!

green1212

i may not be understanding everything here so if i get off the wrong track let me apologies ahead of time, with that, here goes:

if your unit is saying: "need nav cd" you just need to upload either the original nav cd or an upgraded/updated nav cd in your nav unit for your navigation to work. your nav unit should be in the trunk on the drivers side and all it would require just buy a nav cd, hell i may have one laying around i recently upgraded my nav due to same problem, and once its loaded, all will be fine with your navigation.

the bluetooth-- if your vehicle is already "pre-wired" and it seems like it is due to the "crib" inside, you just need to buy a "puck" and this puck that goes for anywhere from $100 to $250, will allow you to have bluetooth and just about connect with any cellphone that has bluetooth with some model phones having more capabilities like loading your address/phone numbers onto ur headunit, etc than other phones which will just basically work thru your speaker system and thru your steering wheel controls but not necessarily the other goodies of having everything from your cell phone inside the headunit.....

you can call mb dealership and give them your vin and they can tell you if indeed you have the "pre-wired" phone feature in your car and if so then the puck is all you will need. there is a website, wireless4mb.com that has more information and which year vehicle needs what to work and a listing of preferred phones for the pucks bluetooth features but keep in mind most phones will work as long as the cell phone has bluetooth capabilities.

hope this helps.

green1212

did notice you wanted to "upgrade" the headunit. the kenwood dnx-8120
maybe a good choice with you wanting the steering wheel controls and the telephone capabilities from the steering wheel with this headunit. this is a touch screen, bluetooth, with nav, all the bells and whistles and you also get to keep the steering wheel functions with this headunit. dont know how much it will cost to get it all done, but you may start your search there. of course be cheaper to keep oem but always nice to have the new and improved technology at hand. gl !

edan82

Thank you for your reply.

Regarding the OEM head unit I currently have, as my car was imported from the UK I'm not sure I can just insert the navigation CD of HONG KONG and it will work right away as someone told me the GPS is coded for specific area (I don't know if that's true though).
And that's even before trying to find the navigation cd for my area (I tried already, not an easy task).

For the Bluetooth I manged to find solution only for newer models but I will check the link you posted.

My concern is that upgrading the OEM unit might be "costy enough" to justify upgrading to aftermarket double din which will be much better in any aspect than the OEM.

I see you also reccomending Kenwood, are they so good that no one (beside me) mention other brands?

I know the alpine/clarion has very good head units with superb sound (most cases better than pioneer and kenwood), anyone have experience with them?

green1212

the kenwoods, i believe, gives you good quality at a "fair" price. i find the alpines more so, and the clarion hit/miss more on the expensive side... im not sure if alpine will do the steering wheel functions like you want, but i know that the kenwood unit will. i would admit the alpines are a "better" unit but for what you are trying to "keep" and maintain, you will not go wrong with the kenwood. i know i have a nav cd, it may not work but i dont mind sending it to you and just give it a try. send me your address, via text if u want, 561-713-0361 or pm.... you will have to go to the dealer of course and i believe they have a way to inform the nav unit the region code and also "starting" point if you will, dont know if thats necessary its a nav unit?? but i bought my nav cd on ebay from seattle, washington, and the dealer programmed it just fine and if they will not be able to use the cd i send you, give them your vin and they will tell you exactly which nav cd you will need.... cost from them about $120 i believe?? but if you dont mind, i dont mind just dropping this one in the mail for you, free of charge, just will use stamps and if i can find both of them, i will send both, and just take it down to the nearest shop and give it a whirl! dont mind helping out, next go around, someone will do same for me.

green1212

i didnt realize your car is from hk. i have for sale a 2005 comand headunit oem merc unit. its in the classified section of mobile electronics and its in working order, tested! take a look at it, there are some pics there if you want to upgrade to a unit like this... thought you was wanting to upgrade to totally "new" unit. find out from mb if this will be compatible with your car and if you get it and it does workout for whatever reason, just send it back, i would give you ur money back. thats no problem man. no problem.

edan82

Hey mate,

Many thanks for the kind offer!

Can you please PM me with the price your asking for it and also how much will it cost to ship to HK.

if possible please email me some photo of it.

idan@eliaz.com.hk

Many thanks again!

green1212

sent you the link to your email with the pics i have here on mbworld. will need to take more pics of it up close to give u a better look at the unit and will send it to your email. called usps for international shipping to hong kong costs is $77.95 and would take 10 business days (2 weeks) for delivery. i lowered the price of the headunit to $400 so to ship it out to you, i would do the total for $450.00. the other small connector in the back of the unit is for ipod connections via your glovebox or where ever you wanted it to be wired and the big outlet is for the power source. you know im thinking right now, this unit is based off of the fiberoptic "MOST" system and i am not sure if your year even had all this fiberoptic stuff inwhich case you are correct, it would not work....???? sorry mate, i forgot all about the "MOST" fiberoptic backbone of the entertainment system in the 2005 cars..... sorry!!

edan82

No problem mate, but thank you for all the info!

Any chance someone can explain me where should I look the navigation units (those that in the trunk- which side. Can have a picture so I can know what to look for?).

If it makes any difference my car is a right hand drive.

Cheers!