eagleeye

Just had my Sirius installed with the MB trunk mounted mouse-shaped antenna. I was not aware of the other types of non-MB dealer options for the antenna until after the install. Dealer insisted on this location so I semi-reluctantly agreed to it, because I really wanted the Sirius. It was 869.00 installed. Dealer painted the antenna to match. I think it looks OK, not as bad as I expected. It is growing on me, giving off an "what's that cool thingy" vibe to the uninitiated, like maybe I'm an MIB or something (LOL). What do you all think?

BTW the sound quality is very good, CD quality. I dont want to get out of the car there is so much good stuff on there. Integration with the COMMAND is really cool also. Won't be listening to many CD''s.

MB Fanatic

Hmmm looks nice, but I still prefer the antennae to be mounted on the the top of the car right above the Tele-Aid antennae.

S55inPA

hi guys,

the install looks good.
i think it would look better if the
teleaid and the sirius antenna were one.
one thing i just don't get....why almost
$900 bucks to install? MB should get their
pricing for options to be more buyer friendly.

Beowulf

Looks better than I expected, but I'm still interested in the unit that's integrated into the RENNtech decklid spoiler. Strange that your dealer said that was your only option. My dealer has an Accessories Manager who is more than willing to source non-MB aftermarket parts.

BTW, the car looks great! I love black above all colors because nothing IMO looks better when clean and the E55 looks especially wicked in black. :v Unfortunately, nothing is harder to maintain than black (lots of black vehicles owned, one still current & Zaino'ed to death).

eagleeye

To clarify, reciever/antenna hardware was 670, labor 200.

AMGfan

Ditto on that!!!!

Mattar

eagleeye looks good the installer did a good job.

Green E-300 DT

You know how expensive your beautiful car was, and they don't have a better way to mount that antenna?

And the price? On the new 300C, the factory charge is only $195 for Sirius including factory installation,
not dealer installation.

Things like this and the "decontenting business" are forcing me away
from MBZ, and I've had 13 MBZs starting with my 1961.

Anyone checked out the new STS yet?
For an MSRP of $60,610, everything is included, and I'll bet they have a better way of installing the XM antenna.

'Course it will not run like the E-55, but it'll be better than a loaded E-500, and for less money!

alewifebp

Since you have a black car, it does not look too bad. At the LoveMercedes event, I saw it on a silver car, and it was horrible looking.

weinschela

The installer did a really nice job, which only proves that the trunk lid is not good place from an aesthetic standpoint. If such a good install is still so obtrusive, there just has to be a better place. Of course, its a trade-off for satellite and if you want it badly enought maybe you're ok with having the thingie on the trunk. After seeing it, I decided I didn't want satellite badly enough to do that or persuade the dealer to do the under the parcel shelf install. I'm happy listening to my mp3s on DVD.

kyee

It's a shame to do that to a beautiful E55. I had my antenna installed under the rear deck, and it works perfect.

EWCIII2001

I think it looks decent, but the key thing is that you're getting used to it and enjoying the radio so much. Funny how something looks odd or out of place until our minds adjust to it and then it becomes the norm. Thanks for posting the pics. Now we can all decide to go for it or explore other potential installations, such as the one I believe T-bone did inside the trunk.

DerekFSU

Kyee, got any pictures?

AMGfan

Very interested, too.

kyee

Here you go. FYI, Scorchie did my install. There's lots of posts by him on this topic in the W211 New E-Class, and the Audio Forums here.

kyee

While I'm at it, this is the sub and amp I added to the trunk. I'm bypassing the stock H/K sub in the rear deck. Bass is MUCH improved. A HUGE difference. The sub box has an angled/wedged rear, so it fits flush to the back of the seats. It really doesn't take up much of the trunk space at all.

The only problem I've had is trying to find a way to keep the darn sub from moving around during hard cornering. Any suggestions?

DerekFSU

So that's under the rear deck with the cover off. Is the green thing the antenna? Never seen one like that. What does it look like with the cover on? How does it maintain line of sight?

How about velcroing the sub to the carpet?

kyee

Yes, the cover is taken off the antenna. I think the installer did that to improve reception even more, since the weather proof cover was no longer needed.

I thought of velcroing the sub to the carpet, but as the carpet itself isn't secured in anyway, the sub would still slide (along with the carpet). The sub also tips towards the back during hard acceleration.

DerekFSU

Velcro it to the back of the rear seat? How do you maintain line of sight with the cover on the rear lid? Do you have any pics of what it looks like during everyday driving?

kyee

You can't see the antenna. Those pictures were taken while the whole rear deck lid was removed to install it. The rear looks just like any other stock E class now. The antenna stays securely in place with an adhesive the installer used (I think just normal double stick tape).

DerekFSU

Sorry to be dense, but don't they need line of sight? How do you keep a signal with the deck lid over top of it?

kyee

The sat signal can pass right thru the rear deck lid. There is even one MB model where the OEM approved location is UNDER the rear trunk lid, because the trunk is some sort of composite material, not the steel/metal like in the E classes. The sat signal can't pass thru metal. I can't remember which model this is, a search on "sirius antenna" will bring it up. Believe me, this setup works just great.

shoes

My dealer installed the sirius antenna for my CL600 underneath the trunk because the trunk lid is made from composite and not metal. My reception is as good as the antenna mounted on the roof (!) of my wife's C320 wagon.

corgiman

The CL and CLK convertibel apparently have composite deck lids that don't interfere with reception. I suggest the T-bone install under the rear parcel shelf - I have had really good results here in Houston with it.

I agree that the factory install on a black car isn't too obvious but the lighter the colour the worse it looks.

AMGfan

Kinda like the Bangle **** (i.e. rear end eyesore)...