Panasonic CQ-C7103U for the E34 any good?

[fujioko]

I’m not a car audio expert.. I usually never even turn the radio on. My other Bimmer didn’t even have a radio…

Some expert or semi expert help is really needed.

The OE BMW radio in my E34 has been dead since day one. I took it apart recently and discovered the amps were damaged. I ordered two new amps and installed them… still doesn’t work. At this point I’m ready to throw the unit out the window.

Anyway I did a search on fleabay and found this Panasonic CQ-C7103U.

The unit is cheap enough and is Ipod ready. The Ipod cable is also cheap. I figure I can get everything for a little over $200.00

Two questions:


I’m guessing the silly motorized panel is to give access to the CD player.??? Is this true. I couldn’t find an accurate description of why it has a motorized panel


Is this thing any good or just another hunk of crap.



I’m not looking for a mega bass high power thumping system. Just something to replace the OE radio… Something with Ipod controls.

Any opinions?

I’ll be out of town for a few days, so If I do not respond.. please don’t think I’m being rude.

[New Owner 95 E34]

I too would be interested to hear what folks have to say about this. My 95 530 has the stock radio/tape deck in it, which works fine, but since I have about 5 cassetts and 300 CD's (which I hope to have ripped in to MP3 format soon), I have been considering replacing the stock radio with something new.

However, I just don't think that any aftermarket heads out there really "blend" well with the interior lighting scheme of the car! I was thinking of installing the CD changer that the car is pre-wired for, but is there a way to run a wire for iPod input to the stock radio as well?

[fujioko]

As stated in the opening thread, I don’t know squat about car radios… Sure I can fix ‘em if I try, but specs and stuff I’m just not up to speed.

So I went to Best Buy and see what they have… I sort of liked the Sony CDXGT300. The dude said it was Ipod ready and sold me the Ipod interface.

Get all the crap home and did the mechanical part of the install. Then I went to plug in the ipod interface…. What do ‘ya know… it ain’t the right unit for the Sony.

I’ll go ahead and give them a call today. Is it possible that Best Buy is dumber than me?

Anyway the Sony CDXGT300 looks ok. The main LCD display is blue, however all the back lighting is red. The overall color of the unit is black with one chrome knob. It certainly doesn’t blend as well as the stock unit, but it looks better than the majority of the crap that’s available.

According to the instructions this unit is expandable

The interface harness for the BMW was $18.00 and I also had to buy an antenna adapter for another $18.00. Hopefully they have the correct ipod adapter.. otherwise I’ll have to rethink this Sony unit.

[acidfire52]

Yes, it is definately possible that the guys at Best Buy are dumber than you.

I used to work there. The do little to no training.

[steve0suprem0]

i was thinking about the bmw business cd stereo... it's pretty pricey for a stock stereo, tho... i even thought about the mkiv vw stereo which i liked quite a bit.

my main focus is controlling ipod from the deck, so let's keep this thread going and find the best solution.

[fujioko]

Went back to best buy and got the correct Ipod interface for the Sony unit.

Same price as the wrong ipod interface… So the project continues.

Make a long story short.. yes! it all works… well sort of. I was not aware my car had a factory trunk amplifier… this sort of got in the way. I started a new thread to bring in any additional comments on the factory trunk amp.

Anyway I still have to button up all the stuff and hide the interface…. And of course resolve the factory trunk amp issue.