[Ruthenium]

I apologize if this question was asked before, I did a search and didn't find anything on it.

Is it possible to have the stock screen switched out in favor of an aftermarket in-dash DVD player as well as upgrade the speakers? Will anything else be affected by this?

Thanks in advance!

By the way, not sure if this matters, but its for an 08 C350.

 

[nflqb]

Good Question ! I want to know the same thing !!!!

 

[Ruthenium]

I was trying to find this out for the better part of yesterday. I got in contact with a shop and they basically told me they didn't know but they would research it then get back to me. I haven't heard from them yet and am losing hope.

 

[rob13572468]

I apologize if this question was asked before, I did a search and didn't find anything on it.

Is it possible to have the stock screen switched out in favor of an aftermarket in-dash DVD player as well as upgrade the speakers? Will anything else be affected by this?

Thanks in advance!

By the way, not sure if this matters, but its for an 08 C350.

If you are talking about the MM radio (the flip up LCD) then yes it can be switched out for an aftermarket unit... You will lose all the features that come with the MM unit (the bluetooth HF, sat radio, teleaid if equipped) and the factory amplifier will have to be removed as well. The retrofit would have to be a custom job and nobody makes a dash kit for the new c class so it would have to be custom.

If you have the non MM radio then it is essentially the same thing: everythign gets removed but you have the additional problem of tyring to fit a standard 7" LCD that comes on aftermarket units in the place of the low profile 5.5" factory screen.


So yes, either way it can be done, no not many shops out there have the necessary experience to do the work and even then the results would be questionable... The real question (particularly in the case of the MM radio) would be why?

 

[Ruthenium]

Thank you for the help Rob.

In answer to your question, I got rid of my 06 SLK350 to get something more "practical", my family thought it was time for me to grow up (I'm 24 btw). The one I had was equipped with the a relatively nice screen/COMMAND system and the upgraded stereo. The salesman sold us on getting the new C. In my rush I figured that I could live with a plain C350 with the pII package, amg wheels etc. At the time there were no MM C's in sight and I couldn't wait for one to be ordered.

Fast forward almost 7 months later and I find myself dissatisfied. I was actually dissatisfied 2 months in and almost traded it in at a huge loss but decided that I'd try to like it. Now I've put myself in the frame of mind that I'll be driving this car for another year or two so if I can improve it I want to. I think I'd be happy with it if I could get an aftermarket DVD player in there, a new sound system and possibly some new rims.

I hope that I can find somewhere that will do at least a decent job on it. If anyone knows of any shops who might be able to do it please post. I'll be moving to the East Coast this year so that'll open my options a bit.

btw, the MM isn't something that can be installed after the fact right?

 

[rob13572468]

Thank you for the help Rob.

In answer to your question, I got rid of my 06 SLK350 to get something more "practical", my family thought it was time for me to grow up (I'm 24 btw). The one I had was equipped with the a relatively nice screen/COMMAND system and the upgraded stereo. The salesman sold us on getting the new C. In my rush I figured that I could live with a plain C350 with the pII package, amg wheels etc. At the time there were no MM C's in sight and I couldn't wait for one to be ordered.

Fast forward almost 7 months later and I find myself dissatisfied. I was actually dissatisfied 2 months in and almost traded it in at a huge loss but decided that I'd try to like it. Now I've put myself in the frame of mind that I'll be driving this car for another year or two so if I can improve it I want to. I think I'd be happy with it if I could get an aftermarket DVD player in there, a new sound system and possibly some new rims.

I hope that I can find somewhere that will do at least a decent job on it. If anyone knows of any shops who might be able to do it please post. I'll be moving to the East Coast this year so that'll open my options a bit.

btw, the MM isn't something that can be installed after the fact right?

Your situation is not uncommon.. alot of people for one reason or another got the regular audio system and are now regretting it. The MM system btw can be retrofitted.. the dealer will tell you that it cant be done but it can.. The biggest issue right now with doing so is cost: The MM parts would have to be purchased new and the cost is high right now but that will change.

 

[jgorman13]

yep, regretting not getting the MM every SINGLE DAY

 

[Tri-Star]

Your dealership could install anything you'd like after the fact but price is what will come into play.

 

[Ruthenium]

Your situation is not uncommon.. alot of people for one reason or another got the regular audio system and are now regretting it. The MM system btw can be retrofitted.. the dealer will tell you that it cant be done but it can.. The biggest issue right now with doing so is cost: The MM parts would have to be purchased new and the cost is high right now but that will change.

Thank you for that information. Out of curiosity why would the dealer say that it could not be done? They told me it couldn't be done as well so I didn't think it was an option. If I somehow managed to order the MM parts would MB install them for a fee? Or would I be able to find some MB certified person to install it outside? Also, I can see the problem with trying to fit a 7'' aftermarket in the 5.5'' spot, but could that whole top part of it be taken out so that it would be able to accommodate something like that?

In any case it sucks that I'm not alone in this and there aren't too many solutions. Sorry for all the questions

 

[Ruthenium]

Your dealership could install anything you'd like after the fact but price is what will come into play.

Thats what I'm not understanding, it seems logical that they could install it after the fact but they say that they can't. Wouldn't they want to sell it to someone if that person were willing to pay for it?

 

[rob13572468]

Thank you for that information. Out of curiosity why would the dealer say that it could not be done? They told me it couldn't be done as well so I didn't think it was an option. If I somehow managed to order the MM parts would MB install them for a fee? Or would I be able to find some MB certified person to install it outside? Also, I can see the problem with trying to fit a 7'' aftermarket in the 5.5'' spot, but could that whole top part of it be taken out so that it would be able to accommodate something like that?

In any case it sucks that I'm not alone in this and there aren't too many solutions. Sorry for all the questions

The big issue with changing to the MM system is the harnessing.. The wiring for the amplifier and flip-up LCD is not present on the non-MM system and that wiring is part of the vehicle main harness. The dealer will tell you that you need to change out the harness and cost for that part will run about $3200 (thats in addition to the LCD, MM command, and amplifier which are another $6000 or so). So its not that the dealer cant do it.. they simply have no experience with doing those change-outs. Contrast this to vehicles like the ML or GL where the audio50 and command radios use almost identical wiring, in some cases you literally unplug one and plug the other in so the cost is less.

We specialize in doing these types of changeovers, we add things like sat radios and voice command and telephone when the dealer says you can. I just did sat radio on a w203 C class where the dealer gave up after 5 hours and told the client that it was impossible. The guy is now happily driving around listening to howard stern The reason we can do this is because we maintain special relationships with the german suppliers and can get the factory connectors and build the missing harness elements as well as version code the vehicle for the different parts. This ends up saving quite a bit of money since the added-in sections of harness cost significantly less.

Of course with the W204 the issue is still price.. The model is so new that there are no repaired radios in the supply chain to be had for a discount which means you end up paying full price through parts for the MM radio, LCD, and amplifier. as i said thats about 6K right now so changing to MM radio is not exactly practical right now....

 

[Ruthenium]

Very true, when you put it that way it doesn't seem practical at all. I guess I'll just wait until things become available for the w204. Hopefully that doesn't take forever