The Student Room Group

Aux in cars

Hey guys

i just bought my first car and its a ford Ka
my car is pretty old and doesnt have a USB or a Aux input in it.
I was wondering if there was any way i could get an aux in my car??

thanks
you can buy radio set ups and get it installed in your car.

i.e. you an have your current radio/music system removed a d have the new one put in.

so you can buy a mew one with an aux input :smile:
Reply 2
Original post by george_xeno
Hey guys

i just bought my first car and its a ford Ka
my car is pretty old and doesnt have a USB or a Aux input in it.
I was wondering if there was any way i could get an aux in my car??

thanks


Usually a little cable that plugs into the CD changer port on the back of the stereo, or get a replacement stereo.

This thread should be in Cars and Motoring - tagging @AngryJellyfish to move it for you.
Maybe get a new stereo with USB input. You could either plug your device into it and skip tracks directly through the stereo system, or you could buy a USB stick specifically to store your music on. If you buy from Halfords they should fit it for you.
Or ya know pay for cds
If your car has one of those cigarette lighter thingys, easiest thing is to just buy a FM transmitter off Amazon. They're well cheap and work great from my experience
Reply 6
I'd second the FM transmitter option if you're after a cheap solution. Although if you get a replacement stereo unit in chances are it'll give your car a fair boost in resale value, so it could be worth investing in that if you can spare the cash.
Do not bother getting your radio replaced or trying to find a way to get aux fitted. Just buy a bluetooth fm transmitter. The sound quality is really good and it is about a tenner on amazon. The one i got is below.



https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B01LYS3PL5/ref=mp_s_a_1_22?ie=UTF8&qid=1522058305&sr=8-22&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=fm+transmitter+bluetooth&dpPl=1&dpID=419IoCj7j7L&ref=plSrch
Reply 8
1) New head unit - Head units with USB and auxiliary inputs can be had for as little as £30 from Halfords and you can have them fitted for you for a bit more.

2) FM transmitter - Uses Bluetooth or a cable to connect to your phone and transmits an FM radio signal which your car can receive. Sound quality varies but good ones can be had cheaply.


Personally I'd go for a cheap decent head unit to avoid having to fiddle with a phone in the car.
Original post by DarkIronsBarzakh
Or ya know pay for cds


Why, when you could spend £50 on a USB stereo and another £10-20 on a USB stick with a lot of storage, and then you don't have to keep CDs in your car or keep changing CDs and you've got a huge amount of storage space for your music?
FM Transmitter would probably be the best option.
FM transmitters are cheap and easy but the sound quality is awful.

This head unit has USB and aux input - £39.99 from an OK brand:
http://www.caraudiodirect.co.uk/head-units/jvc-kd-x230e-mechless-usb-mp3-aux-ipod-android-audio-flac-media-receiver

For £64.99 you can pick up one with bluetooth for handsfree calling and wireless music including play/pause and skip forward/back from the head unit with your phone still sitting in your pocket:
http://www.caraudiodirect.co.uk/bluetooth/head-units/jvc-kd-x320bt-bluetooth-usb-flac-media-receiver

And then this fitting kit (assuming it's a mk1 Ka) includes a wiring harness and fascia to fit the aftermarket head unit in:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Stereo-Radio-Fascia-Panel-Fitting-KIT-Surround-Adaptor-Silver-for-Ford-KA-MK1/401423215690?fits=Car+Make%3AFord%7CModel%3AKA&epid=18007209495&hash=item5d76b02c4a:g:tggAAOSw3q5aYgFg

It's worth the money and effort (get a handy friend to help you install it - you can do it in less than an hour easily, maybe a bit longer if you run the bluetooth microphone up to the headliner) to have a proper head unit with real functionality rather than a rubbish FM transmitter.
Transmitter, or go oldschool and use CDs. You'll probably replace your car after a couple of years if not earlier, whether it's to move up a pay grade or because you'll have some kind of repair that isn't worth doing, when you replace the car, the likelihood is your new one will be "newer" and probably already have some kind of aux input, so don't waste the cash on a new radio.

If you wanna go all in retro, get a speaker in the boot, run a cable round the interior lining of the car and voila, you have a DIY cowboy aux.

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