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FWD: re: $350 vs. $471

>>This $350 unit plugged right in to the BMW wiring harness
  in the trunk?

Nope, that's the catch; well not really.  When BMW wanted to OEM and sell
Alpine units, they told Alpine to make the BMW units with "plug in" ports 
so
that all the service guy would do is mount the CD changer/alarm and plug 
the
wire harness in.  This, installed by our trusty dealership, would cost us 
$695
for the alarm and $898 for the CD changer with dust cover.  Amazing, ain't 
it?

Anyway, the only difference from the Alpine unit vs. the BMW is that Alpine
installed a plug-in port in the BMW one.  The big drawback to this is that 
you
can only use the BMW unit with BMW cars.  While the Alpine unit can be used 
on
any car!

The Alpine unit, of course, would have to splice into the wires that are
connected to the factory plug.  This is what's needed to be done if you 
want to
have a direct connection between the cassette player and the CD changer.  
BUT,
for $450 the Alpine unit comes with its own control and RF modulator that 
lets
your receiver receive the CD from an FM station.  Of course, you may lose 
some
(imperceptible to most of us) clarity when you have a "middle man" between 
the
CD changer and the speakers.

I'm going for the $350 one without the RF modulator.  The less clutter in 
the
car, the better.

I'm buying my CD changer from a local  (The Stereo Shop of Buffalo and
Rochester, NY) audio store.  I'm confident that you should be able to come 
very
close to this price by going to the phone book and looking for an Alpine
dealership.  Even if you have it professionally installed, it still won't 
get
close to the $471 when you count the trasferrability between cars and the 
fact
that the Alpine unit is the most up-to-date version...

[Could you post this on the DL.  I lost the DL address.  Thanks]

Armand
95 325iS Sports Package

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% From: ARMAND_A._AQUINO.Henr801B@domain.elided
% Subject: re: $350 vs. $471
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