Replacement Radio

[MJennette]

This is my first post, and I admit to much ignorance about car matters, especially about the Porsche. I am learning, though, so please bear with me.

I was given a 2000 (or 2001 - it is in the shop, so I can't check - don't laugh) Boxster. The radio died two weeks ago, and then the battery went dead. I replaced the battery, and the car would start fine, although the radio was still dead. After reading here, I assumed that the fuse in the rear of the stereo was loose or dead. The radio is the original Porsche FM/cassette, and has been ok for my purposes (I am not a big audiophile).

Three days after the new battery install, the battery went dead. I took it to athe closest Porsche dealership (3 hours away), and he said that there was a short in the radio that was draining the battery. They disconnected the radio and recharged the battery.

He said they could replace the factory install with a new Porsche CD player for about $800. He suggested, though, that I go to Circuit City and have them install one for less than half the cost and with higher quality (as he says the factory installed ones are marginal at best).

The Circuit City website says that a 2000 or 2001 Boxster dash will not accept an aftermarket stereo. From reading here, I don't believe that to be true.

As I live at least 2 hours from a medium-to-large size city, I would very much like to use a Circuit City or Best Buy, as they can also install it for me. (That is totally beyond my capabilities!)

Specifically, what brand and model of stereo do you see on those two sites that would work in the Boxster? I would like to stay in the $200-$400 range, with a CD player. If there was one that accomodated an iPod, that would be fantastic. GPS would be great, too, as well as MP3 capability. But a minimum of FM and CD.

Thanks so much for your help; this site has been a great source of information for me.

Maggs