05 Bose stereo advice needed
 

New member here and I recently purchased an 05 Boxster S with the Bose option which I was told at the time of purchase that the head unit was not working. After a quick check on ebay I saw the same head unit was listed for a little over $200 which seemed reasonable even if I need the new on coded by the dealer. Of-course that was too simple to be the end of the story. While having the car serviced I got a call that the actual amplifier was missing. The air bag light is also on which the mechanic noted might be connected to the head unit issue which will not power up. So, now I have a non working head unit, no amplifier and I'm wondering if trying to find a replacement stock unit is the best thing to do. One thing I wanted to add from the very beginning was the ability to plug in an iphone for music.
So, given the probable costs of having the dealer do the work to put this back to original (plus the addition of an aux jack), what advice can I get before starting down this road. My understanding is with the wiring harness designed for the Bose system in this car, it isn't a simple, buy a new stereo and plug it in type of thing. Would it be better to install a new system utilizing the existing speaker system. Thanks for the advice! We love the car other than this item.