Rip to FLAC instead as this is better quality than MP3.  Downside is the file size is slightly more but on a 32gb> sd cards thats still tons of albums.

I thought only the Columbus supported FLAC?

I have a query. Is there a way to prevent music automatically starting when starting the car. Even if I've paused the music, next time I start the car it will resume play? (Bolero)

The only way I've found (Columbus) is to switch to radio and mute it.