Hi I was wondering if anyone had fitted a different stereo in a 2013 fabia monte carlo as I am looking at upgrading. 

 

Thanks 

Hi,

The Amundson and Columbus units will both go straight in . Be prepared though- they are both pricey even secondhand. If the car the replacement unit comes from had the same speaker set up as you have now ,  you may get away without VCDS coding but don't count on it.

I have just taken  the route of a Colombus in my 2012 1.2 S and, having added rear speakers, it's really nice. You also get to keep that lovely facility to turn the radio on with the ignition off but still have it going on and off with the key.

Last year I 'upgraded' by buying a £269 sat nav unit from an E Bay seller in Leeds. I had problems from the start with getting the SD card with the maps on it to latch. The response to that was ' it was alright when it left here'. Once installed ,  it lasted a couple of months before it started to turn itself on when the car was parked up (flattening the battery more than once).  That problem ,I was told, was obviously a can bus fault with my car..... Are you starting to see a pattern with the customer support ? Whilst it did work, the sat nav was good  but the sound was distinctly harsh and the radio reception was poor with very much fewer stations, signal drop outs and no traffic announcements whatsoever. A signal booster made little to no improvement. You think you're doing the right thing by buying in the UK but ....

Further research into alternatives has shown that all aftermarket units have the same problem with radio reception. By the time I'd bought the unit, added a DAB plus box and a signal booster I'd blown uncomfortably over £300 and the thing was utter rubbish.

Save your pennies towards a Columbus or an Amundson secondhand . They'll go straight in ( the rule of thumb is that if they are the same shape they will fit) and they're classy , work properly and won't flatten your battery .

The Zenec units have  some good reviews and they are Bluetooth enabled as standard whereas the OEM units need extra kit. But they don't come cheap. If pennies are tight right now just save your money and keep the Swing- there's nothing actually wrong with it as a basic stereo. Most of all - don't flush your money by repeating my mistake.

I went aftermarket with mine.

https://www.halfords.com/technology/car-audio/dab-car-stereos/pioneer-sph-da230dab

 

As i wanted Apple CarPlay and DAB, great unit, also have the same fitted in my Mazda

On 26/03/2019 at 08:00, graeme1177 said:

Hi,

The Amundson and Columbus units will both go straight in . Be prepared though- they are both pricey even secondhand. If the car the replacement unit comes from had the same speaker set up as you have now ,  you may get away without VCDS coding but don't count on it.

I have just taken  the route of a Colombus in my 2012 1.2 S and, having added rear speakers, it's really nice. You also get to keep that lovely facility to turn the radio on with the ignition off but still have it going on and off with the key.

Last year I 'upgraded' by buying a £269 sat nav unit from an E Bay seller in Leeds. I had problems from the start with getting the SD card with the maps on it to latch. The response to that was ' it was alright when it left here'. Once installed ,  it lasted a couple of months before it started to turn itself on when the car was parked up (flattening the battery more than once).  That problem ,I was told, was obviously a can bus fault with my car..... Are you starting to see a pattern with the customer support ? Whilst it did work, the sat nav was good  but the sound was distinctly harsh and the radio reception was poor with very much fewer stations, signal drop outs and no traffic announcements whatsoever. A signal booster made little to no improvement. You think you're doing the right thing by buying in the UK but ....

Further research into alternatives has shown that all aftermarket units have the same problem with radio reception. By the time I'd bought the unit, added a DAB plus box and a signal booster I'd blown uncomfortably over £300 and the thing was utter rubbish.

Save your pennies towards a Columbus or an Amundson secondhand . They'll go straight in ( the rule of thumb is that if they are the same shape they will fit) and they're classy , work properly and won't flatten your battery .

The Zenec units have  some good reviews and they are Bluetooth enabled as standard whereas the OEM units need extra kit. But they don't come cheap. If pennies are tight right now just save your money and keep the Swing- there's nothing actually wrong with it as a basic stereo. Most of all - don't flush your money by repeating my mistake.

Thankyou I will have a look around and see what I can find

I know this thread is a bit old now but I'm wondering where you got your facia from? It looks so much cleaner than some that I've seen as there's no "second bezel" around the head unit.

On 26/03/2019 at 08:00, graeme1177 said:

 

The Amundson and Columbus units will both go straight in . Be prepared though- they are both pricey even secondhand. If the car the replacement unit comes from had the same speaker set up as you have now ,  you may get away without VCDS coding but don't count on it.

I

thinking of doing this to a recently purchased fabia monte carlo...not the tech as the head unit is not this one...i have OBD 11, what sort of coding is required if any and any links to instructions?

The team at Automotive Sound and Vision (InCarTec) upgraded the old Bolero radio in my Skoda Yeti and replaced it with a Pioneer DA77DAB. Looks great! Has Wireless Apple Carplay/ Android Auto and lots more features.

Best part was they managed to keep the Parking assist and air con features working and transfer them to the new Pioneer radio. Would highly recommend!!!