Alpine double-din suggestions...

[t mac]

My evo got broken into by some little thugs, smash and grab (I now have a garage)...by time I heard my key pager going off, they were driving away before I could get to them. That being said, they busted out the passenger side window and stole my alpine IVA-W200

I'm not huge into navi, just like the double din look, and easy interface that alpine provides as well as watch the occasional DVD. the w200 suited every single one of my needs, however the insurance company wrote me a nice little check, so it's time to shop.

I want to stay with alpine, bc I like how easy it is to use, so unless someone has something they REALLY STRONGLY feel like they should recommend, here are my choices.

http://www.alpine-usa.com/US-en/prod...category=AV_HU
Iva-w505 -$780-850
Iva-203 - $630-779
Iva-205 -$550

The lower prices are either from ebay stores, or places like onlinecarstereo.com, how inclined would you be to buy from those stores? or does anyone know where I could get a good deal on any of the above?

Anyone have any personal experience with these or any recommendations? anything others do better than the rest ect....any input would be appreciated as I don't know a whole lot about car audio.

[t mac]

Also...

Is there anyway to slow down thieves when they break into your car? I was thinking about lock-tite on the 4 screws that hold in the unit, or any other security measures I can take?

[stokEd]

Originally Posted by t mac

The lower prices are either from ebay stores, or places like onlinecarstereo.com, how inclined would you be to buy from those stores? or does anyone know where I could get a good deal on any of the above?

Pricegrabber.com:

http://electronics.pricegrabber.com/...=alpine%20w505

Sorry to hear about your loss.

[goBYeBYe]

Dude wassup meng. They end up getting it??!! WTF!! I hate car thieves. They should have their hand cut off and suffer

[t mac]

yea man, they ended up coming back like 2 weeks later, busted out the window again and got it before I heard it going off! I'm seriously considering setting up a little sting operation for them, hide out in my truck with my sig and start firing as soon as I see them get out!

[goBYeBYe]

Damn that sucks. Glad you got a garage now though, you should report those ppl to the cops and see if they can nab them.

Not sure if you still want the same unit again. I still have mine if you want to take it from me. I was thinking of putting it on the ///M but I might just leave the car as-is for now.


LMK

[majestic*]

You can put a backstrap on the back of the headunit and secure it to the main dash support so they can't take it out as easy... but here's the catch... the harder you make it to steal the more they will damage to try to get it out and in the end might just leave it and break your dash.

I did a jeep yj years ago with a flip-out dvd screen when they had separate hideaway units and the theifs stole the screen without the hideaway unit... so the second time around we secured it to the dash support. The ended up trying to steal it again and damaged so much more of the interior that she wished they had just taken the radio and left the interior alone.

It's a double edged sword. I would look into other security measures, battery backup siren, proximity sensor (can be tricky though), glass break sensor, in-car camera system (obsusa.com), etc.

As for the headunit itself, any one of those alpine units are good and will do what you want, just a note.. if you're thinking of nav in the future alpine makes an NVEP1 is just like the blackbird without the screen (in case you don't care to take it out for portability). I think it comes down to personal preference. The 505 is nicer and sleeker than the 205 or 203. The 203 replaced the 205. The user interface on the 203 and the 205 is virtually identical.

Hope this helps,

Nick

[t mac]

So I ended up picking up the 505 from al-eds.com...they had a thanksgiving sale, 25% off everything, so I picked it up for $749....Galo, if I would have seen this before then, I probably would have grabbed it off you! (I did call the cops, but they were honestly USELESS, sucks but thats the fact of it I guess...I know the theives come through here, and ive seen their car, so was thinking about my little sting operation still!)

Majestic*....I've heard of the straps, how effective is it, what is it made of? I would have heard them earlier...however it was 3am on fri and my gf and I were busy on the couch lol, with the 2 way pager in the other room...once we stopped, I heard it beeping but it was too late by then...also the siren with the compustar alarm on the car, doesnt make sound anymore...which i prob should have fixed

Damage isn't really what im concerned about, my insurance deductable is just barely over what it would cost to fix a broken window, so whether they do $200-2,000 worth of damage, either is fine with me, as long as they DONT get what they want, or I have a chance to catch or inflict some damage on them, their car, ect...

Here are a couple ways I was thinking of slowing them down as well...

There are 4 screws that hold the mounting bracket into the dash after you remove the trim, i was going to fill the grooves of the top of the screw heads (the part where you put the philips head in to grip and turn the screw) with super glue, so that they couldnt use a screw driver to unscrew it and get it out...and i could use needle nose pliers if I ever need to remove it, but that would take too long for them

was also thinking about lock tite/super glew on the screw threads, but thats maybe too perm.

the alarm goes off, if they break the window, and unlock the door...i assume if they try to break into the car, the window at very least is going to be broken..

[donmeca2020]

sorry to hear about your car being robbed. as for the headunit and buying off the online stores make sure the unit your looking at isnt a refurbished one. i've noticed quite a few stores sell refurbished for alot cheaper price. cause im also looking into a double din radio and just dont wanna get a refurbed one . as for slowing the asswipes down. next time you hear something run like hell outside and catch them with your ball bat or your hand gun that should solve the scum problem lol

[majestic*]

Metal backstrap looks like plumber's strapping for copper pipes but comes in straight strips usually 9" or 18" in length rather than a roll like the plumber's stuff.

Here's a link to what I'm talking about... http://www.audiooutfitter.com/at-bs-...al/p71633.html

It is very effective because of the way you have to install it. You attach the backstrap to the back of the radio first before installing it. Then when you install the radio you secure the backstrap to the main dash support from somewhere else (ex. from behind the glovebox, airbag, etc) so that there is no slack in the radio - that way if a thief were to try to remove the radio he could not pull on it because the strap it holding it in very tightly.

It's a bit tricky to set up and will be a pain in the ass whenever you want to change any wiring behind the radio or add anything because you will have to strip more of your car to get to the backstrap to be able to remove the radio.

All in all, it's a worthwhile investment and like I said before, if it makes it more difficult to remove the radio and is taking too long most theives will move on to something easier or damage you dash entirely and still get it.

Hope this helps,

Nick

[STi2Evo9]

Can't go with alpine products. As for your choices any one of those will be great.