Well yesterday my radio died in my 2000 Bonnie. I want to put in an aftermarket radio. But according to futureshop it will cost me around $500.00 not including the cost of the radio to install it. They say I need some special harness and something to do with putting it in the trunk...honestly all I heard was the $$$$. I have seen some other threads on here mentioning the harness needed and nowhere near the money, so what i really need is to know exactly what harness it is I need and where in the great white north to get it. Thanks in advanced.

Mike

few questions.
1. do you have a regular stock sound system or an amplified stock system (monsoon or bose)?
2. are you looking for a single or double din?
3. do you have/care about your steering wheel buttons?
4. do you have/care about onstar?


EDITED:
P.*, im interested in seeing that Fiero you have in your sig post some pictures in "your other ride" section lol

If you don't feel comfortable doing it take it to another shop, wherever you took it just wants your money

I got all the parts for mine on Ebay but once you answer Sam'* questions we can tell you what to get

It is just the stock set up, not sure what the difference is between the single or double din. I have steering wheel controls(but don't care if I lose them) and the car doesn't have OnStar. The biggest thing I want in the radio is I pod, my brother in law says I should get one with 3 pre outs and atleast 4v output. Not sure if that answers it or not. No Fiero pics yet as it is a work in progress and not much to see right now(in pieces)
Mike

some cars came with a regular stock system which means your typical HU connected to your speakers and some others came with Monsoon or Bose sound system which means its amplified, there should be an amplifier in your trunk behind the back seat (behind the black cover ill snap a picture of mine soon). also i remember my stock HU said "monsoon" everytime it was turned on. but you having a base bonneville i would assume its a regular sound system.
single din is your regular size deck and double din is the bigger screen one like a dvd player
single din
double din
so basically din stands for the size of the HU, thank god our cars take double din. which gives you the option to fit single din or double din (unlike my stupid grand prix with a din and a half)
k so you not caring about steering wheel controls will save you a harness, also you not having onstar saves you another harness.
as for the ipod that depends on which HU you choose, most HU right now do have ipod control and aux input, even some right now would have USB input and SD card readers lol pretty interesting.

When I called BestBuy to get a quote about the harnesses, the guy told me that he, the manager of this certain BestBuy, wouldn't let me install it myself, even tho I didn't have OnStar or steering wheel buttons.

First off, he said he wouldn't/couldn't sell me the harnesses. One of those, not for resale but they still charge you, parts.

Second, he said there was so much cutting, that I was guaranteed to cut the wires in the wire ribbon that plugs into the stock.

So at this point, he says that he hates doing Bonnevilles, because the parts he has to use are from a VW, and the plastic cutting is a pain. But he'd do it to prevent total car failure, as if I don't know what I'm doing. Idiot.

So then I tell him that I was interested in having him install it for me, and that I had ordered a really nice Sony Double Din DVD player. And he instantly stopped me, said he wouldn't do it in my car if it was a DD, because I wouldn't be able to put my stock back in if he cut all the plastic for the DD, and that if I wanted him to do it, it needed to be a SD, and hung up on me. Idiot x2

So I ordered a new Sony, and had them install this "uninstallable" cd player. I paid $160 for install, and left. 2 minutes later in the parking lot out front, I had the cd player out of the dash, and looking around at what was so "uninstallable" and found that there was nothing I could not have done. Idiot x3.

So, my advice for you is to get the harnesses, and do it yourself. If you can't, I'd say BestBuy because they are the cheapest and did a good job.

P.*. Sorry this was so long, but I just thought I'd let you know my story so you can learn. Thanks

The radio is just the plain jane deck, no bose or monsoon. My display was burnt out when i got the car, but I know it is just stock. I will say I am most likely to buy a single din radio as the ones I was looking at were not DVD. Just some ordinary Alpine decks with Ipod and USB. So do I need a harness? If so what one and where? I haven't tried Best Buy yet, might have to see if they are better than future shop. They to said they hated Bonnie'*. Thanks again.

The only VW part that you have to use is the antenna adapter. Most double din radios you will have to cut a lot of plastic out from inside the radio cavity to make room for wires to run and get them out of the way so that the radio will sit all the way back. There is plenty of room under the radio cavity for modules and wires once you get a clear path. If you open your doors and the door chime is coming out of your speakers, you are going to need a harness with a door chime module. They usually run near $100, but I'm sure you can find one cheaper online. Should be a GMOS module if I remember correctly.

correct, GMOS-09 to be exact

but as Tom said, check where the chime is coming from. is it from the speaker or from under the dash? and from there ill get you a full list of what you need lol

Chiming from speaker, thanks again.