texag2246

I recently purchased a 2005 RX330 with factory navigation (non Mark Levinson). I have gone to a few places to price how much it would cost and the numbers are a lot higher than I imagined. I have been informed by almost everyone of them that I will lose some sort of functionality if I were to make the upgrade which I know is wrong according to multiple threads on here.

Any suggestions and information would be awesome.

Do you recommend car toys?

gasconguy

No Car Toys - hell no. A lot have had success with them I think, but not knowing where you live I would say no. I would pay more to go to a local, established boutique (for lack of a better word) type place. I paid almost $800 for the install, with no nav, but it was top-notch. I bought all the equipment on Amazon for not a whole lot. But there is enough trickery with the factory amp that I would not trust Car Toys (who I called and it was clear that I knew more about the stereo in my car than they did, in a mid-sized city of 500k) to do it. My two cents, and good luck.

texag2246

Thanks for the reply. I live in the pacific northwest. The "mom and pop" audio stores that I have been to so far quote me $1200 and more stating that the price would include no "hiccups". I also stopped by my local best buy just for kicks and they made it sound like an upgrade on the 330 would be impossible without losing all functionality in the vehicle lol. So I have had zero success on my journey so far.

What all did you install on yours? Im really looking for ideas so I can buy all my parts through something like amazon like you did and hopefully save a lot in the long run.

gasconguy

I replaced the deck, all door speakers, and added a sub (with amp) as well as a four channel amp for the door speakers. Again, no nav, and there are plenty of threads on this site addressing this whole process, but if you want this done right as I am sure you do, it's not going to be cheap.

takeshi74

What's your basis for the number in your head? As stated above, doing it right will cost you.

texag2246

If I were to just purchase the beat sonic unit as well as a new head unit, I am hoping to keep everything under $1,000 after install. Not sure if that is realistic from what I am being told. So far car toys, best buy, and one local shop insists that there is no way to keep any factory speakers.

Carver

Car Toys did a superb job for me. Check Yelp for installers in your area. I bought all the parts and had CT install them (450.00 including the back up cam). Read the Kenwood link in my sig for more info.