The A3 iPod Intergration Rip-off

I just picked up my new 2007 A3. It's beautiful, and drives like a dream. One of the important features for me was to be able to connect my iPod to the car and listen to my MP3s. Dealer after dealer told me all different things- some said I could do it with a kit, others said that it was difficult. All finally agreed (after they did some research) that I would need the Audi Integration kit which connects the iPod through the glove compartment. 4 dealers told me this.

One thing everyone did agree with was that I could no longer connect the iPod through the tape deck since they discontinued cassette from the 2007's. That would have been the easiest solution and would have made me perfectly happy. When I finally ordered my car from the last dealer I went to in NYC, I had stopped asking about the iPod and just sucked up the $595 charge for installation and actual product of the iPod kit (German wiring- very difficult to work with --- very labor intensive--- so I was told...)

So I finally get the car yesterday and after all that, there's a cassette deck in it with my Bose System!!! Discontinued? I just paid a rediculous charge to put this stupid kit in the A3 which, granted charges the iPod, but only allows me to skip through songs from where I've started playing them on the iPod itself. If I want to hear another record, I have to unplug the iPod from the cable, find what I want, and plug it back in again. When it's connected to the kit the iPod itself is actually locked out. Very safe for driving through the world. Sure, I can change tracks from the steering wheel, but for $600 I should get a little bit more. For $0, I could have just bought a $10 cassette adapter, but nobody seemed to know the car came with a cassette.

Pretty lousy, and I'm a sucker with a $600 built in iPod charger. Be aware!

any a3 with the bose audio package comes with cassette....except if you get nav. but nav can play mp3's on SD cards, even better then an ipod IMO.

Yeah, that pretty much sucks. Then they wonder why nobody trust them when buying a car. And you're right the Audi solution is real lame. You think they might give you something since it was their bad informtion that made you buy the integrations kit in the first place. Might be worth some additional mats, a refund or something. But anyway, I know 600 doesn't grow on trees, but seriously you got a nice ride, and I can don't think there is anyone that leaves a stealership completely happy, even rich folks.

I've pretty much settled in with the fact that I threw away 600 bucks. I guess I'll make really big playlists for my Ipod and skip around with my steering wheel knob every once in a while, just to get my money's worth. But I do love the car and I can't wait to drive it again tomorrow.

i T r i p

Good idea, but FM transmitters are useless in the congested FM band NY area, and they generally don't sound as good as other methods outside of busy citys.

hey spaceman, congrates on your new car. where did you get yours? and how much did you pay? if you dont mind me asking. what options did you get. i'm ordering mine very soon. thanks.

Not only am I pissed at Audi for this. It's Apple too. Steve brags about how many cars are "APPLE COMPATIBLE" ... but when you get to the details of spending over twice the price of an iPod (top of the line here) to connect with limited features.... then something is wrong with the 'compatibility' definition. If I spend that much I'm expecting full integration with easy access to playlists from the steering wheel, with the names of songs displayed on the radio. And of course good sound...

I ordered the Nav/Sound package because I was skeptical of this. although I'm currently converting my iPod library to MP3s which is a pain in the ass as well. You pretty much have to burn them to CD and then re-rip them in MP3...

I love the iPod, I love Apple. I own a lot of shares of the company... but I'm very skeptical of their "iPod Compatibility" and what level and what price it is.

Thanks for the honest post. Congrats on your A3 purchase!

sucks you got ripped, a DICE setup would've only run you $150 or so =/

I drove the car for a while today, and listened to Sirius Satelite radio, so I mostly forgot about my iPod woes. The car drives freakin great and I'm really happy with it, so the ripoff integration nonsense is going to the back of my mind pretty quick (until I plug the iPod in again that is...) My dealer told me to make sure I give him a positive review when Audi customer service calls me in a couple of weeks. I guess I'll let them know that this little issue soured things for me and the dealers are all pretty uninformed on the radio options.

Lou, I got my A3 at Zumbach in Manhattan. After a shakey start and a nasty salesperson who decided to take his personal crap out on me, I got a pretty nice guy and he really was ok. They all turned out pretty decent after I made the deal, which left me with a good taste in my mouth. My A3 is Lava Gray with the Premium Pkg, Cold Weather, 6 speed manual, Bose sound (no nav- I've ordered the Garmin Nuvi 660, which apparently rocks way more than Audi's very basic overpriced system) and Open Sky. I like the Open Sky a lot, and the radio sounds pretty sweet. I had a VW GTI just before, and this car is so much smoother than that one. Potholes don't scare me as much anymore, thankfully. I paid just about $30k.

I asked my salesman and also looked up prices, to see how much Audi installed the iPod integration system, $500!! Its WAY OVER PRICED.

I know a few people with Audi's and also BMW's with car's going back to YEAR 2000 and all you need is the dice kit or any other kits available now.

Very simple procedure also. Wiring is done from the trunk and brought to the front. Doesnt even have to be in the glove box. I prefer my iPod to be near the center console, closer to the stereo

There is a car STEREO/ELECTRONICS installation place near me, had a few family members get the iPod kit's done there, $150!!! With labor and all. Very nicely done also.

I will be bringing it there when my A3 arrives from the dealer in several weeks.

I had an alpine unit in my xterra b4 with ipod fullspeed link and sirius radio. I was able to browse all the playlists and navigate through songs effortlessly. I would upgrade to a different head unit but I love steering wheel controls so much.

I spent about $150 for an Ipod link made by periperhal but had to rewire it to make it work. I was half expecting song titles and cd playlist functionality but was pretty dissapointed when all I got was "TRK 0 -100" Soo... I decided to make this.

Very nicely done!

Now...when can this trickle down to my little A3 RSN-E?

http://www.jalopnik.com/cars/novelties/audis-got-some-hot-apple-head-unit-action-206289.php

quote:

ORIGINAL: lilmonkey

Now...when can this trickle down to my little A3 RSN-E?

http://www.jalopnik.com/cars/novelties/audis-got-some-hot-apple-head-unit-action-206289.php

It's crap like this that will force me to stay with Audi... Hopefully a 3rd gen TT will be out by the time I hit 60,000 miles ... with the 10th gen IPOD interface

"although I'm currently converting my iPod library to MP3s which is a pain in the ass as well. You pretty much have to burn them to CD and then re-rip them in MP3..."



You don't have to do that actually. You can use a software called ephPod and download all your music onto your computer that is on your iPod into MP3 format. Then pick and choose the mp3s you want to burn via iTunes playlists.

http://www.engadget.com/2004/11/02/how-to-get-music-off-your-ipod/ - HOWTO

http://www.ephpod.com/download.shtml = DOWNLOAD

-Seed

I have a Microsoft Zune...  I plan on buying the wireless integration kit for it-- appropriately termed the Carpack with FM Transmitter--> http://www.zune.net/en-us/accessories/zune/zunecarpack.htm...  Does the iPod have any similar accessory available?  It connects your MP3 player by submitting a wireless FM signal that somehow latches on to a radio station.  You then tune your radio to that station, and, voila, you have your MP3's at the MP3's player control.  

Know a laywer who will do you a favor and send a letter to the GM of the dealership complaining about misrepresentation by his salesmen.  Sometimes, not always,  just a lawyer's letter will get them to do something for you so you can recover something on your $600.00.  It may be just a few service calls, discounts on mats,  etc., but anything is better than choking on the whole $600 nut!!
 
Good luck with the car!! 

i have an ipod nano with an itrip fm transmitter. while it should work in theory, good luck finding a good unused FM radio wave if you live a metropolitan area. i live in the SF bay area and if drive 20 miles in either direction, i need to adjust the frequency. also there is always a buzzing sound in the background. good luck.

I just ordered my car a month ago. Makes me sure of my decision to just get the regular sound package.

This is one of the reasons I did not get the Bose nor the plus stereo package (or whatever it was called). $1200 for the Bose is a lot of money, not sure about the value there.

And the plus package - just who wants a freakin cassette player? I dont even own cassettes ;) .

I have read over and over Dice is the way to go and either do it yourself or have a local stereo shop do it. I am not paying the dealer $600 to pop out a radio and plug in some cables in the back. Thats ridiculous.

quote:

ORIGINAL: falcompsx

any a3 with the bose audio package comes with cassette....except if you get nav.

 
So don't you get the Concert II/III over there?

quote:

ORIGINAL: rich1068

quote:

ORIGINAL: falcompsx

any a3 with the bose audio package comes with cassette....except if you get nav.

So don't you get the Concert II/III over there?

The audio package includes Symphony II radio with 6-disk CD player with mp3 capability.  You can get that only for $350 if you want. The extra $1000 (option is $1350) goes to much better speakers with subwoofer/amp and Sirius Satellite Radio.  The radio does have a cassette as you said.  The Symphoney radio looks a lot better in a A3 then the cheaper Concert radio.

quote:

ORIGINAL: tincanman99

I just ordered my car a month ago. Makes me sure of my decision to just get the regular sound package.

This is one of the reasons I did not get the Bose nor the plus stereo package (or whatever it was called). $1200 for the Bose is a lot of money, not sure about the value there.

And the plus package - just who wants a freakin cassette player? I dont even own cassettes ;) .

I have read over and over Dice is the way to go and either do it yourself or have a local stereo shop do it. I am not paying the dealer $600 to pop out a radio and plug in some cables in the back. Thats ridiculous.

Did you know that there is a Ipod interface that uses the cassette player that you can buy cheap at Apple Store. I wonder how the audio quality compares versus Dice interface and various FM transmitter methods.

$1350 = much better radio with 6 CD changer/w mp3 capability, Sirus Sattellite Radio (three month free pass), Bose speakers with subwoofer/w amp.  Radio only option $350.  All you have to do is listen to both and you will determine that the concert radio system has a lot more distortion versus the bose system.

Even though I am pro Mac but knows PC's completely,  I have yet to need a Ipod, I use Itunes to manage large audio collection with all music imported as 192 kbit/s mp3's from Audio CD's. None of that protected 128 kbit/s AAC's!   I can create a CD anytime with hours of music recorded and play them in my A3 changer. Who needs a Ipod?  Unless you are wearing one at work or running/walking with one, I still haven't gotten excited about a Ipod.  The lesser then DVD video quality doesn't impress me either.  Ipod is a very popular toy, but so far not necessary item.  Now with the iPhone that is like carrying a small computer combined with cell phone, that I could use.

I understand what you are saying. Not putting it down but I dont think the Bose name is worth 1200.

As a sidenote I am not an audiophile so Bose does not matter to me nor the satellite radio. The satellite radio is one more thing that I dont want to pay for on a monthly basis. I like the radio in the background and not that loud.

Regardless the car enviroment is not that good a place to listen to music if you are into high fidelity.

I think it sort of depends on the person. The dice adaptor is pretty good gear. I probably wouldn't even use my ipod if it wasn't for dice. Now it just stays in the glove compartment. I'm really happy with the whole set up and I haven't dealt with a CD in years, accept in those instance when sound quality demands one or some other form of analog.

On another subject, for those who are wondering, dice has a harness that will allow you to have both sat radio and the ipod but since the harness splits the signal between the two sources the ipod and sat radio both sound low and less punchy, I tried it out. But dice is still a good piece of gear, I just had to finally make the decision to do away with the sat, maybe better for the pocket book.