XM Radio
 

I test drove a truck for 10 days that had XM Radio. Wow! Really neat option. Unfortunately the truck I ended up buying does not have this option. The dealer said he could install it for $350-$400. Seems a little high to me.

Does it cost that much? I think what needs done is the installation of the transmitter at the roof and have it linked to my current stereo? Or is there more to it? How much and where? I hope to be able to use the XM with my current stereo and with the no hands controls at the steering wheel too!

Thanks,
Mike

The add on unit is under two hundred dollars at Best Buys. I have it in the Excursion, but the unit is really ugly and kind of hard to see. The nice thing is you can take it from car to boat to house, etc with just one subscription.

In the F-350 I added a Sony head unit thatwas XM ready and also would control a CD changer. It came with two remotes and works VERY well for about $350.00.

Go to a good audio shop and you will save money, because if your dealer is like mine, he will take it to the same shop anyway and charge you extra.

Good info..I was thinking about gettin a unit myself. any preferences between XM and Sirius????

One of the guy's at works kid works for a car audio shop. XM was running a promotion last week were the sales people were getting spiffes and the store owner was getting a trip or cash. They were installing them for free with a 1 year contract. Kinda like the cell phones.

Buy a new radio with XM in it...........the best why to go

AM/FM/CD/XM

have XM and Sirius, Sirius does not even compare- much better and less commercials and junk. If you buy a new head unit your existing steering wheel controls are adaptable in most applications with a conversion kit. other alternative is go through the fm modulated 89.1 which is much less expensive but sound quality is not as good and you can still use steering wheel controls.

OSO,your post confused me, which are you saying is better,Sirius or XM?

Sorry, Sirius is better. The only advantage to xm is it is more forgiving for reception. For example, if you can not have an antenna (or don't want one) mounted where it can be seen the xm is more likely to get reception under bridges etc. I have Sirius antenna mounted under the deck of the boat reading through the fiberglass and it does read fine. I have xm mounted in the car with antenna in the back interior and the reception is fine but the channel line up is horrible.

We just installed Sirius on a new Formula,customer called and said he was blown away with the sound and selections,he is very happy. Formula will I think offer Sirius as a factory option for 2004.Little more trouble to install than I like but as a factory option it won't matter.Happy owners are what counts.

Mark,
Is there any noticeable difference in sound quality and reception between the add on unit with the Excursion compared to the fixed mount unit in the F-350:confused: (Ford Lover:mad: ;) )