Upgrading LX470 Nakamichi stereo / screen dilemna - budget, costs?

[ballardcruiser]

Bought my 2001 LX470 back in September (came from the world of 60 series) and pretty much love it. Have a long-term plan to do various upgrades / mods over time as budget allows (from bumpers to sliders, tires, etc). Want this to be my forever daily driver/overlanding rig and basically hold onto it for a decade or so.

The one pet peeve I have about my rig is the stereo system. Came with the Nakamichi head unit, but also an old school fold down video screen from the ceiling for the second row passengers.

So, I'd love to upgrade. A decent blue tooth headunit and amp, some mid-level speakers, maybe a cheap backup camera. Just want to hear music again. I'd love to hear if anyone in a similar boat had a shop do this and what the total costs were.

Late last year, I reached out to my highly regarded local car audio place (all 5* yelp reviews & I had a prior/great experience with them) and they scared the crap out of me about the complexity of this mess: They quoted me a large amount to get it fixed.

I can do the crutchfield / amazon parts math... just wondering what labor-wise people are paying (or words of encouragement that this is something a one banana guy could do)? I don't need to have video capabilty if that complicates things.

 

[Snowrydr01]

Just finishe my nakamichi head unit replacement yesterday did a pioneer 4200nex and removable headrest monitors. it was about 10 to 14 hours of work in 2 hour incriments at night and was roughly a grand. it sounds like yours is a basket case though and is going to need a lot of diagnostic time before even thinking about new stuff.

Id say plan on taking it as almost a full gut and full re running of wiring and amps. maybe you will get lucky and all the old factory wiring left in and not hacked to bits but until you get in there you never know

 

[Evan Kapel]

Do not blame your car audio place for the electronic nightmare you bought. It sounds like you will have to
pay an expert to sort it out, unless you are an expert in auto electronics. If you are not, you will likely
make it worse by doing a DIY repair. I am speaking from experience, as I made the same mistake in
the past!

 

[ballardcruiser]

Do not blame your car audio place for the electronic nightmare you bought. It sounds like you will have to
pay an expert to sort it out, unless you are an expert in auto electronics. If you are not, you will likely
make it worse by doing a DIY repair. I am speaking from experience, as I made the same mistake in
the past!

Not blaming the installer... I trust his work and have used him the past. I guess I just didn't expect this "repair" to cost half the value of the rig. I may still do it through him or I may just get used to analog technology and forget about it for a while.

Let this serve as a reminder to potential cruiser buyers to check not only the mechanical/frame stuff but the little electronics odds & ends during a PPI. Had I simply tried the fader during my pre purchase test drive, I would have had another bargaining chip.

I def. don't want to make this situation worse... I'll start saving up.