Refurbished 14yo phone, 14yo hands free kit in a 14yo Jag - works perfectly!

 

Haha, I used to have one of those Nokias, back in 2002...

 

Gosh, I'd forgotten how ugly the dash lay-out was in the early cars... ;-)
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My karma just ran over your dogma
Current: '08 Jaguar S-Type 4.2 "Satin Edition" (250.06 whp / 259.67 torque)
Past: '05 X-Type 3.0/auto Jaguar Racing Green

 

Agree not pretty but it all works so I am not complaining!


I remember going to the British motor show the year the S type was launched. Went with a friend who was intent on buying one, he took one look at the interior and bought a BMW instead!

 

Soon, a setup like this will be for museums only. Cassette player is joining the 8-track and the hidden CD changer is not far behind...even though they still work. That Nokia 2G will soon be just an ornament as Wireless network providers are retiring 2G equipment. So it looks great as a tribute. It also reminds me of how non-upgrade capable these cars are.

 

Out of interest, do you know any cars that are designed to be and actually are "upgrade capable"?

It'll mean an open design, the exact opposite of the way all car makers seem to be.

 

I'd say most of the "mass market" brands and models from Ford, GM, even Infiniti (Gee, like most of the vehicles I've been around), had mid, or low level audio systems just yearning for a trip to Crutchfield.com for new speakers and a head unit, using existing wiring. Under the hood, a small block Chevy rarely remains stock.

I can understand that the new, state of the art "nerve center" audio and everything else units are so integrated, why would you ever want to "upgrade". But 10+ year old units with cassette and CD control DO need a facelift with a technology refresh.....without having to completely rip apart wiring and most of the center dash.

 

Not true of various Ford / GM /etc models here. Rip dash apart - big job but doable. Some are much harder than the S-Type.

 

Then I've been either lucky or spoiled with the gambit of previous vehicles. Aftermarket adapter kits, and over the counter wiring harnesses (with a tad bit of solder, electrical tape and wire ties to neaten it up is all that I've had to use).


Would have been nice to be able to upgrade just the head unit (remote amps and speakers still sound great) - just to get some modern features (USB, Bluetooth, touch screen, rear camera, possibly sat/nav). Everything else on the car looks new or current (including the seats!) - only the audio set hints at the age.

 

People have done that and posted how. Maybe follow what they did. It's easier with the car era you have...

 

As you stated earlier, doable = not impossible. I HAD an idea about acquiring a non-working donor head unit, and strip it for its connector assemblies, and there IS someone here that has done it. I've even seen a modified Cadillac head unit upgraded to LED lighting across the board, which required surface mount soldering of each individual component. Definitely not for the faint of heart.

Back when my wife owned this S-Type, even a Jaguar dealer used the term "not possible." Of course, they also wanted her to upgrade the whole car to a XF.

For now, one of those old, better quality cassette adapters with a mini plug still allows access to digital music.

That's retro, too!

 

I have that same dash, but WHERE did you find that old Nokia phone?

 

The car is sixteen years old, I think the phone is about thirteen:

 

I believe it's a 6310i, same as mine. They're still available around here as boxed new-old stock for around €160.

 

Wasn't it this series of early S-Types that had the integrated dialer keypad somewhere on the dash - or only the '03 and up?

 

Hmm. I've never actually seen that, but I would say it's post-facelift.

 

Hi,


Phone was on ebay. Refurbished £40 ($60?). Looks brand new works fine. I live at the bottom of a hill and have often have terrible reception but this is perfect. Is on 2G nework though which I believe is being closed down next year in the US and in the UK in 3/4 years. Fits in the pocket much better than my Galaxy!