Man has walked on the moon (so they say) we have the iPad, OMG...Is it really this hard to find an aftermarket faceplate for a 2001 XJ8? Wanting to install the JVC KD-A815. Any ideas, any suggestions two weeks now of DEAD ENDS!!?

Thanks,
Thomas

 

It cost a hell of a lot for man to walk on the moon... it cost a hell of a lot to develop the iPad... it also costs a hell of a lot (relatively speaking) to design/fabricate an aftermarket faceplate. Someone has to pay for this development. Taxpayers paid for the moon; millions of customers will pay for the iPad. Who pays for the XJ8 faceplate?

Injection mold tooling for this kind of product will cost on the order of $100,000. If one were to charge $100 per plate, it will take sales of 1,000 JUST to cover the tooling cost, no engineering costs, no profit, no marketing, no overhead... How many do you think they'd really be able to sell?

If the market numbers aren't there, either no one will make them or will charge an arm and a leg for them. The typical (not us, of course) XJ8 owner does not turn their stereo up beyond 10, much less modify the dash and add an aftermarket system... the market just isn't there to support an affordable option.

It could, perhaps, be a nice niche market for a small mom and pop business, at a substantially higher sales price... but hafta find somebody who wants to pick up the ball and run with it.

 

I have made over 60 fascias for our model of Jaguar and these are now successfully installed on Jaguars in Europe and the States.

Please email me to discuss your options as I would be more than happy to end your nightmare!

Regards

Ian.

(UK)

 

VOILA! Here's your niche market savior.

 

Hi Ian

Any pictures for us to drool over ?

The worst I've seen so far is half way down this page (post 3)....

http://www.avforums.com/forums/porta...-upgrades.html

and the best I've seen so far is a bit further down :-)

 

It is apparently a very niche market and money to be made for those who can do a good custom job of it.

I didn't attempt to find anyone to custom make it, so had a go at doing it myself:














Fitted to the car:

 

Whoa dude, that is cool looking ! What the heck is it ? A home entertainment center ?

 

Ha thanks.

It's just a standard flip monitor system, DVD, Sat Nav, TV, multiple inputs- USB, Ipod, etc, etc,

 

My radio just started turning off the sound anytime it felt like it, so I'm torn between trying something like this, or replacing it with a used radio to retain the factory look. My only concern, of course, is the replacement radio doing the same thing in time. Some of the examples shown for New replacement do not hurt my eyes at all!

Not sure what the sound problem is. Radio still functions fine, just Zero Sound. I've checked all connectors and fuses, and still nothing. It randomly plays fine for a while, then quits again.

 

It's been about two years since I put my aftermarket stereo in, but I only saw the double-din screen 'in-dash' setup only weeks after completing mine; else that would have been my prefered choice to keep as stock as possible, with all the benefits that come with it.

 

I'm sorry for being so dense, but what is the Double-Din Setup?

 

I was referring to the link provided by a user earlier in this post. They have got a double-DIN monitor screen in the dash/console. A single DIN refers to the height of a standard after market car stereo; double DIN is then, of course double the height of single.

The Kenwood unit that I have installed is a single DIN unit, whereas that person who has a full screen in the console is of a double DIN height.

 

Thank you for clearing that up. I cannot believe I don't know that. I'm somewhat of an Electronics Freak.

Yes, the image of the "Double DIN" unit does look nice. <--- Look, I used it in a sentence.

Thanks again, and next time, I'll try to Google first.

 

hey sh500 if possible can you snap a picture of the kenwood from the backseat/from a distance? I have a alpine flip out im considering installing but not sure the time/effort would be worth it.

 

hey sh500 when installing your kenwood was it plug n play with an adapter? or did you have to cut into wires?

 

@stran0020

I tried to take pictures yesterday but the car was parked in direct sunlight and the pictures weren't coming up too well. Will try again later today.

Yep, fitting just requires the ISO adapter, plug in and you're ready to go. You can, optionally, bypass the 'monitor safety/handbrake' wire (connecting it to a ground/earth source) so your passengers can still watch video content whilst the car is moving.

 

JAGUAR 1998

Anyone have one of these? How do you like it?

David

 

If you have seen a picture of a Double Din installed into an XJ8, I sure would like to see it; please note the size as well. My wife's 04 currently has a Clarion single Din motorized (a flip out like your Alpine) which is acting up thus I want to replace it. I have been reading up on 6.2" & 6.95" double din units since I would prefer to not have a motorized screen which covers up the climate buttons when its up. I believe the challenge will be whether one can fit since there is not much height between the ashtray and the climate controls to play with.

 

Looks like you have an X350, which is a completely different beast from an X308

I've seen... 3? double din headunits installed into X308's, but can't help for the later ones sorry.
Multi-Media
click through to the second page of images to see the headunit