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Thread: Do single din stereos look "cheap"?

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    Senior Member fc321's Avatar
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    Do single din stereos look "cheap"?

    Do you feel that single din aftermarket stereos look "cheap" and "tacky"? What will girls on a date think about a single din stereo?


    2015 Mirage DE 5 speed Manual - 30k miles

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    Quote Originally Posted by fc321 View Post
    Do you feel that single din aftermarket stereos look "cheap" and "tacky"? What will girls on a date think about a single din stereo?
    I hate to tell you this, but driving a Mirage probably makes you look cheap & tacky. If you put a single din stereo in a Hummer, she probably wouldn't notice.

    Reversing this around - I would rather date a pretty girl that has a singe din, than a ugly one with a double din!

    Sorry, if I wasn't helpful!

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    Still Plays With Cars Loren's Avatar
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    Along the same lines, if you're dating a girl that cares what your car stereo looks like... meh.

    If you're worth dating, and she's worth dating, neither of you should care what you're driving or what your stereo looks like.

    As Mark alluded to above... you're driving a Mirage. If she's shallow enough to be worried about your car stereo, she's already written you off.

    To answer your question, no... putting a single-DIN stereo into a double-DIN dash doesn't HAVE to look tacky but it certainly CAN. If you just jam it in there and you can see loose wires dangling behind it... well, yeah, that says something about you, doesn't it?

    But, if you install it with a proper install kit and it looks right, there's nothing wrong with that. Bonus points if you install it with a nice cubby under it and make it look like a factory install (a factory install from the 90's, but a factory install just the same).

    Whatever you choose to do, do it right!
    Simplify and add lightness.

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    Senior Member fc321's Avatar
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    Yeah,

    Thats what I meant. The single din look with the cubby underneath to throw your sunglasses into. That is what I mean does it look tacky?

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    Some men are worried about if girls are going to like what car they drive....But the fact is that when you approach a girl and chat her up and get her phone number and/or ask her out on a date.....She has still not seen your car. So if I went on a date with the girl and the date went really well but she doesnt like my Mirage, I dont think most girls would make the car a deal-breaker. And the ones that do, well its better I know ahead of time because that is not a good prospect for a girlfriend. I mean anyone that shallow and superficial.....
    Last edited by fc321; 07-14-2018 at 03:44 AM.
    2015 Mirage DE 5 speed Manual - 30k miles

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        click to view fuel log View my fuel log 2015 Mirage DE 1.2 manual: 44.9 mpg (US) ... 19.1 km/L ... 5.2 L/100 km ... 53.9 mpg (Imp)


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    Still Plays With Cars Loren's Avatar
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    Sounds like we're all on the same page.

    Nah, a well-executed cubby doesn't look tacky at all.

    I think if a person was going to notice anything in a setup like you pictured above, it would be the brand name of your equipment and whether or not it looked "modern". You know, it's not a cheap single-DIN Kraco or Audiovox unit from 1998 that you pulled out of your last car. It's a nice Sony or Kenwood or Blaupunkt and a nice installation. And it sounds good. Cool.

    Of course, that's what the thieves are looking for, too. You can't win.
    Simplify and add lightness.

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    Quote Originally Posted by fc321 View Post
    Do you feel that single din aftermarket stereos look "cheap" and "tacky"? What will girls on a date think about a single din stereo?
    Even though I poked fun at your question originally, I don't think a girl worth dating is going to care about your car stereo all that much. I think she's going to notice if your car is clean inside and out. It shows you are making an effort. You can always slip in the fact about how small cars like the Mirage are good for the planet.

    I'm sort of glad that I grew up during simpler times. I was thrilled when my dad would let me use the family farm truck for a date. I thought the AM radio was lame. Thus, I added a FM converter from Kmart that I attached to the bottom of the dash.

    I'm divorced, & my girlfriend likes to talk on dates. I don't think I could tune her out or drown her out with the best of stereo systems. Heck, she's offended if I turn on the radio. I surely wouldn't upgrade to impress her!

    My girlfriend & I are in our 50's. We're old! I didn't think my girlfriend would like my Mirage, but when you're my age you don't care all that much what others think. By the way - I was wrong about my girlfriend! The Mirage has grown on her, too! Now, she talks about me helping her find one some day. His & her Mirages stories are not that uncommon. The average cost of a new vehicle in the U.S. is somewhere between $30,000-40,000. You can buy two new Mirages (maybe even three) for that price, & still have enough money leftover to buy one heck of a stereo system!

    My guess is that any stereo that is nicely installed is not going to make or break a date at any age level, but this is coming from a guy who thought adding a FM converter to his dad's old farm truck was cool!

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    Senior Member Cobrajet's Avatar
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    Yes. They absolutely do look cheap! It isn't 1998 anymore.

    If you have space for a double-DIN (and most new cars do) that is what you should install. There really isn't much of a cost difference most of the time between a basic DIN and basic double-DIN unit. I was going to put a DIN stereo in my '97 Metro to replace the Kraco shaft radio that came with it. Then I realized the original radio was double-DIN, so that is what I installed. Given the location of the radio in that car (near where the cupholders are in the Mirage) the larger screen really helped. Looked way better, too.

    Not that any woman ever rode in my 'work car'!

    Go double-DIN. That is all...

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    Senior Member Cobrajet's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Mark View Post

    I'm sort of glad that I grew up during simpler times. I was thrilled when my dad would let me use the family farm truck for a date. I thought the AM radio was lame. Thus, I added a FM converter from Kmart that I attached to the bottom of the dash.

    My girlfriend & I are in our 50's. We're old! I didn't think my girlfriend would like my Mirage, but when you're my age you don't care all that much what others think. By the way - I was wrong about my girlfriend! The Mirage has grown on her, too! Now, she talks about me helping her find one some day. His & her Mirages stories are not that uncommon.
    I had one of those FM converters in one of my first cars...a 1964 Mercury Comet Caliente 2-door hardtop. I just couldn't bear the thought of cutting up the beautiful dash in that car to install some cheap-looking Pioneer CD player.

    My ex-girlfriend bought a Mirage shortly after I bought mine. We were both delivery drivers, and both drove Metros. Mine was a '97, hers was a '99. I had just bought my Mirage a month or two before, and was always telling her how much I loved it and how she should get one. One day, something went wrong with her Metro. She couldn't drive it to work that night, and I told her to take my shiny, red, brand-spankin'-new 2015 Mirage ES while I fixed it.

    She drove my Mirage ONE NIGHT, came home, and said, "Okay...let's go get me one of these!" So we did!


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    This is the one I had in my Metro. Kenwood DPX303. IIRC it was about $160 at the time. This was an '09 model that I installed back in 2010. Basic, but tell me it doesn't look better than a DIN radio would!


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    Senior Member fc321's Avatar
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    Yes CobraJet it does.

    I had my eye on this Planet Audio one for $51 shipped and includes the free wiring harness and trim dash kit (A 17$ value) Its 60w x 4 so I should be fine without an amplifier

    https://www.sonicelectronix.com/item...-PB455RGB.html

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    2015 Mirage DE 5 speed Manual - 30k miles

        __________________________________________

        click to view fuel log View my fuel log 2015 Mirage DE 1.2 manual: 44.9 mpg (US) ... 19.1 km/L ... 5.2 L/100 km ... 53.9 mpg (Imp)


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