Car stereos and CarPlay upgrades under $200 compared

Start with what is in your dash today

A factory screen that already has wired CarPlay or Android Auto needs only an adapter. The CarlinKit works with exactly those cars, makes the link wireless and adds Android apps on the same screen ¹ — and in a car without factory CarPlay it has nothing to plug into.

A factory screen without CarPlay needs a module built for that car. AUTOABC’s Toyota module is for 2014–2019 models with the Touch2 / Entune 2.0 screen and keeps the wheel buttons, the knob and the backup camera, but not the 360-degree camera ². The two Mercedes units are the same idea for Mercedes — one keeps the factory screen, one replaces it — and the next section is about telling them apart.

A plain radio in a standard slot can be swapped for a touchscreen head unit like the LEHX. A double-DIN opening is about 4 inches tall and 7 wide, twice a single-DIN’s 2 inches ³. Crutchfield, which has measured the dashes of tens of thousands of cars, says nearly every car also needs an installation kit to trim the new unit into the dash and a wiring harness for the connections, and that a factory double-DIN face can hide a smaller opening behind it ³. Measure, and add both to the price.

1. Carlinkit TBOX LITE S CarPlay / Android Auto wireless adapter Shopro — 'works with cars equipped with factory wired CarPlay or Android Auto'; wireless CarPlay and Android Auto plus Android apps on the car's screen; dual-band Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.4
2. Wireless CarPlay & Android Auto for Toyota Touch2 / Entune 2.0 (2014-2019) AUTOABC — the maker's page: for 2014-2019 Toyotas with the Touch2 / Entune 2.0 screen; keeps the steering-wheel buttons, knob and backup camera; not for cars with the 360-degree camera
3. Single-DIN vs. double-DIN car stereos Crutchfield — single-DIN about 2 in tall and 7 in wide, double-DIN about 4 in by 7 in; 'Nearly every vehicle requires an installation kit'; 'You'll also need a wiring harness'; a factory double-DIN face can hide a smaller chassis opening; Crutchfield has 'researched over 38,000 vehicles' and 'measured the dash space'

On a Mercedes, the system decides, not the year

Mercedes cars of the last decade run one of three generations of its infotainment system, and the years overlap. Euro Premium Parts lists NTG 4.5 on cars from 2011 to 2015 — the facelifted C-Class W204, the facelifted E-Class W212, the CLS W218 — NTG 4.7 from 2013 to 2016, the early C-Class W205 among them, and NTG 5 from 2014 to 2018, on the C-Class W205 and the GLC ¹. So a C-Class W205 can carry either NTG 4.7 or NTG 5, depending on when it was built.

That is the whole difference between the two Mercedes units here: the autoabc module is listed for NTG 4.5 and 4.7, the RoadTop screen for NTG 5.0. Check your car’s system — the same guide explains how ¹ — before you choose between them.

1. How To Check Your Mercedes NTG Version? Euro Premium Parts — NTG 4.5 (2011-2015): C-Class W204 facelift, E-Class W212 facelift, CLS W218, ML W166, GL X166; NTG 4.7 (2013-2016): early S-Class W222, early C-Class W205, GLA X156; NTG 5.x (2014-2018): C-Class W205, early E-Class W213, S-Class W222, GLC X253

What these prices mean

Each price here is the one we last checked on that product’s own page, and each page says the date. All five are AliExpress listings: AliExpress quotes new accounts a lower “Welcome deal” price and runs store coupons on top, so you may be shown less than we list.

The struck-through figures are the sellers’ own list prices, each claiming around two-thirds off or more. We have not seen any of them charged near those, which is why the Deal Meter measures these against the prices we recorded ourselves.