Car CD Player died...bluetooth, bells and whistles on aftermarket in-dash?

Something else to think about...

If it were ME.  I would do Serius/XM, Ipad jack, Bluetooth, and CD.

I LOVE my satelite radio and bluetooth that came with the car.  Only occasionally do I play CD's.  Also, maybe an easy jack to hook up an Ipod, and you don't even need the CD player.

Kido - I am leaning toward the bells and whistles. I MUST have a CD player though - we (both myself and myself & step-daughter) listen to audio books constantly. Can download to phone, but definitely want to be able to listen to them.

Pioneer is a good name - I'd only go for "name brand" - JVC, Kenwood, etc. 

Just a few months after buying my new truck the radio displayed Klingon and wouldn't respond to the controls.  Brought it back and they replaced the radio.  Two weeks after the put the new one in, I replaced it with a Pioneer DVD-Nav.  It was a bit pricy, but it has every single thing you could ask for.  Has GPS navigation, plays CDs and DVDs, internal HS so you can rip CDs and store music on it, Plays USB thumb drives, Ipod, Bluetooth, XM and Sirius.  The newer version plays SD cards.     

Since you have a double DIN, it's easier to find one with all the bells and whistles.  I'd stick to Pioneer Kenwood, Alpine, and JVC.  There are lots of cheaper ones, but you'll get what you pay for.  I've had my Pioneer for 5yrs now and only had one problem with it, which was fixed with a software update.  The only beef I have with it is that map updates are slow to non-existent.  Kenwood uses Garmin software, so they have a leg up there.  These points are moot if you don't plan on getting navigation though. 

Me...being the impatient person I am. I ordered this one:

JVC KW-R800BT

It's a double-din - so it'll look nicer and fit the stereo opening. It also has Bluetooth adapter...I didn't get the steering wheel adapter because I don't feel like spending $70 on something I only occasionally use.

Amazon had it cheaper than Crutchfield :-)

It should be here on Friday and it's time to install the 2nd car stereo I've ever done...although the first one was about 10 years ago...

CD player- is that the archaic technology that came before, or after the 8-track?

Hopefully the JVC will come with DIN tools.  And if you have the correct adapter, this install will take about 10 minutes.  

Insert DIN tools, slide out radio. 

Unplug harness.

Plug in adapter harness.

Slide in new radio.  

I put a Kenwood in my Jetta because the blue and red lights matched the blue and red lights in the Jetta dash.  It was very nice. 

Be mindful if the new radio is DEEPER than the old one, even by just a little bit.   There's not much room back there, and it is possible to pinch the wiring harness.   If that happens, it is just a matter of time before the radio chassis cuts through a wire.

Good luck!