I recently installed a new aftermarket stereo in my 1999 Volkswagen Beetle. I was kind of forced into getting a new radio because I took my car in to a shop to diagnose a battery drain and they ended up cracking my factory radio when they pulled it out.

I have no real experience working with cars, and the install definitely took a lot longer than expected, but I think this is a task that most people can handle. My install was complicated by the fact that the shop that diagnosed my battery drain also removed the fuse to the radio (fuse 42, fyi) and didn’t tell me about it.

I ordered most of the parts I needed off of Amazon.

The stereo I bought was the Sony Xplod CDXGT55UIW. It has both USB connectivity with iPhone support and an AUX port for connecting anything else. It definitely beats the tape deck in my old radio.

Here’s the full list of items I needed:
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