In today’s customer case study update we will be telling you how easy it is to integrate an iPod into an Audi Vehicle. iPod Integration doesnt get easier than this.

John Cafferty purchased from us a while ago but it was a perfect example of how simple it is. No contact was made prior to the sale, John simply ordered from the website. He opted for the Dension Gateway 100 for Audi because he wanted an iPod cradle mounted on his dash.

John filled out a questionnaire after his purchase so we know what he was happy with. He was delighted with the amount of detail that the website went into which allowed him to make his decision on which iPod Car Kit he wanted to purchase. The order arrived at 1:30pm and was delivered at 10am the morning after. John had booked an installation with our recommended installers the day after it was delivered.

John sent us a letter a few days after that to let u know how happy he was with the service & that his iPod kit was working excellently. The installers arrived at his work place and installed the kit within 30 minutes. John was delighted that he had saved nearly £700 when comparing the kit to Audi’s own kit.

iPod Car Kit

Audi iPod Kit

Another happy customer! If you want your case study adding to our blog then please let us know.

Its time to tell you about another of our customers. Andy Crawford from Leeds contacted us around a month ago and was more than happy to share his story.

Andy purchased a new (09) VW Golf from his local VW dealership, he was told be the salesman that an iPod integration kit was included in the price of the vehicle. Andy was delighted as he was also looking at a Renault Megane which didn’t have the option for iPod Integration, hearing this news tipped the decision towards the VW. Andy drives alot for his job and can average 200 miles a day in some weeks. He ordered and eagerly waited for his new car to arrive.

3 weeks later he got the call to collect his car and swiftly popped down to the VW Dealer. He was delighted with the car in every aspect but within a few hours (after playing with all the gadgets and getting used to it) he got around to testing the iPod kit. To Andy’s disbelief the only visible iPod connection was just a 3.5mm jack in the glove box. He scoured the vehicle manual and couldn’t find any information so he called the dealer and was told that the 3.5mm jack was the iPod Integration kit that he was promised. Andy pointed out that 3.5mm jacks cannot integrate an iPod with a stereo, it can only provide a simple audio signal. He was after hoping that his iPod would stay charged and have the ability to be controlled from the car stereo.

After a 30 minute conversation the VW Dealer finally decided to offer an integrated iPod solution to Andy for free of charge. The car was booked in and the iPod kit was installed. It turns out that the kit they were installing was a very poor, very old version of a Dension In Car iPod kit (infact, one of the very first versions produced nearly 8 years ago). It wouldn’t charge his iPod, it would only map 5 playlists on the stereo (he couldn’t control it via albums, artists, tracks or any other means), he couldn’t revert the controls back to the iPod, the kit didn’t send track information (ID3 tagging) to the stereo. All in all, Andy wasn’t happy!

We received a call at 3:30pm on a Friday from Andy, our first contact with him. He asked what could be done and if any of the features he wanted were possible. We confirmed that ALL the features were possible & infact very simple. He could even install the kit himself easily. Andy ordered & we received a call on Monday morning from Andy. Andy received the kit on Saturday at 8am, had it installed by 9am and all the features he was after worked just as he had hoped.

Andy was just another happy customer of iPodCarKitDirect. If you want iPod integration or an In Car iPod then give us a call, see what see can do for you!

Dice Electronics are at the forefront of the iPod Car Kit market in the US & have pushed themselves into the limelight in the UK market over the last year. Dice Electronics have a huge development team and are always trying to better their kits.

The latest update is something called "SMART" mode. SMART mode is a new way of operating your iPod. It allows you to switch between iPod control and stereo/steering wheel control without going into your boot to change the dip switches around.

This new mode makes the Dice iPod Integration kits stand out above others & really pushes them towards what the consumers want.

Currently, the SMART mode kits are only available for BMW but more vehicles are due soon. Watch this space!

We were contacted by a customer at the start of this month who was desperate to get his iPod working in his car. He had already been given false information by 4 companies and he saw his only logical route to be through his dealer (who you would expect knew his car and its options inside out & back to front). £1400 and two weeks (without his car) later, the only thing that he had extra to before his vehicle went over to his dealer was an even bigger headache!

The dealer had sold him a kit for nearly triple the price that we charge (we charge £140, the dealer charged £400) and then charged a whopping £1000 for installation which took an entire two weeks! When this was complete it turned out that the iPod car kit didnt even work! He took it back and had it tested, they agreed to swap it over. Still no joy! In the end, 3 kits were tested and none worked. Our customer managed to get his £400 back for the iPod Car Kit but they wouldnt pay up for the installation costs. This has obviously left sour grapes in the mouth of the customer who was understandably very annoyed. This is where iPod Car Kit Direct come in, proving that we are a long way ahead of the game when it comes to getting an In Car iPod.

We had a call around 9:15am asking if we could offer any advice. We obviously knew the vehicle very well having successfully integrated around 5000 iPod Car Kits into thus far. We knew exactly what the issue was and suggested we could sell the Dension Gateway 100 kit at £140 and install it for £50. Our installers went over to our customers place of work two days later and installed the kit within 1 hour. Fully tested and fully working.

Needless to say that our customer was extremely pleased that he could now play his iPod in his car. He is also pursuing the lost £1000 with trading standards and is very close to a happy ending.

This story goes to show that there really is no replacement for expereince. We dont like blowing our own trumpets but we have twice the experience than any of our competitors and have ben the only company to have been dealing with iPod Car Kits since the very first iPod Car Kit was designed.

The installation of the Gateway 100 & 300 units are usually trouble free, in fact the most troublesome part of the installation is removing the head-unit. We have listed a few features regarding the installation that will help you when deciding whether or not you should try it yourself. (Please remember that The Gateway 100 & 300 products are car and radio specific and have different pin setting for different units)

Preparation,

Disconnect the head-unit (stereo) from the battery. If you have a security code applied ensure that you have it recorded.

Remove the Head-Unit

Often the radio will have a specific radio Key that will need to be used when removing the Stereo, (available at http://www.ipodcarkitdirect.co.uk/iPod_Car_Accessories/Radio_Keys/). Simply insert the keys into the slots and pull out the head-unit.

Remove the Original Harness

Remove the harness that is attached to the stereo, these harness look different in different car models and manufactures.
Replace the Dension Harness
Attach the Dension Harness to the stereo and then re attach the old harness to Dension harness. The Denson attachment should then be connected to the Dension PCB (black box).

Attach & route the application

When the harness have been connected together, connect the Dension application (Dock Cable or Active cradle) to the PCB and rout into the position that you would like it to be kept, (for dock cables this is usally in the glove box, active cradles are usually attached to the Dashboard)

Insert the head-unit

Insert the head-unit back into the original position and re connect to the battery.
Remember,
The Key code for the radio, updated iPod software & Dension software also resolve 99% of installation problems

For more detailed instruction refer to the Manual when purchased, or visit http://install.dension.com