Greetings,

I've once again returned to the land of Audi ownership, but purchasing a Yellow '97 A4Q 2.8 Manual. The first thing to say, I love it! I used to have an '86 5KTQ which I kept until the repair bills were about $500/month to keep it happy! :-)

Anyhow, I was very pleased to see Audi kept many of the same wonderful features (red gauges, climate control, solid handling, etc.) and have improved in many other areas (window controls, seat controls, headlights(!)..

I am disappointed in a few things. Non-DIN sized radio, change in tach to single digits (I loved the tach with 10,20,30...x100. It looked cool and quirky.).

The stereo is a sore disappointment. Not DIN-sized!!! Ack. (I understand 99.5/2000(?) cures this) Mine came with the delta unit, with no changer. And I will not pay out $500 for one that I know costs half that!

I am interested in replacing the head-unit with a normal brand unit, but I don't want an ugly black filler plate around the stereo. And in all my searching, I've yet to see one with a DIN sized hole.

I read somewhere on a4.org that Australlian models came with a DIN sized stereo, and that the wood panel that fits around the stereo/climate-controls has a DIN sized hole. Can anyone confirm this?

If so, I think I can change stereos. What a silly hangup, eh? I just can't stand the look of plastic/black filler around a DIN sized radio. No matter how "professional" it looks, it still doesn't look factory.

I figure a nice CD head-unit and Changer can be had for the price of the stupid Audi changer.

ANY suggestions are very welcome!

-Mike