Alright i have a 2003 monte and I want to install a after market radio. Its just the stock cd player currently no tape but i think it does have a factory amp.. i was wondering if I can just go to wallmart and buy the right wiring harness with no problems?

 

wallmart? i doubt it. it requires a chime unit, it's a speciality unit designed for these type of GM cars. so best buy, or or any car stereo install place. or online, is your cheapest bet if you can wait.

 

I know people have put after market decks in these Montes, but it comes with complications and decisions to make.
If you have OnStar, you need a special harness to utilize it (I believe the harness is $80-$150, depending on which one). As noted earlier, the door chime routes through the radio, one fix is to use a harness that allows you to add a small dedicated chime speaker.
A lot of people also end up "hiding" the factory deck elsewhere in the car to continue using it as an interface for various features.
As I understand, most if not all these Montes have a factory amp to tend with.

In my opinion, if you are happy with the sound in the car, look for a factory deck with the features you want (eBay is a great source), swap it, take it to a dealer (or someone with a GM Tech II) and have the new radio programmed to your car. DONE. Cheaper and easier then messing with the after market.

If you plan to completely gut the sound system in the car, then that is a different matter.

So, I guess I should ask this... Why do you want to swap the radio?

I swapped mine as I wanted the feature to play MP3s from a CD (I have an aftermarket radio in one car to do it and I got REALLY lucky to find GM made a compatible radio and used it in the Cavvy, that's what I now have, works just like the factory deck once it was programmed to my car).

 

i recently bought a pioneer headunit from crutchfield. They gave me everything i needed to set up my headunit. i have a factory amp as well. if you want the factory amp to work get the gmos-04. its 50 bucks tho but it will give you your door chimes and its a wiring harness

 

you're making it out harder than it needs to be, it's no where near as complicated or as expensive as you make it sound.

the onstar unit
http://www.crutchfield.com/p_120GMOS...r.html?tp=3486

or this one if you dont have onstar
http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_...R-GM09SRB.html

either works, some like the one that supports onstar because it reintergrates your car speakers for the chimes. i personaly went with the scosche unit, but that was because it was cheaper :P

 

I don't recall running across the Scosche one when I was looking at options for my Monte radio swap out. Looks like it addresses the need to relocate the factory radio (wonder when that was released, maybe it didn't even exist when I was looking).
I personally like the easy user interface through the radio for resetting thinks like the low tire pressure and oil life monitors (another reason people have relocated the factory deck).

Sad, I could buy a sweet JVC radio, wiring harness, install kit all delivered to my door for $150. That Scosche harness is a third of that price (we haven't even talked about retaining steering wheel controls). Admittedly, that was another thing bugging me about the one feature I wanted that my factory deck could not do (and a $50 eBay purchase after a LOT of research solved that).

My experience with car radios has been if you like the sound and swap to any aftermarket deck, you will no longer be as pleased with the sound and go tumbling into the world of upgrading the speakers too.

I'm still curious what the OP is looking to gain from his interest in a radio swap (as it might be possible to solve with a different factory deck, may be cheaper and easier in the long run). Just a thought.

 

...you can manualy reset the tire pressure and oil change timers with out the deck....

 

Seen at Wal-mart the other day that kept factory codes/faults etc intact with a little box unit about four inches big. $39.99

 

Good point... you could upgrade the speakers while your at it... but if you did I would NOT buy anything crazy, some 2-way pioneers would be more than adequate. Getting and running your own good speaker wire is by far more important than spending a lot on component speakers.

 

in my personal opinion, if you want to do something like that just take it to a car audio shop.. thats what i did and i have had no problems and everything sounds much better