Had an oil change today and asked about the ACM at my local dealer, Millenium Jaguar in Plano, Texas. $560.00 What a deal, right? I didn't bother to argue or debate it with him, doubt it would do any good. They must be jacking up the labor, right? The ACM itself is the same everywhere isn't it?

 

There is almost always asuggestedlist price on all parts. However, dealers are free to sell for whatever they want. Some chose to sell certain items over that price. So, keep in mind that even though Jaguar recommends one price, you may see many different prices if you shop dealers. In addition, many sell labor at whatever their market dictates, so if you're in a more metro area, be prepared to pay more per hour than if you were in a lesser populated, lower average income area. Finally, not all stores use the same guide as to what to charge in terms of flat rate hours, which of course dictate the other half of the laborcharge. All that being said, the short story is some dealers will be higher and some lower so shop, shop, shop before getting one installed.

My local dealer, as a point of reference, quoted $800 installed.

 

So if I get a labor quote from them and find the part on line, should I be able to take the part in and have it installed? I read that Jaguar quoted one hour of labor. But even it they are charging me two hours at $100 an hour, that still means the want over $300 for the part.

 

I would check with them on installing your part. But, in theory, yes. It's just that some dealers are a little stand-offish about using customersupplied parts.Once again, they all tend todo their own thing on that topic, so I would check with them. Another alternativewould be to by it online and install it yourself. I have one in my X and I have looked itover and in my opinion,it's not a high level repair. You may however, need to bringyour car to the dealer after installing the ACM to have them program something inthe factory radio so it recognizes theACM. Ifmy understanding is correct, if you already have a factory CD changer installedand working, you don't need to have the additional programming.

 

Never heard of dealers RETAILING at different prices.
I order parts from different dealers daily and the RETAIL price at whichever dealer for a given part number isALWAYS the same.
This is what we charge insurance companies...the RETAIL.
We then get a TRADE discount off the part which can differ slightly from dealer to dealer and this depends on discount code (can be different for panels/lights/electricals/etc/etc),whether the item is VORd (expressed...next day) or stock ordered (2 day delivery but depends eg Ford are 2-5 day)and rarely but sometimes on how much each monthwe spend with them.
The difference between retail and trade prices then help towards paying me and other non production workers at our bodyshop.
There are one or two ACMs I believe depending on year.
Personally if I were to buy one the last place I would get it fitted is at a Jag dealer because of their extreme hourly rates.There are plenty of other places that can fit (they are supplied with easy to follow step by step instructions) if yoiu cant do it yourself.Usually takes around 1 hour I believe.
I would expect you could download the Jag fitting guide from before you buy to see whats involved
http://www.ownerinfo.jaguar.com/extf...prod/index.jsp

 

Thanks for the info BuckMR2. I would like to see those install instructions. I tried to open your link, which I assume is the instructions, but all I get is a blank white screen. Am I doing something wrong or is the link bad?

 

The link isdown.Dont know for how long.It has instructions for just about every accessory or option from different Jag models and years eg fitting reverse park sensors ,boot 12V socket ,etc,etc, etc

 

OK, well I will keep checking it. I am pretty handy and have installed aftermarket radios before, but don't want to break a clip or something on this baby. Not the same a picking up a replacement part at the Ford dealer. Got a tube of touch up paint yesterday for the bargain basement price of $31. Hey, I have owned a BMW, Mercedes and a Lincoln and have a Lexus now so I am well schooled in high priced dealers, but that doesn't make it any more acceptable.

 

when you buy the part comes with detailed instructions

 

Very easy install. And if you have CD Changer in trunk, as stated above, nothing needs programmed.

 

If you're familiar with car stereos, then the ACM is a piece of cake. I installed mine in an hour.
The only issue you may run into are CD changer programming issues. If you install the kit, hook up an extra audio source, and hit the CD Changer button to activate the ACM and nothing happens, then you're going to have to go to the dealer. They will have to switch on the CD changer funtion in the cars' computer/radio/whatever. It's something you can't do from home, and costs ~$80.
If you have any questions about the install I'd be glad to help you through it. Here the kit cost me $250, plus the $80 programming change. They didn't act leary at all about working on something that was installed by a customer. If you can, talk to the tech that will be doing the work. The service manager had NO idea what an audio connectivity module was, and kept referring to it as a CD changer.

 

The dealer told me that you run a fiber optic line from the ACM to the head unit and then another line with a switch in it that installs in the glove box, for selecting between the CDC or theACM.He said you had to then set the switch to the ACM while the car was off and then when you start the car the ACM is activated. I did not have 100% confidence that he knew what he was talking about. Off course I know the ACM is installed in the arm rest. Is there a blank in the arm rest box or do you have to actually cut an opening for the ACM? How about the glove box, do you have to make an opening for the wiring to the switching unit? Just trying to get a handle on how much cutting I will have to do.

 

I may be totally off base here, but that's the first I've heard of mounting that in the glovebox. Mine's in the center console and there seems to be minimal cutting ifany at all. Based on what I can see with mine,I wouldn't be at all afraid to try that install myself if I were you.

Just a sidebar here, but if you are interested, I'm going to upgrade to an Avic Z2 in a few weeks and will put mine on themarket for a fair price. It's literally only a month old and works perfectly, so if you think you might have an interest, let meknow....Guess I should have considered the avic before I layed out the $ for the ACM.

 

Yeah.. He's about half right. Just get your hands on an ACM, and we'll walk you through it. You'll end up with a little black plastic box/port that mounts in the center armrest where you actually hook up your audio sources, a small computer like brain about the size of small modem that mounts inside the transmission tunnel, and a plethora of wires that can be a bit tricky. I gaurantee that the people on here have more experience with the ACM than most dealers do. Like I said, my service manager had no clue what it was.
As far as cutting, it's really minimal. You have to drill a few holes here an there, but nothing that anyone will ever see. I think the biggest may be around 20mm.

 

yeah, I did not know what he was talking about when he started telling me about mounting a seperate switch in the glovebox. Like I said, nice guy but I was not 100% sure he knew what he was talking about. All I have ever seen was the unit mounted in the center console. But I had heard something about not being able to switch between the changer and the ipod once the car was started, not that you would do that anyway. So I thought maybe he knew something I did not.

Now I got to convince my wife that she really wants a $250 gizzmo that will allow me to listen to my ipod in my x-type for her valentine's gift. That is a bigger problem I think

 

The switching port is used for music on a USB drive or to plug in something like a portable DVD player so you can listen through cars speakers. The switch is to toggle back and forth between the CD Changer and the Ipod and yes it needs to have an ignition cycle to recognize the switch. If you have nav, the 6 discs will show up on the screen. 1st 4 discs are for the 1st 4 playlists on your ipod, the 5th will play everything on your ipod (nice to put on random there) and disc 6 will allow kind of manual control of ipod.
It is very easy to install as long as you are comfortable taking some of the interior apart. Very plug and play.

Oh and there is only one hole to drill - requires a 20mm hole saw. There is a blanking plug supplied with the kit that covers hole and allows the 3 wires to run through it.

The mounting location of the switch box is all preference. I will always ask the customer where they want it mounted before I proceed. Console armrest box is cleanest and easiest access. The ipod cable is pretty long so you can really mount it where you want. Another nice place that not many people look at is the coin tray deal on left side of dash under light switch. Also provides a nice little storage tray for the ipod without worrying about putting something in the armrest box and scratching ipod.

 

Do you still get appropriate iPod data on the screen if you have the CD Changer but not the nav screen, just the standard audio info screen? In other words do the 1-6 buttons serve the same purpose as you discribed above?

 

I believe so. Although most of the cars here all have nav.