Apple Car Play or Similar for 2010 Vehicles

starfish12345 on 11/05/2025 - 14:09

Both my adult kids want apple car play or similar for their cars. I was going to hunt something down for their upcoming birthdays but have no idea what I am looking for. Both have an IPhone 11 Pro and 2010/2011 vehicles (Prado and BMW) that have decent stereos but no modern tech. Can anyone tell me what I need to buy.

Dont care if genuine or not as long as it gives them good functionality for music/maps etc without being distracting and is compatible with their phones. Happy to pay up to $500 each but even happier if significantly less! They will likely upgrade to newer cars in the next 3-5 years or so, but something good for the interim would be great.

Thanks so much for any advice/help/links to good deals!

Electrical & Electronics Apple CarPlay

Comments

  • simplystu on 11/05/2025 - 15:01
    +1

    IMO … possibly looking for external mountable units - separate to main setup (so NOT a DIN unit).
    only downside to that route - lose some functionality with steering wheel controls for multimedia/etc.

    supercheap auto had one on sale back around JAN - was roughly $270 on sale (over $150 off original price).
    suction cup mountable screen + included both front/rear cams +++ intergrated into main car audio setup using FM transmitter.

    esp if they are looking to upgrade cars in near future … anything else (eg. completely replacing main headunit == money down the drain).
    so lookout for some of the deals - or even search through the deals here.

    • chartparker on 11/05/2025 - 15:40
      +4

      lose some functionality with steering wheel controls for multimedia/etc.

      Not necessarily. I've bought these in the past (https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B0CQS7J1KY?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_f…) which still enable you to have you phone's audio out piped through the car's headunit Bluetooth. That means you can still use your steering wheel controls for volume, track skip, mute etc. For $92 (on sale) gives you all the functionality of wireless Carplay and I've found them to be pretty reliable over the last 1+ years I've owned them

    • starfish12345 on 12/05/2025 - 11:27

      Thanks - I will keep a look out for external mountable units… sounds like the way to go.

  • AustriaBargain on 11/05/2025 - 15:49
    +1

    You can get kits that fit most popular cars. But do your research, price and brand is not an indicator of quality when it comes to aftermarket Car Play.

    • simplystu on 11/05/2025 - 15:58
      +1

      But certainly won't be under OP's limit of $500.

      Esp when factor in installation costs - (as OP doesn't sound tech savvy).

      • starfish12345 on 12/05/2025 - 11:28

        Thanks. Will research costs of the kits and try and get a commitment on how long the kids plan to keep their cars for!
        OP is most definitely not tech savvy - certainly not with automotive tech - pretty good on a laptop.

  • PoorFromOzBargains on 11/05/2025 - 16:10
    +1

    I don’t have personal experience but this deal seemed popular https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/816899

    • PoorFromOzBargains on 11/05/2025 - 16:12
      +1

      Ok no that won’t work as it is used to convert existing wired CarPlay into wireless CarPlay.

  • wannagrababargain on 11/05/2025 - 16:54
    +3

    Something Iike this
    https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005007407027721.html

    Or this

    https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005007556220736.html

    Various clones on AliExpress available, I only picked the first two random one that came up

    Depending on which version of the Idrive system you have (CCC, CIC or NBT). Integrates with canbus so you can use the Idrive controller and steering wheel buttons. Automatically hands screen back to the car when you put it on reverse so your PDC screen comes up.

    • starfish12345 on 12/05/2025 - 11:32
      +1

      Thanks - will look into it

  • Brick Tamland on 11/05/2025 - 17:23
    +2

    You have a couple of options. The neatest is getting a new headunit that has CarPlay the replaces the old one. Alpine do some good ones but they can be expensive. Or you can get a seperate unit like this which is cheaper but is an additional device that Bluetooths the existing head unit

    https://carpuride.com/collections/car-7-inch-series/products…

    • bargaino on 11/05/2025 - 20:40
      +1

      You can get much better models for half the price on Aliexpress.

      What model BMW? If it is the small sporty ones, there may be no room for an extra display. Otherwise, a second screen is often the simpler and superior solution to hacking the existing display.

      • starfish12345 on 12/05/2025 - 11:33
        +2

        Yeah I think the 2nd screen looks like the way to go. Thanks for your info.

  • jmc787 on 11/05/2025 - 20:37
    +2

    You cant go past Eonon if they make one that fits your car. Fitting one of these totally transformed my 2011 Mazda 3 the best money I ever spent on it. https://www.eonon.com/Android-Car-GPS/Vehicle-Specific-GPS/e…

    • starfish12345 on 12/05/2025 - 11:34

      Will look into this one. Thanks.

  • Kiwimedic on 12/05/2025 - 09:14
    +2

    @starfish12345 If you are in Sydney, I have one of these:

    https://amzn.asia/d/fxOmsfN

    And one of these:

    https://amzn.asia/d/6jWtFz6

    Happy to let you have them both for a 10pk of hard solo! (DM me)

    • starfish12345 on 12/05/2025 - 11:34

      All the way over the other side of the country unfortunately… but thanks!

  • The Hawk on 12/05/2025 - 09:15
    +1

    I've got an AliExpress special in my 2011 VW, plug and play replacement to the OEM unit for about $250.

    It works… mostly. The touch screen can never be calibrated quite right, so touch is a little to the right of the smaller buttons and the volume control is global, so turning up to make a phone call means the music is blasting afterwards (or answered calls are too quiet at first). The screen brightness is also a bit shit in bright light.

    But then it's wireless AA/CarPlay and was dirt cheap which makes up for its short comings. The only real pain is the volume thing, but I don't really take a lot of calls in the car anyway.

    Compared to the USB wireless bridge thing we have in the other car, it's more reliable in connecting, lag is about the same (a limitation of wireless connections across the board) and it works exactly the same.

  • ollateatai on 12/05/2025 - 09:31
    +1

    I can't recommend the Bovee 1000 highly enough. Works flawlessly in my 2010 Land Rover. Enables both iPhone and Android phones to play their music on the car stereo. Allows control via the car steering wheel. https://www.amazon.com.au/Bovee-1000-Bluetooth-Volkswagen-Co…

    • starfish12345 on 12/05/2025 - 11:35

      Will take a look at that one. Thanks very much

  • dylanando on 12/05/2025 - 12:23

    why not something like this?
    https://autobarn.com.au/ab/Autobarn-Category/Shop-our-Full-R…

  • Jimh66 on 12/05/2025 - 13:18

    I’ve been using a Capuride external unit for a couple of years now, auto connects to my iPhone, I got the remote which straps to the steering wheel and works most of the time, it’s got twin Bluetooth so it can connect to you phone and output to your cars audio, or my cars really old so I use the fm radio out, or you can usb to your car audio. Anyway works pretty well most of the time, occasionally hiccups and drops out to the main screen, but overall works well and not too pricey. There’s a lot of cheaper units around, but depends on how flakey their software is, ie how often they crash.

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