What an Audi CarPlay retrofit costs

Owners weighing an older A4, A5 or Q5 against a newer car usually ask the same question: what does it actually cost to get CarPlay into the one I have? Here are the three routes, with the numbers we can stand behind.

Route 1 — the dealer

There is no dealer route. Audi did not offer Apple CarPlay on Concert, Symphony or MMI 3G, and no software update adds it. Cars with the MIB II system (roughly 2017 and newer) are the first that could have it from the factory, and even there it was an option. For a 2009–2016 car the dealer will offer a newer car, not a retrofit.

Route 2 — replace the radio with an aftermarket screen

A double-DIN or tablet-style Android unit gives you CarPlay by throwing out the factory radio. Prices vary widely by brand. What does not vary: the original screen, the console knob, the climate and vehicle menus and the factory look are gone, the dash trim is cut or adapted, and the car no longer looks stock to a buyer or a lease company. For a car you plan to keep as an Audi, that is a high price beyond the sticker.

Route 3 — a plug-in interface behind the factory radio

This is what we sell. The box connects between the radio and its plug, puts CarPlay on the original screen and hands control to the factory joystick and buttons. Nothing is coded, no OEM wire is cut, and it unplugs without a trace.

Two small items may be needed depending on the car: an AMI-to-3.5 mm cable if the car has an AMI connector rather than an AUX jack (CarPlay sound goes through it), and an aftermarket microphone if the car did not come with factory Bluetooth.

What the camera adds to the bill, and why

On a Concert / Symphony radio the CarPlay kit needs a camera to show — the radio never had a camera input — so the honest price for that car is the bundle, $545.90. On MMI 3G many cars from 2014 already have a factory camera and the kit uses it; if yours does not, the camera is the same $45.95. Either way you get dynamic guidance lines and the parking sensors shown on the screen.

Installation: your time or a shop's

The kit is plug and play and the full install is filmed on a real car on every product page. Tools are plastic trim tools and a Torx set; we sell a trim removal kit if you do not have one. If you hand it to a car audio shop, they will quote labor by the hour for their area — ask them with the product page in hand so they can see there is no cutting or coding involved.

What is covered after you buy

Every unit is tested before it ships and carries a one-year limited manufacturer's warranty against defects. Returns are accepted within 30 days of delivery on uninstalled products; installed units are handled as warranty cases, not returns. In-stock items ship within 2–3 business days; CarPlay interfaces can take 2–10 business days.

So, keep the car?

That is the owner's call, but the arithmetic is simple: for the price of a couple of monthly payments on a newer car, the Audi you already own gets wireless CarPlay, a backup camera and the factory screen it came with. Send a photo of the dashboard to [email protected] with the year and model and we will tell you which kit it takes before you spend anything.