📻 VDO Continental TR7412UB-OR: European Style 12v Radio with Orange Display and Bluetooth Connectivity Review

This is the second E30 I've upgraded with this head unit. It looks pretty livable, unlike most modern head units. Sounds good, Bluetooth connection is reliable. The built-in mic is good enough, so I didn't install the included external mic. I painted the chrome on the volume knob to add some Teutonic flair.

Great sound, great looks and pretty easy to use once you get the hang of it. The instructions are by far the worst I've ever received for any product, they don't even come close to describing how to operate the radio. Thanks to a clean clock setting I figured it out in the car. I installed it in a Z3 M replacing an ugly aftermarket unit and it looks like it owns it.

Having bought some quality head units from Revain for much cheaper, this is extremely disappointing. The buttons stick and don't return, cut off and turn off spontaneously when using Bluetooth, the sound is nothing special at all. I've waited a long time to file a refund so now I'm stuck with this junk. Not sure where to go now as I don't want a touchscreen or a 2000 radio in an 80's Porsche.

Looks great in my 4Runner. I wanted to update but keep the stock look. Super easy installation. I had to bend the tabs on the original bracket to get it to fit. It looks amazing. No pruning required. The only thing that I found a little annoying is that the radio antenna goes up when the head unit is on, even if I'm not using the radio function. I'm not sure if there's a way to set it up so the antenna only goes up when the radio is in use, but that's a minor thing.

This radio looks good in a Mercedes W201. Sounds good, but certainly not as good as the base radios from most major manufacturers. There are very few audio controls, no RCA inputs and outputs, and the unit only supports four speakers. There is also no remote control and the instruction manual is very vague. As far as I can tell, this radio does not support steering wheel controls. If so, it's not in the manual. At this price point, you're obviously paying more for looks than anything else. I…

I received it and I was very happy with the purchase. It worked great and I loved the radio for the first 6 months. Now it's completely bricked up and turns on when it wants to. I haven't changed anything since it was installed and even regrounded it to a known good ground when it started to interfere. Nothing works and just shuts down. Sometimes it lights up buttons and switches but won't turn on. Before it became a brick, it started being annoying that the USB stick is plugged in and trying…

Pretty flat and light weight so fits in most cars. Uses standard ISO pinout on the stereo channel. It had a sticker on it showing it had a battery pin connection and the switchable 12v connections aren't ISO standard, but I plugged it in and did some checking and it's working properly so it shouldn't be . Bluetooth calls through the head unit aren't the easiest, but it's a tradeoff for not having a hideous head unit with bright lights blinding me at night. And you can only ever make calls from…

If you want a retro styled device this is probably your best option but I think they are a bit cheaper. It looks great and it's easy to install and set up, but there are a few things that stop it from being a great little device. The Bluetooth connection doesn't show any information at all, it's just an audio connection2. The antenna performance is constant and not only when the radio is on. This usually doesn't matter unless you have a powered antenna. In this case, it will not turn off until…