Impala Radio system help

Just bought a 2002 impala and was wondering what i can do with the radio. It came with a cass player but i want a cd player. Can i just put an aftermarket cd player? What will this do with the computer system controls usually performed through the radio. Or should i go to the junk yard and find a factory delco cd player and swap the cass out? WIll this still allow me to used the radio controls to reset oil and such? Does chevy charge to unluck these radios? and what cd players are compatable years and cars?

Just bought a 2002 impala and was wondering what i can do with the radio. It came with a cass player but i want a cd player. Can i just put an aftermarket cd player?
You can put in an aftermarket radio.
What will this do with the computer system controls usually performed through the radio. Or should i go to the junk yard and find a factory delco cd player and swap the cass out? WIll this still allow me to used the radio controls to reset oil and such?
This http://www.the12volt.com/installbay/forum_posts.asp?TID=43636&KW=rds links to a very informative forum regarding the RDS systems in these factory radios. There has been a lot of talk on here (automotive forums.com) about how the radio controls this, that and the other thing. To believe some of these people, you would think that if a fuse blows in your radio your car will blow up or something. Here is a quote that pretty much sums up the control and influence that your radio w/RDS *ACTUALLY* has on your car:

"OK, lets put this puppy down. RDS in particular is in reference to the abbility to recieve data that has to do with the radio stations and traffic and what not like kgerry said. It does however coincide with the GM vehicles that need a data relocation harness like SpikeCD said. There are vehicles with RDS decks that DO NOT need to be relocated. Now on to this airbag stuff. If you remove the factory deck and do not relocate it you may set the WARNING LIGHT for the airbag off but the airbags themselves will never ever deploy because of this. That is an urban legend. It also has nothing to do with the antilock brake system which I have heard before. It does control all the door chimes and other audible indicaters because the vehicle uses the drivers speaker for this. When doing these vehicles you should always use the relocation harness and factory deck or the Harness kits with the data module to avoid sending error codes back to the computer beacase the chain has been broken on the data bus line by removing the deck. The module in the harness is NOT A RDS chip but simply a copy of the module inside the deck that pertains to the data bus system, and I think that harness also lets you retain the audible alarms but I am not sure. I always use the harness where you use it in conjunction with the factory deck. We have had this discussion many times before but I notice that everyone except for Kevin is new to the site. If you wanna do a site serch I am sure you can find a previous post about the class 2 databus system where its like 4 pages long and we all fought about this. If you have any other questions or if you wanna say I am full of sh*t feel free to post again."

This quote is from the forum I linked to above.
Does chevy charge to unluck these radios?
A dishonest dealership will try to charge you the minimum labor charge, but it really only takes them less than 5 minutes with their diagnostic computer.
and what cd players are compatable years and cars?
If you want to go the factory route, make sure that you call the dealership and get a list of which models will work for your car, based on your VIN. I did this, replaced a cassette ddeck with a factory cassette/CD and the dealership was quite useful with the information.
Jim

Bump, as there seems to be more questions regarding this in recent posts.

Cbryan,
I started a recent thread on stereo installation problems so I’ll chime in. I had the barebones cassette/radio in my Impala.

I recommend Crutchfield to order your stereo. I’ve gone with them in the past and they are worth the huge $$$ you have to shell out. Why? Instructions, a faceplate kit, and tech support. Its that simple.

You should also purchase this:

http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/Metra-GM-Class-II-Data-Interface-GMRC01-/sem/rpsm/oid/78044/rpem/ccd/productDetail.do

It is the wiring harness interface that will allow the door chimes and such to work. Crutchfield, circuit city, etc. sell it. You can ditch the factory stereo then. I’ve read of people wiring the factory stereo in the trunk to serve as the ‘middle man’ of communication, so to speak. What a needless pain in the butt that has to be. Just throw down some $ for the interface, its worth it.

Bump again, as more of these type of questions seem to be coming up. Wish people would use the search function...
Jim

this might help some of you guys, especially those of you who want to keep your factory head unit.

JL Audio Clean Sweep (http://mobile.jlaudio.com/products_cleansweep_pages.php?page_id=79)

It's the JL Audio Clean Sweep:
"a patent-pending, DSP-based solution that permits almost any factory-installed audio system to serve as the source for a high-performance aftermarket sound system while also providing input for an additional source of your choice."

It costs roughly $300.

I'm highly considering getting it.

I mean, it'll cost less than a head unit, installs, wiring harnesses for the factory head unit to go to the trunk, etc ($200-400 for a decent head unit, you're at that price already.)