If you have the blank tape I have an 8 track 1/2 inch tape machine, the only slight problem is that it runs at 15 IPS, four times the speed of an 8 track cartridge.

 

That should be ok if he's a fan of Pinky & Perky's songs ...

 

Not even Pinky and Perky songs will improve by being played at super-speed.

 

I would imagine Pinky & Perky at super-speed would sound like a 56k dial-up modem.

 

Possibly. I can’t really remember but I think it was possible to inadvertently dial to, or answer a call from, a fax machine. I’ve vague memories of weird calls.

 

. . . .and will make lovely creases in his trousers as a bonus.

 

That's what they still use in Scotland.

 

If I make a recording at 15 IPS and play it back at 1 7/8 IPS it would not sound like Pinky & Perky. It would sound very slow and low.

 

A Generic term

 

You have been watching too many repeats of 'Back to the future'

 

To be honest, I had this concern too, but as he mentions how nice it would be to not have to keep a folder of CDs in the glove compartment just about every time we go anywhere, I am also of the opinion that I should give the man what he really really seems to want! It's not like I have a raft of other ideas. Our local garage will do their very best to keep the car going for as long as they possibly can and even if we only get another couple of years out of it, the cost of putting in a new car stereo isn't that much more than a single meal out in a decent local restaurant if all six of us went out to celebrate. (Which of course is why we never do!)

 

I used to regularly inadvertantly dial the odd fax machine - why did some companies list their fax number first? I suppose it would be possible to "advertantly" answer a call from a fax machine if someone trying to send a fax had put your phone number into their machine.

 

A quick google for 'stereo for 2006 vw polo' gives two basic options - a single DIN height and a double DIN height unit.
If the car is fitted with a double height one, then it will take a wider range of equipment, but a single height one (the normal one) can still have an external multiplay unit installed.

If it were me I would rip the CDs onto a usb stick or memory card and put that in a stereo that accepts the relevant card. Lots of CDs are a pain, and an external changer starts at around £60 and goes as far up in price as one could want.
If he wants to plug a phone in and create a playlist on a phone, why not look up suitable players (apps) and just rip to the phone? A decent stereo with aux input wouldn't be that expensive, but multiplayer CDs etc get complex.

 

The thing nobody ever says about CD changers is that 6 or 10 CDs isn't very much music and it will get repetitive very quickly, you can carry another magazine of 6 or 10 discs but having to stop to interchange them isn't always convenient. There is a Blaupunkt CD changer and single DIN head unit sitting in my garage, I assume it would work if powered but I haven't used it for 15 years. Given the choice I wouldn't have a CD changer now, I would want either a USB connection or Bluetooth streaming so that I could use a phone or iPod. That said the latest head units won't talk to the older iPods (18 pin connector) so an Aux input is helpful in that respect.