My XM radio antenna snapped for some reason and of course I need a new one. Well I go back to Circuit City where I had it installed and the salesperson was like its gonna be $32.00 for the antenna and another $35.00 for the install.:mad: I was like WAIT you guys installed it the first time isnt there some kinda deal we can make like I will buy the antenna and you just slap it on? Of course he pulled the old warranty thing on me and IF I had purchased the "extended warranty" then it would have been okay. Well, I didnt buy my XM from them, just had them install it. It was a gift. Question is: Can I just pick up another antenna off Ebay and try to install it myself? The XM unit is fine. The antenna wire is snapped. I've never installed anything electronic and I like the clean look of a professional install.

Sounds like it should be pretty easy. Where is the antenna located and what does it look like? Normally these types of things are really easy to do yourself and you can save a lot of money. Just do a search on ebay for the model of your xm unit and "antenna" and hopefully you can get it

I'm not sure it will be that easy. The antenna wire runs from the antenna all the way to the xm unit itself so you will need to route the wire accordingly. I recently installed a unit in my E and it took some time to get the wire hidden from the roof down to the dashboard. It is certainly not impossible but you need to be comfortable dealing with interior body panels. I did find inspiration in some of the threads about installing a gps antenna. You might want to check those out to gauge how comfortable you'd be.

I suppose you could try splicing the antenna wire but I would guess that that would seriously impact performance.

Why not just fix (or replace) the wire if thats all it is ?

Yep, splicing thin shielded cable is tricky. I have done it successfully, but I have failed too!

Your best bet is to purchase a new xm antenna, and search the EOC for install instructions. There are plenty of photos and how to's here. If you pay Circuit to do it again, chances are, you'll be doing the same thing in a couple of years. Why pay them to do a job that you can probably do yourself?