as long as you don't have an HK system, you shouldn't have an issue buying a replacement. eBay has OEM MINI radios all the time...just get one that's from the proper year for iPod support ('05+ for sure). plugs should be the same.
I don't know if this is any help at all, but, instead of hooking up a bunch of retro stuff I went to Radio Shack and picked up a universal FM transmitter for a little less than $40.00 and pluged it into the lighter on one end and a new ipod nano on the other. It works great. BTW, I'm an old guy who technology has pretty much left behind in the dust. I've spent the last 2 weeks figureing out the world of ipod. Pretty neat stuff.
Depending where one lives going with an FM transmitter can work well or not so well. Around here they don't work so well. I use one in my wifes car & it seems as though I'm always having to change the channel.
Hadn't given that much thought. It will be interesting to see how this works when our travels take us into more densly populated FM environmnets. Spring and summer near at hand signals more MINI outings. Out here there's not that much interference and 88.1 is clear as a bell.....so far.
