Anyone have any opinions on the companies selling the equipment to upgrade Sync 2 to Sync 3?

I have a 2013 Explorer that i'm looking to get Apple CarPlay on but loolin at Infotainment and a few others looks like the cost is between $1,200 to $1,800.

I did the upgrade on my daughters 2016 Edge, there was a software update I downloaded and installed and then I had to buy a new USB module from amazon that cost around $75. I don't know if this actually upgraded her to Sync 3 but her apple car play now works.

I did this for our 2013 Edge to get Carplay. Bought a new in box OEM module and kit off Ebay, you submit the VIN number with the order and they programmed the module so options like heated seats, etc work properly. It was around $500 if I recall correctly. You have to pull some trim off the center console, replace the module, screen, GPS antennae, and USB ports, but overall a pretty easy swap, probably took about 30min.

No regrets, the upgrade to a capacitive touch screen vs the old style is also huge quality of life improvement.

Thats a much better price than i'm seeing from infotainment and others.

I did the same as Kodiak. 2013 Edge bought from Ebay. Very easy to do.

any particular vendor on ebay?

Following. 2015 F-150 here, would like to do the same...

I bought mine from houler_01. I was able to get them to accept an offer so got it under $500. They did not send it programmed so there was some programming that they had to do once it was in the vehicle via remote in through a desktop. I was not keen on that but did not feel like digging through Forscan myself. Also about 6 months into it the unit started acting really wonky on the map side. The touchscreen was having issues, they did send a new screen and I had to do the replacement. Not a hard thing to do, but a hassle since it had a "lifetime" warranty.