Cassette tapes aren’t designed to last forever. Any tape older than 20 years that’s still playable is a gift. You can’t assume sentimental Guardians of the Galaxy type mix tapes can function forever, same goes for the players. Clearly the movie is fictional. I HIGHLY recommend backing up that tape into a digital back up, then uploading it to the cloud. That way if something ever happens to that tape, you will still have it. The same equipment that could then transfer the tape can be used to copy it back into a brand new tape (assuming they still make those)
As for the player, if yours is broken, there’s a good chance others may be as well. Usually if it’s in continued use, the rubber band belt used to drive the wheels will remain pliable. Anyone who has one to give/sell most likely haven’t used theirs in a long time, and it’s doomed to fail soon too.
Instead, I suggest refurbishing your current tape deck. Make sure when the cover is off to remove any tape that may have been eaten, which causes strain on the motors. You never know who else might’ve had a precious mix tape in there. Check for that rubber band. If broken, measure the length, and buy a replacement.
If you are adventurous, I suggest viewing this thread, and seeing if it can be applied to the Ford deck:
https://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/...INPUT-quot-in-OE-Bimmer-Radio-with-no-pinouts
Essentially, when a tape is played, it will play whatever is on that tape, and the AUX. Nothing plugged in, then just the tape. Want to play an iPod? You can play a blank tape, or a phono tape adapter that has the cable removed (cable used in the mod project). Basically the goal is to pop in a tape a pretend that’s the audio, a tape that basically has any song imaginable.
Of course, that write up was during the days before a massive push for Bluetooth. If I had a classic factory tape deck, Id probably just go that route instead.
