Presley348

Dear e60 Forum:

I have Cell Phone iDrive fever, what is . . . the cheapest $$, and best quality way to go?

I understand I must choose a service, (i.e. Verizon service, and a Motorola V60 or a V600 Motorola Cell phone) that I will be willing to keep forever because the chip is needed in the cell phone for the cell phone to work correctly in my iDrive, is the B.S. or is this true?

Prices I was quoted by a GA BMW dealer:

$500.00 Cell phone with chip, and sign up with cell phone provider, (Verizon)
$250.00 Phone cradle, and iDrive programing, labor, etc.
$750.00! (That is a ball park figure he said could be more or less depends on time I purchase)

What should I watch out for, and what questions should I ask my BMW dealer for this cell phone to work in the iDrive? (Or is there a cheaper way I can do this, without reducing the quality, or am I stuck with high $$$! Jk LOL)

Thanks in advance!

Sincerely,

R. Eddie Presley

Rudy

Presley, what is the build date (or at least build month) of your car?

(Also, since you divulge the dealer you've been using in Decatur, why not add your location to your profile so we can easily see where you're from?)

Presley348

I believe it was: 6-03

Rudy

I believe it was: 6-03
[/quote]
Wow, that's an early one...

If you can figure out a way to get the dealer to upgrade your TCU (Telematics Control Unit) for free, you should be able to get Bluetooth to work on your car. If they won't do it for free (or can't figure out a good reason to change it under warranty), you may want to find out what they'd charge you for a new one. If the cost is significantly higher than the prices you're being quoted for the CPT9000 phone, then you might as well go with that system. You might get lucky and find that the new TCU cost is not much more than the cost of the built-in phone. If so, you'd be better off going the Bluetooth route.

Actually, come to think of it, I'm considering upgrading mine to BT so maybe I can unload my BMW phone, eject box, etc. At this time, everything seems to be working fairly well so I'm not looking forward to fixing something that isn't broken. The only motivating factor right now for me to switch is that Cingular will give me much better rates if I switch to the GSM network from the old AT&T TDMA network...

Presley348

I believe it was: 6-03
[/quote]
Wow, that's an early one...

If you can figure out a way to get the dealer to upgrade your TCU (Telematics Control Unit) for free, you should be able to get Bluetooth to work on your car. If they won't do it for free (or can't figure out a good reason to change it under warranty), you may want to find out what they'd charge you for a new one. If the cost is significantly higher than the prices you're being quoted for the CPT9000 phone, then you might as well go with that system. You might get lucky and find that the new TCU cost is not much more than the cost of the built-in phone. If so, you'd be better off going the Bluetooth route.

Actually, come to think of it, I'm considering upgrading mine to BT so maybe I can unload my BMW phone, eject box, etc. At this time, everything seems to be working fairly well so I'm not looking forward to fixing something that isn't broken. The only motivating factor right now for me to switch is that Cingular will give me much better rates if I switch to the GSM network from the old AT&T TDMA network...
[/quote]

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Thanks Rudy,

It makes a lot of sense, and I will give that try!

Later,
Eddie Presley

Hormazd

Are you absolutely sure? I thought E60 production began 09/03. If your build date is after March 04 then Bluetooth is the way to go.

Presley348

Are you absolutely sure? I thought E60 production began 09/03. If your build date is after March 04 then Bluetooth is the way to go.
[/quote]


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Hormazd:

As I said in my post above: "I believe it was: 6-03", , now I could be mistaken on the month, but I know by records it was built in 2003 in Germany.

R. Eddie Presley

Sans

Are you absolutely sure? I thought E60 production began 09/03. If your build date is after March 04 then Bluetooth is the way to go.
[/quote]


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Hormazd:

As I said in my post above: "I believe it was: 6-03", , now I could be mistaken on the month, but I know by records it was built in 2003 in Germany.

R. Eddie Presley
[/quote]

You're right Hormazd, US started in 09/03.

In any event though, some folks have been getting new TCU's for around $1000 I believe. You'd still need to get the phone but if you're savy you may be able to score one for free off the Cingular website - they run promos occasionally for the T637 which is completely compatible.

Another option (gaming it a little) is going to your dealer with one of the standard complaints (radio mute problem, window trap error, whatever) asking for the software upgrade (wait till your dealer has 16.2) and hoping for an incompatibility and a new TCU required under warranty for free. It's a long shot but it has happened.

tadie410

My car has a production date of 7/2003, and i have a 2004 silver 530i. the dealer gave me at no extra charge the hang up kit installed in the car because it had already been in there, and a pain if they had to remove it. I have a Verizon v60i, not the cpt9000 from bmw. when i plugged it into the car- it saw it right away and uploaded my phone book. I can make calls and recieve calls through iDrive. I never paid them for the phone because the verizon ones already work. I might not have voice control with it, but i cant figure that thing out anyways. They told me that i dont need their phone, but if it was not working 100% they couldn't do anything about it. they also told me that bmw did not want to be in the phone business and thats why on the E60 and the new 7 seires, any phone that fits in the socket will work. i dont know if this is true, but it seems to be working fine for me. Also- does anyone have the problem like i do, when i turn on my car the volume resets itself to almost the Maximum and it is a killer. I almost dread starting the car.

Presley348

Are you absolutely sure? I thought E60 production began 09/03. If your build date is after March 04 then Bluetooth is the way to go.
[/quote]


=================

Hormazd:

As I said in my post above: "I believe it was: 6-03", , now I could be mistaken on the month, but I know by records it was built in 2003 in Germany.

R. Eddie Presley
[/quote]

You're right Hormazd, US started in 09/03.

In any event though, some folks have been getting new TCU's for around $1000 I believe. You'd still need to get the phone but if you're savy you may be able to score one for free off the Cingular website - they run promos occasionally for the T637 which is completely compatible.

Another option (gaming it a little) is going to your dealer with one of the standard complaints (radio mute problem, window trap error, whatever) asking for the software upgrade (wait till your dealer has 16.2) and hoping for an incompatibility and a new TCU required under warranty for free. It's a long shot but it has happened.
[/quote]


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WOW, and thanks a lot for your posting, (SEE ABOVE), I never knew all that BMW IDrive and cell phone jargon, and now I will have the right questions to ask my parts man at BMW dealer!

Like most every e 60 BMW owner I want the most bang for my buck...I just had my Bimmer in for a recall ce: emissions concerning reprogramming the iDrive software which they said took nine hours to reprogram my entire system for this BMW recall, would this recall by chance to include 16.2 thing, (ie TCU required under warranty for free)? I did notice that when I got it back, my iDdrive menu came with a few more options, and a couple taking out, that I did not have on the other iDrive software)

Now I read where you said the T637 is the one to get, now I have a Motorola V-60 Verizon carrier will this work with my e60, or should I go with Cingular wireless for my carrier, or does it matter?

(I have learn by my e60 Vs Replica rim experience, and with the new e60 being so precise and near perfect, I better save my $$ and wait until I can afford for my 530i, and stay with my BMW dealer on not only those replica rim issues, but now on their e60 iDrive recommendations as well. All though I like saving my $$, without reducing the quality we are a custom to with our new BMW's)

Also don't laugh too much, but where can I locate my build date on my e60? (LOL)
(I just remember my BMW salesman: Mr: Guzman last April 04, saying my 2004 530i was built last year in Germany in May or June 2003, and then shipped to the BMW South Carolina port then to Atlanta)

Thanks in advance!

Sincerely,

R. Eddie Presley