I am in the process of ordering a 530xi with NAV, but I was told today that I must also order HD Radio. This does not seem logical, and does not state this on the BMW website. I want to order Sirrius Radio, but do not want HD Radio.

Does anyone know anything about this?

Thanks in advance,

Gary

Your sales person is mistaken. Have him/her enter the order without HD.

Actually you don't want to order the HD radio option with nav. If you do, it makes it impossible to have the real time traffic feature that shows you traffic delays.

Gary - First, you're going to love the car...I've had my 530xi for a month, and every mile is full of smiles...and the winter looms. As to the HD, the long answer is that one of the FM antennas (antennae?) in the roof fin is devoted to normal, broadcast FM reception, and the other can be devoted to either HD radio or RTTI (Real-Time Traffic Information). If you order the HD, you won't get the RTTI, and the statement about this mutual exclusivity is buried in the 2007 5-Series brochure. Of course, you have to order the NAV to get the RTTI. Since you live in New Jersey, you may really like having this feature. The signals for either HD or RTTI come into the car via the RDS system (the feature which shows information about station, call letters, etc.) and you can't have both, at least right now.

Ultimately, RTTI may not mean much to you if you travel to some place where traffic is not a big issue (maybe Wyoming, although Jackson in the winter can get pretty tight!) but otherwise, it can help a lot.

Thanks to everyone for your responses. I left a voice mail for my dealer earlier today voicing my hesitancy regarding the HD Radio. I am hopeful they have learned that I do not need HD Radio in order to get NAV.

Thanks again.

Gary

When I ordered my 2007 530xiT I was told that I could NOT order Navigation without also ordering HD radio. The dealer attempted to order it without the HD radio but the BMW NA order submission system would automatically choose the HD radio option when the Navigation was ordered. My dilemma now after delivery is my vehicle has HD radio (which I didn't want to start with and the dealer discounted the price of the HD radio out of the deal) but does not have Real Time Traffic Information (RTTI). The RTTI was a large part of why I purchased the Navigation system to start with. Now I have a new vehicle that I am quite dissatisfied with to say the least. I have spoken to several representatives at BMW Consumer Relations all of whom were very nice but were unable to shed any light on the situation. My selling dealership sales manager has contacted the regional BMW sales representative and I am awaiting feedback from them. The lack of disclosure and poor product information distribution in regards to this matter are troubling to me.