Looks good there!

 

Thanks for posting...bummer to hear about Sirius, I was hoping it was going to be CD quality

Anyone else have a different opinion?

 

Looks Great

 

very nice, rmg007 ! your tires are almost shinier than the wheels .

 

Welcome to the E60 family, nice photo shots of your new Bimmer

 

NICE WHEELS!

 

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Good Looking Bimmer, and chrome BMW OEM's Rims!

I am considering the Satellite radio, and the Motorola Blue Tooth cell phone installed in my e60 530i later this year, but I would like to hear your opinion first on how good those two options are? Is it worth it the extra $$$$? (I need hands free cell phone with iDrive, and I travel and think the Satellite Radio is the way to go, but only if the sound quality is there, like when playing a cd? I read what you said, "but it is tinny and hollow compared to CD's." and I was wondering if this could be corrected somewhow by the BMW North America e60 experts??? )

Thanks in Advance.

Presley348
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1. I think you will be happy with Bluetooth. Making and receiving calls are a snap. You can see the names and numbers on iDrive while dialing or when receiving a call. The stereo is muted and the sound over the car speakers is crystal clear. The only two issues to be aware of are (1) significant battery drain of the phone when using Bluetooth (a cigarette lighter adapter charger is a must!); and (2) sometimes you want privacy if others are in the car and you have to disengage the Bluetooth via iDrive or the handset, in order to utilize the handset for privacy. This is not difficult, but it does take a few button pushes.

2. Sirius satellite radio is somewhat disappointing because of the quality. Definitely not even close to the sound richness of a CD. Even FM radio sounds fuller. I have played with the EQ settings, Logic7, tone and bass controls, and have it set as good as it's going to get for my ears. For comparison, I will state that I think the Logic7 sounds fairly decent when playing CD's. The Sirius problem is probably related to bandwidth, so maybe it can be improved in the future. It is also an annoyance that the sound goes out temporarily from time to time, especially under bridges, and the song info is only displayed if you're in the correct menu on iDrive. The positive is that there is a big choice of stations and all stations are commercial free. I'm happy I have the service, but it can be improved, especially in terms of quality.

 

BMW does not offer chroming of wheels as a factory option. However, most dealerships offer chromed wheels. You can have it done yourself, but the dealership typically has a wheel core exchange program with the chromer, so it's an immediate exchange process if you want chromed wheels. Otherwise, you would have to send the wheels to a chroming factory, then wait at least a week -- without any wheels on your car!

I have seen dealerships list chrome wheels on a new vehicle at $4,000. What a joke! The cost is typically ~$200 per wheel. Throw in another $100 for labor to mount, balance and install and you should be out of there for less than $1,000.

 

I share your sentiments. I was previously driving a 735 IL. It was a wonderful car. If it had not been for the fact that it was a little too long for parking spaces here and a few other small deterents, I would never have switched.

I still ask myself why I switched everytime I see a 7 pass me by. I'm not implying that the 5 is lousy or anything like that, but I really do miss the ride and space accorded by the 7.

 

wow.... I thought Sirus would sound better than FM radio.... anyone have the acutal specs on what is transmitted via Siris? quality wise?