In your case, you are a shop working with multiple cars. The most versatile is an ICOM A2+B and a good K+Dcan cable, should work with almost any BMW. Bimmergeeks cable and an ICOM A2+B should be less than $500.

 

If you are a shop do not purchase an ICOM A2 or a clone. Get an OEM ICOM NEXT + ICOM B. Also grab an ENET cable for quick coding and diagnostics for F/G/H/I series cars. I say this because the ICOM A2 will stop being supported in spring of 2025. The ICOM NEXT has been BMWs diagnostic tool for over 7 years and the 3rd version was just released March of this year. It is the only ICOM you should be using.

 

He said budget of $500, maybe in other countries, but in the United States real ICOM Next, all the ones I see are $700 plus and might still be clones. The other problem with the Next is it does not play well with the E series, and his shop is going to be dealing with them. The newest BMW are usually going to be under warranty and serviced by BMW, hence why I recommended the A2. Most Next clones are an ICOM A2 in a different wrapper, anyhow. Just for fun, I called around a few dealers and none of them had an ICOM for sale. That is all BMW dealers within 50 miles of me. A2 works with all of the current BMW right now, the Next is the latest generation and is better for ENET and later cars. But for compatibility with all current BMW cars, A2 wins. The speed advantage of the Next is exaggerated, and unless you buy a real Next, you are buying an A2 anyhow!

I guess it depends on if your shop has more older cars or newer cars. If more older, definitely an A2. If newer, the Next. But the A2 works a heck of a lot better with newer cars than the Next works with older. My E60 would not work at all and I tried two different Next. A2 is king for overall compatibility right now. But if you can source a real ICOM Next for $500, go for it! I am sure a real Next works better than the clones I tried.

 

Uh F series is over 10 years old so owning a shop you will definitely have more f series than E series cars as they are dying cars. I can guarantee the NEXT works on all models the same. If it doesn't work it's either the technician or a clone that's the issue.

You can't just call a dealership and get an ICOM. It's an order that has to be put in for it as it's not something they would have in stock. If you are a shop you should never use a clone. You're risking your business that way. In the USA on average an ICOM costs around $650. Anything more/less you're getting cheated and more than likely not buying an OEM product. It takes years of experience with BMW to understand budget and BMW does not always go together. You have to spend money to save money.

A lot of owners purchase these cheap E series cars and fail to realize it's still a BMW. They are still expensive to maintain if you have no idea how to work on them technically. Mechanically they are fairly cheap if you don't purchase cheap parts to put in them. I've been working on BMWs well over a decade and there's no shortcuts to doing things the right way. All you'll create for yourself are headaches if budget is in your vocabulary and end up costing yourself more money. OEM ICOM NEXT is the only way unless you know what I know and you can use an A2 but must be OEM or K/D CAN cable (again to save money in the long run). I myself have never owned an A2 but I do currently own 2 ICOM NEXTs and have worked on and remotely coded many BMWs (including 2025) year models all over the world. Owners buy brand new cars and want things done to them (retrofits, customization, etc). To do this you need to perform as if BMW has done it themselves and that takes the right tools and programs.

 

The issue is sourcing real ICOM Next models. I agree 100%, I am quite sure if I had a real ICOM Next with a genuine ICOM B, it would work great with my car. The only place I have seen "genuine" ICOM Next are on eBay, and you have to be careful because I am sure more than one seller has sold clones under the guise as genuine.

The ICOM Next clones are all ICOM A2, and the only way to be sure is to either look at the firmware (mostly reliable), or open the ICOM Next up and look over the circuit boards (100% reliable). The clones will not take the ICOM Next firmware, either. Mine did not, failed on updates.

I agree, if you are going to want to have a shop with returning BMW customers, you are going to have to buy the right equipment! The issue is sourcing, because the Chinese clones have saturated the market and I have heard of people buying "real" ones that were simply A2 clones. After the BMW crackdown, the software and real hardware are getting hard to come by. If a real one pops up, it generally will sell quickly.

 

Buying an original OEM ICOM is as easy as buying a part from BMW because it is listed as a part. A lot of people who are looking for it just don't know what to look for and rightfully so as most are just getting started. I buy them all the time and ship them to fellow coders overseas because they are scarce in some parts of the world but not in the US. I have one being delivered this week to ship abroad. I would say after the pandemic you couldn't find one to save your life

 

Is it true that to buy one from BMW now, you cannot just be a consumer? I have found where to buy them, but I have read multiple people on forums claim you have to be an auto repair shop or at least have a business license for auto repair to purchase one (directly from BMW). I would 100% like to buy one from BMW, rather than off a source like eBay where the chance of them being a clone exists. I have heard (again on forums) people claim they ordered "original ICOMS" and paid accordingly, only to end up with clones.

 

Different countries do different things. I'm selling 2 right now and bought them like i always buy BMW parts. They are just harder to find now so that's why they sell over $1k at the moment especially since BMW is making a change making ICOM NEXT the only authorized device