i have a 2007 530i and i want to buy the stock sirius sat. radio from the dealer and have a friend of mine install it. will bmw parts sell you a unit without installing it through their service dept. my buddy at circuit city told me that my car is already wired for sat. radio and it just plugs in. have any of you guys done this before and how much should i pay for just the sirius sat. unit? thanks for the help.

Yes, you can buy the Sirius radio from the parts department. You can install it youself, but in order for it to show up on your idrive you will need the dealer to do a software upgrade. You can get a 25% discount from Garry Romani, Parts Manager, BMW of Newport, RI. Just mention the E60.net 25% discount and he will hook you up. I believe the Sirius reciever, bracket, and hardware is about $395 shipped, thats with the discount. The dealer will install and code car for about $150, it depends on the dealership. If you do the install yourself, you could maybe convince the dealership to do the software upgrade for free. Hope this helps.

thanks for the help. sounds like bmw doesn`t want you touching anything.....

Not really its just that you dont have the proper software to run the thing on your Idrive since there is no need for it-you dont have it. If you or your friend had the proper software than you could do it easily. Its not that they do that to make you come to them, you could do it yourself fine but just would not show up on idrive.

I'm thinking of buying a 2004 545i which does not already have satellite radio although it does have bluetooth and a NAV system. Are all 2004 545i's pre-wired for satellite radio? If not, does anyone know how big a deal it is to add a factory satellite radio module for access through iDrive?

Thanks for any help you can offer.

You need to have the pre-wiring or you're SOL for the factory integrated unit. Not all 2004 cars have it, at one point, I think it was something like a $75 option, then they stopped offering it, then they included it for free. You can call BMW NA at 800-831-1117 and give them your VIN. They'll be able to tell you if you have the pre-wiring...