bmw525

Hi everyone,

Im new on the forum and have done a lot of browsing here and on other sites but have yet to find an answer to my questions.
I am the proud new owner of a 2005 525d as of last week. Its a beautiful car and i am really impressed with it so far (looks/performance/economy) however, i bought it second hand so it doesnt have the options i wanted but i can make do!

My question(s) are:

1. Im pretty sure it has the business stereo with the base speaker package. This doesnt sound very good at all and was wondering if anyone could explain to me in plain english what i could do to enhance this. I've heard about the blaupunkt THA 275 amp and that its a good fit but would also like to expand the number of speakers if possible. Can anyone confirm if i can add extra speakers and whether i should add an amp?

2. The CD player in the car doesnt play MP3 CDs although i believe it should with a software upgrade to the iDrive? Can anyone confirm this? Also should i have to pay for this software upgrade?

3. I will be using the car for business so need some type of hands free kit. Can anything be retrofitted but i really want it to look neat and clean and not have wires everywhere.

Im really sorry if these questions have been asked elsewhere and i have missed them but would really appreciate all of your advice.

Cheers
BMW525

cleung

All your questions have answers you just need to search, with that said your mp3 issue may or may not be able to be programmed it depends on your model year. Also in terms of stereo upgrade you may want to take a look at baverian soundwerks someone else on here is currently looking into this as well. And lastly I'm not sure if you can retrofit the bluetooth module or not so you will have to sreach that I know its been discussed before.

Welcome to the forum

Sam the BMW man

1. Please remember if you change anything to the stereo whether it be deck, speakers or amps the warranty is void if you have any! I have been told this by 2 different dealers. When I first bought mine I wanted better speakers and add a auto car starter and didnt do it due to the warranty.

2. Im trying to get to the bottom of this issue too. Apparently if you have navigation you are able to update the software so you can listen to mp3's. I do not have nav so I am trying to find out if im out of luck. Also, If you are out of the 4 yr 50k warranty you will have to pay for the upgrade.

3. All I use is my treo 750 connected via bluetooth. So can't help you much in that dept.

xiphactinus

I can connect my phone via bluetooth and hear through the car's speakers but people on the other side of the call have difficulty hearing me. Do you which mic is used?

Sam the BMW man

I use it the same way as you do. Try turning up the volume on the radio and/or turn up your phone.