car won't be ready until tomorrow. i had an issue w/my DRL's and they did not have them in stock!

 

I would ask what is the range/radius of the detector. If it only detects an object directly infront of it, then its useless in my eyes.

 

ok, i just picked up my car after getting the license plate mounted PDC......and my INITIAL option is its not worth the money!

i tested the "range" and i parked in front of a truck curbside. threw it in R and started backin' up......

beep , beep - 2-3 ft range
beep-beep (closer together, faster beeps) - 1-2 ft range
solid beep - literally inches from the trucks bumper!

i was disappointed the fact it was not intergreted into iDrive and the sound of the beep is somewhat low - probably would be hard to hear when ppl in the car is talking. lastly, the piece is not too attractive as previously mentioned.

i will test it out for a few days and i may be tempted to bring it back if the performance doesn't improve. i'm just wondering if they can give me some sort of refund?!

 

man, I'm so sorry that I didn't get to this thread any earlier. Over in Europe there is a retrofit Backup camera set sold by BMW. It basically the same with those backup camera that Lexus has (put in reverse and you see all behind through your navigation monitor). There is a few of those sold on Ebay. You should just call up some trusted places around or bring it direct to BMW and probably ask someone over there to do it for you (and if they say they can't do it due to warranty issue blah blah blah.. find the best tech. guy in there, give him 150-200 bucks and ask him to do it for you in his own time.... this worked with me every single time haha)

 

Hate to say it, but not much change then !

 

sorry macfly that it didn't come as we all wanted to to.

i looked these up and to bad camera's are about $1000 and that's without installation.

 

hi all, I am seriously considering this as it looks like the prices have come down. Has anyone else had this done, or got any pictures?

 

I had it done a few weeks ago. Happy to answer any questions. It was about $350 installed. I forgot I had it. Have not really tested it yet. My car 2008 535i is black and the part is black. It kinda looks like part of the license plate frame. It does not integrate with idrive. It has its own speaker and beeps once when you shift into reverse. I had something similar in my previous car and this is not as good. The other had louder audio and a visual indicator in the back which could be seen through the rear view mirror. I guess my main complaint is it is to easy to ignore while on my previous car it was nearly impossible. Plus I think it lets you get much closer before the beeps start. I have not seen the factory PDC.

 

why not get the backup camera kit? Integrates on the iDrive whether you have nav or not

 

Thanks! Appreciate the feed back! My 535i is black sapphire so as you say, it should blend in quite well. Since I am mostly in NYC, I don't mind if the sensor gets you closer before a continuous beep as I really just need to know when I am within a few inches of the car or wall behind. I understand its not the best solution but for $300 its not a bad solution. My only other question is - can this be easily stolen?