CarlK920
08-10-2006, 08:55 PM
Hi all,
Earlier this year I became the proud owner of an 04 530i sport, with a 6 spd no less.
I bought it from a private party in KS and I live in Bismarck, ND. Alas, MSP is my closest dealer, over 400 miles away. (Okay, Sioux Falls may be a bit closer, but I went to school at the U and would rather go there!)
Since I don't have any experience with either Sears or Motowerks, I am wondering if there is any clear choice among those of you "in the know". Also, if there is a specific service rep at either that you could recommend that would be helpful too.
I'll be needing to get warranty/service work done, of course, but the request right now is related to the fact that in the last week or so I've actually talked to some people in parts at both places and one service person at Sears relating to retro-fitting the car with the cradle for the non-Bluetooth CPT 9000 phone (or equivalent). Long story, but after a fair amount of research here, and then confirmed by BMW NA, my car was built just one month too early for a software upgrade to Bluetooth -- meaning it's a $2000 TCU unit; OR if you have the cradle for the old CPT 9000 you can get the new BTUM module and just plug in. But, my car doesn't have the cradle setup for the old phone, and even if it did and I were to use the BTUM with it, that doesn't tie into the shark fin/antenna. Since a fair amount of my travel is out in the boonies, getting tied into the antenna means as much/more as the Bluetooth convenience, esp since I'm not in and out of the car much and Bluetooth seems a less than perfect technology at this point. SO, I'd like to get them to just retro-fit the cradle for the old "hard-wired" phone and do the fairly minor programming to let the car know it's there (again based on what I've read, including a service bulletin found online also). Then, if down the road I want to get the BTUM I'll be set for that also. But, apparently since everyone's in the Bluetooth mode, I can't get the service people to understand and/or give me a quote on just putting in the cradle (which I could do myself) and the programming to get it to work with the H/F, Idrive, etc. So, it would be nice to find someone who would be interested in working with someone like me who has just a bit more understanding than the "drop of my car and fix it" mentality.
Thanks for any info/advice.
Tim
Earlier this year I became the proud owner of an 04 530i sport, with a 6 spd no less.
I bought it from a private party in KS and I live in Bismarck, ND. Alas, MSP is my closest dealer, over 400 miles away. (Okay, Sioux Falls may be a bit closer, but I went to school at the U and would rather go there!)
Since I don't have any experience with either Sears or Motowerks, I am wondering if there is any clear choice among those of you "in the know". Also, if there is a specific service rep at either that you could recommend that would be helpful too.
I'll be needing to get warranty/service work done, of course, but the request right now is related to the fact that in the last week or so I've actually talked to some people in parts at both places and one service person at Sears relating to retro-fitting the car with the cradle for the non-Bluetooth CPT 9000 phone (or equivalent). Long story, but after a fair amount of research here, and then confirmed by BMW NA, my car was built just one month too early for a software upgrade to Bluetooth -- meaning it's a $2000 TCU unit; OR if you have the cradle for the old CPT 9000 you can get the new BTUM module and just plug in. But, my car doesn't have the cradle setup for the old phone, and even if it did and I were to use the BTUM with it, that doesn't tie into the shark fin/antenna. Since a fair amount of my travel is out in the boonies, getting tied into the antenna means as much/more as the Bluetooth convenience, esp since I'm not in and out of the car much and Bluetooth seems a less than perfect technology at this point. SO, I'd like to get them to just retro-fit the cradle for the old "hard-wired" phone and do the fairly minor programming to let the car know it's there (again based on what I've read, including a service bulletin found online also). Then, if down the road I want to get the BTUM I'll be set for that also. But, apparently since everyone's in the Bluetooth mode, I can't get the service people to understand and/or give me a quote on just putting in the cradle (which I could do myself) and the programming to get it to work with the H/F, Idrive, etc. So, it would be nice to find someone who would be interested in working with someone like me who has just a bit more understanding than the "drop of my car and fix it" mentality.
Thanks for any info/advice.
Tim