Sirius installation, Dealer says they have to activate?

So I'm looking at ordering a new sirius receiver for my car since I cannot find a used one. The new prices are $428 and they include 1 year of service.. so taking that into consideration they're 150 cheaper (due to the free year of programming) so it's really 273 for a new unit .

My question is this, the dealer I'm looking at ordering this from is saying that it has to be installed and activated by a BMW dealer.. my concern is not whether or not I can complete the install myself but whether or not if I install and activate will I not get the 1 year of free service, is there something the dealer does to get the free programming or are they just telling me stories to get me to pay a dealer (any dealer) to do the install?

Has anybody installed a new sirius reciever and been able to get the free year of service? or is it truely something the dealer has to activate in order to get the free year of service?

It sounds about right.A new factory receiver would come with 12 months included.If the dealer is including the install in the price then it's not a bad deal.I would call Sirius to verify.The install is simple and you may get a better price elsewhere but you would have to negotiate with Sirius as to how much free time you can get.I purchased a CPO last June and called Sirius to reactivate,they gave me 3 months no charge,when that ran out I got another 5 months for $25. I enjoy satellite radio but unfortunately the Sirius reception is not as good as XM.If you listen to talk radio you will get frustrated when the sound goes out as you drive under bridges and dense foliage etc.

To clarify . that price is only for the receiver, no installation. and I'm now getting two different storys from two different dealers. Their prices are the same, which are better than most, but neither include installation, and one dealer actually sent me the install directions (which included activation instructions) and he said that after installation they (or I) need to call Sirius and give them the ESN number and they'll activate it and the ESN includes the 1 year of free service, while the other dealer is telling me that even if I install it the unit will not work becuase there is something the dealership needs to do to the car to make it work. Sounds like a bunch of crap to me.. but I'd hate to spend 428 (+50 on the install kit) and have it not work and have to turn around and spend 200$ more in getting a dealer to set it up with some special code or something stupid. Which is why I was asking if anybody has purchased a brand new unit for their car and installed it and got it to work with the free year of service and all without dealer help or installation...