BrokeMyWallet

Hmm, it looks like my car definitely has bluetooth of some sort. The car did originally come with a built-in car phone (Cordless) and it appears it connects back to the car using this bluetooth module. Is it possible to pair say, an iPhone to the car to play back music etc? I believe this is the bluetooth "ULF" but when I search the model # I can't really find it on any of the well-known sites that list the bluteooth ULF model numbers (Apparently the earlier ones are quite problematic) - 84.11 6946011-01

That could work - pretty creative solution there. But I suppose you don't get the ability to answer phone calls nor switch tracks etc with the steering wheel buttons? After being spoiled by my 135 that has all this I think I might just have to bite the bullet and go with one of the more pricey solutions. Also I think something with a rear view camera could enhance the resale value should I decide that the car isn't for me.

The auto-tilt mirror works, it just works unreliably. I am aware that the switch must be to the right for auto tilt to work. When I put the car in "R" one of two things will happen. 1 - The mirror will tilt all the way down or 2 - the mirror tilts part way down and stops. When I put it back in D, one of three things will happen - 1 the mirror moves back to its normal state (rare), 2 it will move part way and simply give up (likely) or 3 - it will not move at all (almost certain). No matter the case I am always able to use the power adjust controls in the drivers door and put it back to where it was. Doesn't feel like a mechanical problem since the mirror tilts freely when manually adjusting - just won't play ball when its time to do it automatically. I do have CDs but its just so damn inconvenient. The Dynavins are nice, I read the build quality & functionality of those is far superior to the third party clones but at close to $1000 + fitting - that's almost 1/10 the value of the car. I'm not sure if that's worth it. Still undecided at this stage what to do. I think the most cost effective + versatile solution is to get a single DIN kit and fit a mid range JVC or something with a reversing camera. That way if I decide to sell the car (haven't even decided if I want to keep it long term at this stage) I can remove it and put it into the next car.

So I've done a few long trips with it already - averaging 10-11 km/100L so that's not TOO insane. The only thing that really bugs me is there is no BT, just AM/FM. Additionally it looks like there is some issue with the "curb monitor auto mirror tilt" - sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. Sometimes it will tilt down properly and when I return to "D" it won't tilt back up. (Yes I've verified the mirror switch is in the correct position). I wonder what is the deal with this? I guess it's no biggie. Everything else works great. I priced up a replacement stereo since I couldn't handle listening to FM all the time and it looks like parts alone will be close to $300 (head unit, mounting kit, wiring harnesses, steering wheel controls adapter). But then I found this: http://gromaudio.com/store/all-bmwt.html - seems to do exactly what I want, and cheaper than a ULF upgrade from bimmernav (which was close to 1k usd almost).

I've seen the "Eonon" units are quite popular. At around 350 USD + shipping it's not exactly cheap. I'd much rather prefer a branded unit with Apple CarPlay / Android Auto.

Well I ended up with a 4.8is. It's had most of the "known problems" sorted - valve stem seals, new radiator etc at a fairly substantial cost to the previous owner. Condition was good inside and out (it'd been taken care of) so decided to pull the trigger. Only a few grand more than the "base" model 4.4 (which is a great ride in and of itself) so I figured why not? Thanks for all the opinions, much appreciated. Now if only this thing had bluetooth it'd be perfect... I'm reluctant to remove the factory unit since its responsible for the trip computer etc. I have read you can retrofit a newer "ULF" into this car and then you should be able to simply pair your phone and off you go - anyone know anything about this? These "ULF" modules seem to be quite plentiful on ebay.

I just rang autosure and they said they don't sell direct to public.

What company did is your MBI through? A lot of the ones I've seen seem to have some fairly tight rules surrounding the age and miles on the vehicle.

Great, thanks for all the opinions. Will be sure to buy with MBI. This is going to be my secondary car which won't be used much so I don't want to tie up too much money in it - that is why I've set a 10k soft budget. I've already lost a ton in depreciation on my 135 but I can justify that since it's my main car and it's so much fun to drive. Is there anything else in the price range that I should be considering?

Hi All, At the moment I've got 3 cars - that's way too many. One coupe (my 135i) and two three door hatchbacks. So if I need to take more than 2 people it becomes a real hassle. So I need a bit more carrying capacity but only occasionally. I'd say that 90% of the time it's just me driving - 9% of the of the time it's me and the mrs, and 1% of the time I actually need to carry passengers / cargo (e.g. Camping etc). So far it's made sense to only have "fun" two door cars. My budget for such a vehicle would be an absolute maximum of 10k (since it is the "secondary" car that won't be used much). There are plenty of X5s on tradeMe in this bracket - some of them 3L, others 4.4L. I don't care too much about economy since it won't be driven very frequently. Is buying a car of such vintage and miles a "bad idea"? Everything I've read says so!

Unsure. As I understand it you can "Code in" stuff that wasn't there before.. e.g. for retrofitting cruise control etc There is a LOT of conflicting information about this car on the internet. Some even say there's no launch control until 2013. Cutting through this and getting to the facts has proved extremely difficult. In fact, the manual that I downloaded direct from the BMW website makes no control of launch control either, yet my car definitely has it. Also, I have NO tool kit. Not even a tow eye. This is what's "Under the mat in the cargo area":

Auckland

Hi All, Just picked up a 135i msport recently. Enjoying the car so far but I can't quite figure out a few things. The car is a Japanese import 2011 E82 Coupe, build date 2010-10. Voice Commands The voice commands button on the steering wheel does nothing. According to the manual, I'm supposed to see a voice command icon in the control display at the top left corner - I don't see that either. I already looked this up and read that it only works if the language is set to English. I confirmed mine is set to "English UK" - the only 3 options I've got is "English UK", "French" and "Spanish". Control Display Brightness The display is too dim during the day and too bright at night. I'm forever adjusting the brightness manually. At night when I'm driving I like the cabin very dark. Why doesn't it automagically dim? Is there a configurable setting somewhere that can be changed? Similarly, is it possible to get the it to switch the map to night mode after dark? In this case, when I say "day" I mean "headlights off" and night is "headlights on" (the car is fitted with auto headlights). Album Art display over Bluetooth The car has a CIC i-Drive system with working NZ navigation. I can stream music from my phone and it shows me the artist, album, track name but there is no album art. Not a big deal but how do I get my album art which I spent hours if not days collecting and organising to show up Software Updates Since the car is a Japanese import which originally had Japanese language/Japanese maps etc which has since been switched to English by the car yard that I got it from. Is it safe to update the software in the car to the latest versions? I don't want to inadvertently replace the "factory standard" settings which may change everything to Japanese? Tool Kit I don't see any sort of tool kit in the car. The manual says it should be "stored below the floor mat in the cargo area." but the only thing under the mat in the cargo area in my car is the battery. Has my tool kit gone for a walk somewhere down the import process? Any assistance appreciated!