Hello! Long time!! A quick update and a question.. - The Unofficial BMW M5 Messageboard (m5board.com)

1C00lVC · 16th November 2005, 22:33

Hi there,

It has been a while since I posted, but I do visit often and read the good stuff here.. (and moderate some bad boy posts..

.).

My beast is 4 years old and has 66k miles. I have gone through 5 sets of tires, and still drive on the original clutch. The only major repair was a faint knocking sound from the front suspension which ended up being a bad center steering rod. Otherwise she is just as fun to drive as she was on day one..

now to a quick question: I have the original 8000 phone (w/voice reco) but it is TDMA and there is less and less coverage for it in my area (Cingular is phasing TDMA out).. I want to add bluetooth integration and was wondering what are my options. my car is an '01 (manufacturing date is Nov '00).

are there decent aftermarket kits? is there an original BMW kit that will work on my car?

thanks in advance,

Arie.

verhagke · 16th November 2005, 22:53

Hi Arie,

retrofitting the BMW bluetooth should be no problem, and it's a very slick interface. It even adds some voice recognition commands to your navigation if you don't have voice recognition already. (voice recognition is built into the bluetooth ULFs)

I recently did this to my 05/00 build M5. I bought my parts from www.advancedautovations.com, but can't really recommend them too much since it took quite a bit of time before I got all the parts I needed from them, and customer service was pretty poor (I did get it resolved in the end however)

Another option is to buy the harness adapters from an individual who knows probably more than anyone about bluetooth, and purchase the ULF, cradle, etc from your dealer. For that route, see post here:
http://www.bimmerboard.com/forums/posts/117026

If I had to do it again, I would go with the second option, as I have dealt with Martin before on other purchases, and he has been extremely prompt and helpful. Also, this should be the least expensive way to do it.

Installation is very straightforward with the exception of the bluetooth antenna in the rear pillar. I decided to do it that way since I wanted to use an external antenna for reception. In retrospect, I would not have gotten the external antenna, and have used the antenna cable to bring the bluetooth antenna forward. PM me if you have any questions

ard · 16th November 2005, 23:43

Quote:

Originally Posted by verhagke

I have dealt with Martin before on other purchases, and he has been extremely prompt and helpful. Also, this should be the least expensive way to do it.

Anybody know what's up with Martin?

www.bimmernav.com/

(Sorry for hijacking the thread...)

A

kiwi M & M · 16th November 2005, 23:49

Quote:

Originally Posted by ard

Anybody know what's up with Martin?

www.bimmernav.com/

(Sorry for hijacking the thread...)

A

As some members have noted, Martin has been excellent in providing solutions for retrofitting our vehicles. However, it seems like Martin is no longer providing his services.

There's numerous "kits" discussed in This thread. Hope this helps.

-Jay

greg · 17th November 2005, 08:07

Hi, Arie -

Long time no see! I'm jealous of your low mileage! Glad to know you're still around - one of the true old timers of this board. I know it is off-topic, but speaking of missing persons - anyone ever hear from Paul Preston (aka PaulMarin)?? I tried calling him several times over the last year, his answering machine still answers, but he never returned a call. Very odd.

basil · 17th November 2005, 11:53

Hello Arie,

Nice to here from you. I just ordered a bluetooth kit from WWW.EISKITS.COM

I found the link on this board yesterday (from the posted link above) and am giving them a try. The contact, Randy, has emailed me back promptly twice regarding chosing the right kit for my 06/00 M5 and seems very helpful and sincere.

The site offers two bluetooth kits for us. One is OEM components and the Argos is available next month. Three lists tell of the features unique to each kit and common to both.

Others on the board may have more to say.

Yeah, where the heck is PaulMarin these days? I understand he used to travel a lot. He was so right on, very early on, about my tubular sculpture (headers). D/A is taking care of that now.

Cheers!

KirklandM5 · 21st November 2005, 09:09

you could also try getting a CPT 8000 phone in GSM...look for one on ebay.