Hi guys,

Glad the site is back up and running.

Wanted to let everyone know that I installed the following in my '01 cab since there was some questions earlier as to what was involved and the parts, etc:

CD Changer
BMW Cell Phone
Alarm
Universal remote transmitter

CD Changer:

Ridiculously easy and took me about 30 minutes. Got all of the parts from Circle BMW for a little over $400. Looks and sound great.

BMW Phone:

Took a little longer since the microphone wire harness was wire tyed to a the windshield frame and I couldn't get my fingers in there.....other than that, it too was easy, but you lose your cupholders http://m3forum.com/ubb/frown.gif

Got the phone and installation kit from my dealer as a good will gesture due to the electrical problems I had with car early on (see earlier posts).

This phone (CPT8000) is great and the interface is very easy to use and my wife loves it. It displays the address book on the radio display and you can scroll through and make calls without pulling your hands off the wheel (great for my wife). Overal transmission quality is good but expectedly deteriorates when the top is down since the mic is located near the top of the windshield frame.

Alarm:

the difference between the coupe alarm and the vert alarm is that the vert only includes the horn and a tilt sensor. No infra red or noise detector. Got the parts from Pacific BMW for about $90. Now when you arm and disarm, there is an audible chirp much like the 740/X5. This took me about 45 minutes to install. The cover over the firewall to install the horn is a booger to get out but very straightforward. Also, I didn't want to screw up my wife's car http://m3forum.com/ubb/wink.gif

Universal transmitter:

For the convertible, this the most expensive piece since it is a whole new rear view mirror with the 3 buttons integrated into it. The mirror is also not oval, more traditional looking....I don't know if I (she) likes it yet. Hardest part to install was figuring out how the darn mirror comes off. Got the parts from Pacific BMW for about $300.

Well, that's it. According to the little decals in the trunk, all of the factory pre-wired accessories are installed.

Thought I would share with the group.

Mike

Hey that sounds good. You saved yourself alot of cash by doing it yourself thats fer sure.

Yea, I got my alarm from Pacific BMW as well. Though I live in Florida I saw one of their ads in a mag. I would definitely recommend buying your aftermarket prod. from them (And you will be saving ALOT of $$ if you do). Try and check out if they have a website. I got my alarm for like $100 under MSRP!

I bought my alarm from Don Rosen in Philly for $179.00 and did the install in my M3 Coupe myself. They have the cheapest price around. Good luck.

Good job.

You have a Cab, so do I. Do you have Nav as well? I've got a couple questions on installing my CD changer if you do.

Also, do you have to use their goomba phone for the phone kit or can you use any motorola phone? I have the v-phone, which is the smallest of the bunch and I can't stand the thought of getting a bigger phone.

Thanks.

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by MikeG:

Hi guys,

Glad the site is back up and running.

Wanted to let everyone know that I installed the following in my '01 cab since there was some questions earlier as to what was involved and the parts, etc:

CD Changer
BMW Cell Phone
Alarm
Universal remote transmitter

CD Changer:

Ridiculously easy and took me about 30 minutes. Got all of the parts from Circle BMW for a little over $400. Looks and sound great.

BMW Phone:

Took a little longer since the microphone wire harness was wire tyed to a the windshield frame and I couldn't get my fingers in there.....other than that, it too was easy, but you lose your cupholders http://m3forum.com/ubb/frown.gif

Got the phone and installation kit from my dealer as a good will gesture due to the electrical problems I had with car early on (see earlier posts).

This phone (CPT8000) is great and the interface is very easy to use and my wife loves it. It displays the address book on the radio display and you can scroll through and make calls without pulling your hands off the wheel (great for my wife). Overal transmission quality is good but expectedly deteriorates when the top is down since the mic is located near the top of the windshield frame.

Alarm:

the difference between the coupe alarm and the vert alarm is that the vert only includes the horn and a tilt sensor. No infra red or noise detector. Got the parts from Pacific BMW for about $90. Now when you arm and disarm, there is an audible chirp much like the 740/X5. This took me about 45 minutes to install. The cover over the firewall to install the horn is a booger to get out but very straightforward. Also, I didn't want to screw up my wife's car http://m3forum.com/ubb/wink.gif

Universal transmitter:

For the convertible, this the most expensive piece since it is a whole new rear view mirror with the 3 buttons integrated into it. The mirror is also not oval, more traditional looking....I don't know if I (she) likes it yet. Hardest part to install was figuring out how the darn mirror comes off. Got the parts from Pacific BMW for about $300.

Well, that's it. According to the little decals in the trunk, all of the factory pre-wired accessories are installed.

Thought I would share with the group.

Mike<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
I have a 2002 cabriolet and am very interested in the phone but the dealer tells me that if you have the convertible you can't get the voice recognition is this true? Do u get hands free? I was told you do get hands free but than I don't understand why no voice recognition?? Is the phone worth it with out the voice recognition? And why do u lose the cup holders?

Hi,

sorry for my bad english, but i have problems to configure the universal transceiver garage door.
Can you give me any instruction??

Thanks Peter


<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by MikeG:

Hi guys,

Glad the site is back up and running.

Wanted to let everyone know that I installed the following in my '01 cab since there was some questions earlier as to what was involved and the parts, etc:

CD Changer
BMW Cell Phone
Alarm
Universal remote transmitter

CD Changer:

Ridiculously easy and took me about 30 minutes. Got all of the parts from Circle BMW for a little over $400. Looks and sound great.

BMW Phone:

Took a little longer since the microphone wire harness was wire tyed to a the windshield frame and I couldn't get my fingers in there.....other than that, it too was easy, but you lose your cupholders http://m3forum.com/ubb/frown.gif

Got the phone and installation kit from my dealer as a good will gesture due to the electrical problems I had with car early on (see earlier posts).

This phone (CPT8000) is great and the interface is very easy to use and my wife loves it. It displays the address book on the radio display and you can scroll through and make calls without pulling your hands off the wheel (great for my wife). Overal transmission quality is good but expectedly deteriorates when the top is down since the mic is located near the top of the windshield frame.

Alarm:

the difference between the coupe alarm and the vert alarm is that the vert only includes the horn and a tilt sensor. No infra red or noise detector. Got the parts from Pacific BMW for about $90. Now when you arm and disarm, there is an audible chirp much like the 740/X5. This took me about 45 minutes to install. The cover over the firewall to install the horn is a booger to get out but very straightforward. Also, I didn't want to screw up my wife's car http://m3forum.com/ubb/wink.gif

Universal transmitter:

For the convertible, this the most expensive piece since it is a whole new rear view mirror with the 3 buttons integrated into it. The mirror is also not oval, more traditional looking....I don't know if I (she) likes it yet. Hardest part to install was figuring out how the darn mirror comes off. Got the parts from Pacific BMW for about $300.

Well, that's it. According to the little decals in the trunk, all of the factory pre-wired accessories are installed.

Thought I would share with the group.

Mike<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Some questions answered:

I did this quite a while ago so please excuse me if I forget something.

The UGO is easy to program...the directions are in your manual. I'll go and see if I can dig them out.

To install the phone, you HAVE to use the BMW phone (StarTAC). It has the correct software to interact with the displays in the car. I do not have nav, but it doesn't matter. You lose the cupholders since the charging tray takes its place. The interface for the phone is molded into this tray so it's hard to get around this. Since I posted this article, I removed the PCB from the phone holder and mounted it under the center console and restored the cup holders. My wife is very happy, but the charging wire coil just hangs out on the left side of the passenger seat and doesn't look nearly as "clean". As far as voice recognition, neither the coupe or cab could have it in '01, but I heard there was a module you can now buy to get the voice recognition. I also heard you can get a software upgrade for the phone to use voice recognition...one more thing, if you go with Sprint, they have a pseudo voice recognition system that works pretty well. The benefit (to me) for getting the phone system was the one time my wife called me almost wrecked the car while trying to shift, talk, steer and stay clear of crazy Tennesse drivers. The phone was installed the next day. It's pretty nice in the fact that you can scroll through your address book with the buttons on the steering wheel and make/take calls without your hands leaving the wheel. On cars with the nav, it's even easier to see the address book due to the increased resolution on the nav screen....no-nav cars have the phone numbers displayed on the radio interface.

If you guys have any more questions, shoot me an e-mail.

mpgk3@yahoo.com

Regards,
Mike

I'm so depressed.

Why the heck would BMW make is to that their hands free kit only works with a 5 year old phone? Motorola has had at least two new better phones out since the StarTac, not to mention a plethora of new better phones from other brands, and my suppossedly super sweet super modern car needs to use some random phone from a half decade ago.

I can't figure out any reason why the Motorola v-phone, for example, couldn't get a firmware update to work with this car. It's got the same plug.

This is the kind of stupid stuff that makes me want to not by another Beemer. I hope someone from Bavaria actually reads some of these posts.

What's part number of the alarm system??
Icalled Pacific BMW but they seem to kow what I'm talking about. He also said the alarm had to program at the dealer.
Thanks

Kenny

Part number for the convertible alarm is:

65 60 0 027 381

This is direct from their website so you must have gotten a moron on the phone. Their website is www.pacificbmw.com (http://www.pacificbmw.com) go to parts and then shop online then BMW accessories.

The StarTAC that comes with the BMW s/w is at least the latest model (timeport) but I agree, the s/w should be available instead of being tied to a phone. At least you get to choose carriers. When BMW started this integrated phone thing, you were limited to one carrier and it was analog....ech! Wait to you see the price....the phone is around $800 (yes...American dollars) and the install kit is another $700+. You have to have both to do the complete install. I was ablt to get a really great deal on mine so I didn't pay the whole $1500.

On the vert, you don't need to have the alarm programed since there is no infrared detector. On the coupe, though, you do. It is really easy and should take at the max 5 minutes. It should be a freebee at your dealer.

Mike