I ordered my 2009 335i sedan last July and took delivery in late last August. My car has premium, cold weather and sport packages along with navigation and upgraded sound system. I did not order the car with satellite radio (my mistake) and I am now interested in adding that option to the car. From the factory the cost was arounf $600. I called the local dealer and they quoted me a price of $1,800 which includes a one year subscription. That price seems like robbery! Does this quote sound correct? I clearly underestimated this but I thought the upgrade to add satellite radio was likely a simple modification and that the car is likely already prewired for the satelite radio with exception to some additional module that may need to be installed to allow the radio to receive satellite radio signals. Clearly the best answer would have been to order it when I ordered the car last year Anyone else have any thoughts on this? For $1,800 I can clearly learn to do without it and listed to normal radio or my iPod connected to the car.
$1,800 sounds inflated -- but when the programming, in addition to the module installation and wiring, is added to the labor estimate, you can easily pay that much. I think the module itself costs about $500 -- so you need to find out where the labor costs come from - then you can potentially devise a way to avoid them. I would try to negotiate with the dealer (or another in the area), or attempt to do some of the work yourself to cut the cost. Maybe order the parts from Tischer BMW (cheapest source for OEM)...I seem to remember a story from this board where someone was quoted a ridiculous price and managed to complete the install in their garage... This is a DIY for cars with Satellite Prep (SA 693) from the factory: http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1915 (There are also BMW official diagram included in .pdf format in this link) This is a DIY for cars without Satellite Prep from the factory: http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=10536 When I was given a similar estimate on a prior vehicle, I went to BestBuy, and bought a satellite receiver that fit in the ash tray of my 328i. I installed it myself with a fuse tap and some discreet wiring...in about 45 minutes...but I didn't have the seemless functionality of the factory kit -- I also had to find a new place to keep my gum. Hope this helps.
Very helpful! Thanks. Car goes in for service later this month. I'll see how flexible the dealer is willing to be. Only problem is that there is only one BMW dealer in Louisville, KY, so there is really no competition; with the next closest dealers in Lexington, KY or Cincinnati, OH.
I had the module installed when I bought my car from the dealer last March. At that time the cost was approximately $1,000 which also included the standard one years service. The dealer programmed the car for the module and even called Sirius to start the subscription. The advantage to me was that the radio controlled the module and there were no wires to be seen. It is definitely more cost effective to go the after market route. BSW offers a module that plugs into the radio and allows complete control of the unit via the radio head or screen if so equipped. Now if my car only had a shark fin instead of the little black box on the trunk, hmmm.
$1,800 sounds pretty expensive to me. Actually, I find that I'm using my satellite radio less and less. If your car came with the iDrive, you should be able to connect a thumb drive directly to the USB port in the arm rest. A 4 GIg thumb drive, will give you hours of uninterrupted music. Better yet, if you have a smart phone, you can connect it to the sound system and stream Internet radio. As long as you get good 3G coverage the music sounds great. And stations like Pandora, LastFM or Slacker, sure beat what satellite radio offers, as you can customize the music to your tastes.
That's all well and good, but if you want live programming (like sports or NPR or Howard Stern) there is no substitute for Sirius. I agree that there are other options for audio entertainment in the car -- I have my IPOD in the console too, and a data CD with a few hours of music in the single slot player. But, when I need a traffic update, I go to Sirius NYC traffic. When I need to giggle, I tune to Howard 100. When I need to tune in the coverage from Darlington for my crimson-necked buddy, I can tune into an individual team's own radio communications via Sirius' Nascar coverage. Just sayin'.
All good comments! Lesson learned is that when spending this kind of money on ordering a new car what's another $500! Shame on me.
I know the feeling -- and it sucks! But, there is no shame -- that 500 in your pocket has more power than another 500 of debt hanging around your neck... If you're patient and you consider all your options I am sure you can have Sirius in your vehicle for a reasonable price.
A couple of months ago a BMW dealership in Hartford,CT installed Sirius in my "d" for $750...parts,labor and taxes included.
It's pretty typical for after-sale retrofit to cost LOTS more than factory-fitted options, and IMHO this price isn't too surprising. After all, the retrofit method involves the entire BMW spare parts system, which includes handling at the minimum of three locations and a minimum of two shipping instances. Inventory stocking costs, too, including even amortizing the costs of the warehouses. The factory gets to install these units with the car partially assembled while your local technician gets to unassemble the car to do the same. Three labor steps, that is, i.e. unassemble, install, reassemble. We all have plenty of instances in life where we PAY to learn a lesson. This is another, and hastening to criticize the dealer is probably an inappropriate response.
I just had satallite installed in my car - the bill looked a little like this: 101 CMB 3.00....................................................312.00 65-11-0-406-351 SIRIUS RETROFIT KIT:659090.......25.00 65-12-9-192-274 SATALLITE- RADIO:659071..........495.00 ...........................................................................832.00
