[J44KPR]

Has anyone successfully retro fitted a USB port to their car?

I much prefer it unless anyone can recommend me a great (non iPod) mp3 player that can charge as well?

[IanS100]

The good news is that, depending on model year of your car, BMW will happily fit a USB port in the armrest for you, the bad news is that it will likely cost between £800 & £1,000

[kaiser]

Originally Posted by IanS100

The good news is that, depending on model year of your car, BMW will happily fit a USB port in the armrest for you, the bad news is that it will likely cost between £800 & £1,000

My dealer quoted me £600 but still more than I want to pay.

[IanS100]

Originally Posted by kaiser

My dealer quoted me £600 but still more than I want to pay.

I got 3 quotes & all were different, I really don't understand how different dealers quote different prices for the same job, unless it reflects their competence / how long it takes them to do the coding. I get the impression that if they don't know what they're doing & it takes longer than it shoud, it's us that's going to pay the bill regardless

[shrink]

why dont you just get a USB charger for the 12v socket in the arm rest, and plug it into ANY audio player. I charge my ipod this way. Fair enough you don't get the control over the tracks etc, but it charges and plays just fine!!

[-TARBY-]

Hello please also see this...

http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=706396

there are two very good options in this thread - one of which I have done and it works a treat.

[TripleD]

You can buy a iPod retrofit kit for about £189, it uses the CD Multichanger controls, might need coding once it's done. BMW quoted me about £290 fitted for it.

[J44KPR]

Thanks! sorry for the spam thread I did do a search after and saw the quotes for £1000's!

but that link is great idea, I already burn Data CDs but they seem really jumpy and some tracks don't play, bluetooth receiver is a shout! just need to charge my phone a lot more :P

[macck]

Check out the Denison 500 gateway or mobridge. You get usb and ipod connectivety.

[IanS100]

Originally Posted by shrink

why dont you just get a USB charger for the 12v socket in the arm rest, and plug it into ANY audio player. I charge my ipod this way. Fair enough you don't get the control over the tracks etc, but it charges and plays just fine!!

That's what I have, bought a Griffin GC17048 AutoPilot from the Bay, they're cheap, do the job well & you'll get volume control via the steering wheel controls

[rich1068]

Originally Posted by J44KPR

I already burn Data CDs but they seem really jumpy and some tracks don't play, bluetooth receiver is a shout! just need to charge my phone a lot more :P

That's probably just down to the physical media you're using (quality of disc) and the speed you're burning at. All discs are not equal.

[Sparks69]

Depends what you are wanting from the USB. I had an Alpine EZi-DAB fitted which gives full DAB Radio + Ipod (also charges) and USB control via a display/controller on the dash! I have posted about it before.

[TripleBlack]

Originally Posted by J44KPR

Thanks! sorry for the spam thread I did do a search after and saw the quotes for £1000's!

but that link is great idea, I already burn Data CDs but they seem really jumpy and some tracks don't play, bluetooth receiver is a shout! just need to charge my phone a lot more :P

actually you might find that the reason that some songs are skipped is because they have been encoded with a frequency of 48000Hz. It seems as though the music system can only read tracks that are 44100Hz.
Nothing to do with CD quality, or bitrate. Just check the properties of the Mp3's you are putting on the CD, you will find what I'm talking about.