[bodgerx]

Used to own a 57 318i E91 ED a while ago.

The car was ok, but I got spooked by the problems on the 2.0 petrol and bored with the fact that mine was a complete poverty spec model.

Considering a E91 320d (or 325d) at the moment. I want to make sure that it has bluetooth - a lot of the adverts on Autotrader don't seem to entirely clear. Do the steering wheel controls with the telephone handset buttons definitely indicate that the car has bluetooth?

[$pringy]

should have a shark fin antenna on the roof

[bodgerx]

Originally Posted by M3/C63/Q7

should have a shark fin antenna on the roof

Excellent.

So the steering controls - do they indicate anything?

[Kerr]

Originally Posted by bodgerx

Excellent.

So the steering controls - do they indicate anything?

I think they all have the buttons on the wheel.

Many people stick the fin on for appearance too.

[AlanYoro35i]

Well, if u see yhe idrive control then it must have it!

[AlwynMike]

If you are looking at BMW AUC cars, click on the picture of the car and then "save as". This (with most dealers) will give you the VIN number of the car so you can look up the original spec.

I thought all e90's had shark fins (as had all E60's).
All have phone buttons on the wheel, but aren't necessarily connected to anything.

Mike

[bodgerx]

Thanks all

[bungleaio]

I have iDrive and buttons but I don't have bluetooth.

It can be retrofitted though (as I'm having done) so it doesn't need to be a deal breaker.

[AlanQS]

Since 2007, the only model which had a shark fin aerial when fitted with only bluetooth (no sat-nav) was the E92 coupe. The E90 and E91 only got the shark fin aerial when it was fitted with Sat-Nav (though I'm not sure about the new 3 series saloon).

So, if it is a coupe and is an 07 plate or later, if it has no shark fin then it has no bluetooth.

With the E91 see if anything happens when you press the telephone button on the steering wheel and if you can get a hold of the bluetooth manual read up on how the system is paired.

[Frobius]

Mine is a 57 with only Bluetooth (no nav) and its got the shark fin.

Nice easy way to tell is to look under the arm rest and see if you've got a phone cradle isn't it?

[sylonien]

Grab the VIN number from the wind screen and run it through a bmw vin decoder?

http://www.bmw-z1.com/VIN/VINdecode-e.cgi

[ukbeemerboy]

Originally Posted by AlanQS

Since 2007, the only model which had a shark fin aerial when fitted with only bluetooth (no sat-nav) was the E92 coupe. The E90 and E91 only got the shark fin aerial when it was fitted with Sat-Nav (though I'm not sure about the new 3 series saloon).

So, if it is a coupe and is an 07 plate or later, if it has no shark fin then it has no bluetooth.

With the E91 see if anything happens when you press the telephone button on the steering wheel and if you can get a hold of the bluetooth manual read up on how the system is paired.

This isn't true. I had a 2006 330d E90 with Bluetooth and no Nav and it had the shark fin aerial.

If its got Bluetooth from the factory it will have the shark fin on the roof as the cradle uses this for the aerial.

[AlanQS]

I did say "since 2007" so my comment stands. Your bluetooth phone connects with your service provider and connects to the car via bluetooth. The shark fin aerial provides no comms for a bluetooth phone whatsoever.

Frobius, the phone cradle is an optional extra so that will not work as an identification.

[ukbeemerboy]

Originally Posted by AlanQS

I did say "since 2007" so my comment stands. Your bluetooth phone connects with your service provider and connects to the car via bluetooth. The shark fin aerial provides no comms for a bluetooth phone whatsoever.

Frobius, the phone cradle is an optional extra so that will not work as an identification.

Still not true as my mate has a 2009 LCI and has the fin but no Nav. If the car has Bluetooth then there is the cradle snap in fitment in the armrest. This is connected to the fin aerial. The optional part is which snap in connector to use that fits your phone.

[Frobius]

Originally Posted by AlanQS

I did say "since 2007" so my comment stands. Your bluetooth phone connects with your service provider and connects to the car via bluetooth. The shark fin aerial provides no comms for a bluetooth phone whatsoever.

Frobius, the phone cradle is an optional extra so that will not work as an identification.

The shark fin is a gsm antenna. There is no hard wiring from the phone but the snap in adapters use an induction loop antenna linked to the fun. Granted there is no benefit if using only bt, but if you use a snap in adapter with bt then there is.

Have a look on real oem. There are loads of different versions of fin depending if you have phone prep, nav, dab, sirrus etc etc.

[philmots]

I've a shark fin and some gubbings in the arm rest but no bluetooth :-\

[AlanQS]

Well, things must have changed A LOT since the pre LCI E9x range was out. Because then, even if you ordered bluetooth, there was no cradle of any sort supplied with it, E90 and E91 did not get a sharkfin except with the nav system (I have the 2007/2008 specification and option books).

I suspect that those of you without nav but having bluetooth and a sharkfin are in the minority and I understood that LCI cars hadn't changed in that aspect. Indeed, my brother had a pre-LCI E90 and LCI E90, both with bluetooth only and neither car had a cradle or a sharkfin.

If these cars are second hand then perhaps there was a particular reason why they have shark fins that current owners might not know about. Perhaps a poll of E90 and E91 owners with bluetooth but without Nav might reveal whether the shark fin is present or an exception.

I for one would be interested.

[Frobius]

2007(57) E91 - shark fin, no nav, Bluetooth and cradle for snap in adapter.

Had a 2005 E46 too that had no nav, Bluetooth and cradle for snap in adapter too. This isn't new.

Wasn't there a difference between basic Bluetooth and the 'mobile phone preparation'?

[AlanQS]

Did you buy it new, specifying the bluetooth option (the one that cost £535 at the time) and did it arrive with a sharkfin and a cradle?

Or was the car an AUC and you don't have a list of every option specified?

It's just that I have never personally seen an E90 or E91 with a sharkfin that didn't also have the double hump dash.

I was pretty sure of this - at least for pre-LCI as I had all the brochures and option lists for the E9x range and there is no reference to even ordering a sharkfin. If this changed in the LCI version, I confess I didn't notice it and haven't personally seen it.

Also, I don't see how the sharkfin helps connect a mobile phone in any way. The built in phone aerial connects the phone to the service provider but if the sharkfin connects to a cradle, where's the hard connection on the phone to replace the internal aerial? Ditto for connecting the phone to the car, it uses bluetooth after all. For most phones, charging and somewhere to keep the phone is all the cradle is good for. Would someone kindly explain if there is any other functionality provided?

[ukbeemerboy]

When the phone is connected to the cradle using the snap in adaptor, one of the connector pins on the phone then connects to the shark fin and uses this as the aerial which also has a booster in it. It also charges it as well. The phone at this point is not using its own in built aerial. It is still connected to the car via Bluetooth.

As a side note, any BMW dealer can give the list of factory options fitted to any BMW car via the VZAR system from the vin number. This is useful when buying a used car to check the spec.

[xenon]

^^ Not necessarily - the iPhone (all models) and BlackBerry (most models) do not present the aeriel connection through any hardwired port. On the iPhone, all that comes out of the connector is left and right sound and all that goes in is power and data - no aeriel connection anywhere to be seen.

What it does do is inductively couple the phone antenna on compatibale phones, as was mentioned earlier.

[windymissile]

How can I tell which cradle I have in my car? I'm thinking of getting a phone to match that I will just leave in there.
WM