Satellite Radio Retrofit... Possible?

jkf398 · 06-25-2005, 05:28 PM

My 325 will be at the dealership next weekend. When I ordered it in May, I was unsure about getting the Sirius radio... so I asked the salesman "Will I have the option of Sirius after the car arrives?" He instantly replied... "Sure. All of our 3's will have the satellite-ready option."

Of course, when I called today and asked him to go ahead and line me up for a Sirius installation at the dealership, he said "Another salesperson wrote down your order and didn't specify the satellite-ready package, so you'll have to get an after-market Sirius". I replied, "But you told me that ALL of the 3's at this dealership had the ready-package installed!" He then said, "Uh, let me talk to the mechanics and I'll get back to you". Not surprisingly, it's been five hours, and no call back. My question... can a factory-type Sirius installation be retro-fitted? If not, where should I tell the salesman to insert my car, and in what direction?

Thanks for any ideas... Kevin

RedStripe · 06-25-2005, 05:38 PM

Congratulations on your long anticipated car arriving soon. Unfortunately, I believe that the factory type satellite prep will not be retrofittable (at least in any economically sensible way). It's unfortunate that your salesperson was not educated enough to properly take your order when he got your sale. Let us know how it is resolved.

If it's any confort, you can obviously get aftermarket satellite receivers that connect through the AUX port, though it still won't be integrated with the car as you would ideally hope for.

jkf398 · 06-25-2005, 06:00 PM

Thanks, RedStripe. Just as I feared, the sat-rad will be a no-go, and through no fault of mine. :mad:

Although I suppose a Sirius installation would be possible at Best Buy or another source, it would not integrate with my iDrive... not to mention the fact that an after-market 'anything' in the cockpit of a BMW looks like a mustache on the Mona Lisa. The most I can hope for now is to blackmail the salesman into giving me a better deal at pick-up time... :mad:

Athos · 06-25-2005, 07:44 PM

Sorry to hear about this. This is another case of a salesperson not knowing their stuff. Unfortunately, it happens more often than not. I never take a salesperson's word on configuration issues. It's best to thoroughly check the brochure and then double-check the info on boards like this one. Of course, the boards and brochures can be wrong, too, but at least you have another source of information.

06-25-2005, 05:28 PM	#1
jkf398 New Member 3 Rep 11 Posts Drives: 2006 BMW 325i Join Date: May 2005 Location: Houston, TX iTrader: (0)	Satellite Radio Retrofit... Possible? My 325 will be at the dealership next weekend. When I ordered it in May, I was unsure about getting the Sirius radio... so I asked the salesman "Will I have the option of Sirius after the car arrives?" He instantly replied... "Sure. All of our 3's will have the satellite-ready option." Of course, when I called today and asked him to go ahead and line me up for a Sirius installation at the dealership, he said "Another salesperson wrote down your order and didn't specify the satellite-ready package, so you'll have to get an after-market Sirius". I replied, "But you told me that ALL of the 3's at this dealership had the ready-package installed!" He then said, "Uh, let me talk to the mechanics and I'll get back to you". Not surprisingly, it's been five hours, and no call back. My question... can a factory-type Sirius installation be retro-fitted? If not, where should I tell the salesman to insert my car, and in what direction? Thanks for any ideas... Kevin
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06-25-2005, 05:38 PM	#2
RedStripe Captain 100 Rep 649 Posts Drives: 2006 BMW 325i Join Date: May 2005 Location: Texas iTrader: (1) Garage List 2006 BMW 325i [0.00]	Congratulations on your long anticipated car arriving soon. Unfortunately, I believe that the factory type satellite prep will not be retrofittable (at least in any economically sensible way). It's unfortunate that your salesperson was not educated enough to properly take your order when he got your sale. Let us know how it is resolved. If it's any confort, you can obviously get aftermarket satellite receivers that connect through the AUX port, though it still won't be integrated with the car as you would ideally hope for.
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06-25-2005, 06:00 PM	#3
jkf398 New Member 3 Rep 11 Posts Drives: 2006 BMW 325i Join Date: May 2005 Location: Houston, TX iTrader: (0)	Just as I feared... Thanks, RedStripe. Just as I feared, the sat-rad will be a no-go, and through no fault of mine. :mad: Although I suppose a Sirius installation would be possible at Best Buy or another source, it would not integrate with my iDrive... not to mention the fact that an after-market 'anything' in the cockpit of a BMW looks like a mustache on the Mona Lisa. The most I can hope for now is to blackmail the salesman into giving me a better deal at pick-up time... :mad:
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06-25-2005, 07:44 PM	#4
Athos Second Lieutenant 11 Rep 228 Posts Drives: 2006 330i 6-spd Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: San Francisco, California iTrader: (0)	Sorry to hear about this. This is another case of a salesperson not knowing their stuff. Unfortunately, it happens more often than not. I never take a salesperson's word on configuration issues. It's best to thoroughly check the brochure and then double-check the info on boards like this one. Of course, the boards and brochures can be wrong, too, but at least you have another source of information.
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