[ChrisE91]

Hello, on Saturday I put down a deposit on a lovely 57 plate 320D M Sport Touring :wayay: I'm really looking for to it as I've wanted one for a while but I've had a company car for the last 4 years so not had the need or opportunity to do so.

This will be the first BMW I've owned after owning various Fiats (Mainly Punto GT's - yes I've heard all the jokes) for the last 9 years.

Been reading a lot of info on the E90 series on BMWs over the last few days, there is quite a lot to take in, and unfortunately until the car is delivered (later this week) I'm not really sure where to start. Unfortunately I've bought the car from The Car Shop and due to the way they operate I've not actually seen the car in the metal. You may think this is a little foolish, but they had only 2 cars on this age, mileage and model in stock and they don't actually bring the car from another store (I live near Northampton and the car is/was in Cardiff) until you pay the deposit. I'm under a little time and financial restraint so had to make a choice quickly.

I've looked at the Autotrader add several times and I can only assume this is a standard M Sport model with no optional extras. If it turns out to have some options it will be a Brucie Bonus as I was happy with the base spec. I have spent the last few days looking into a few changes I would like to make, some quickly, some over a longer period of time.

Firstly I'm looking at Bluetooth handsfree. I've read you can retrofit BMW bluetooth to the car however it looks like a lot of hard work and it can be problematic, so I've been looking at alternatives. First of all I saw this headunit which replaces the standard one (http://www.bimmernav.com/store/catal...-item-241.html). I like the look of it because it keeps everything OEM looking and it has some nice features like the ability to play music from USB and sat nav. It's quite expensive but I'm trying to keep the car as OEM as possible. I've been been able to find any reviews on this HU or the other similar ones I've found. Has anyone ever used a HU like this? Failing that I've been looking at the Parrot Mki9000 handsfree system which is not only cheaper but has a lot of great features too. One thing I saw with the Parrot is the Unika steering wheel control interface. Sound perfect to me as it keeps the car looking OEM however I found conflicting stories about how the steering wheel controls work in regards to the standard audio system. Can anyone shed some light on this please?

And lastly for now, I really like the look on the later facelifted E91 LED rear tailights. I'm having trouble finding these for the early E91 as many say saloon only, again can anyone help?

I'm sure I'll have a few more questions when it arrives but thanks for your help in advance.

Chris

[urfankhaliq]

Hi, welcome and congrats!

Cant help with any thing but the parrot. I have an E90 saloon and have the MKi 9200 (same as MKi 9000 but with a screen) and its great! I also have the unika steering wheel controls as I didnt fancy having to use that silly remote and im sooooooooo glad that i did!!

yes its a bit quirky to use (for example to access the parrot menu you have to press up,down,up,down on the steering wheel, and to play/pause its down,uk) but it has to be so that the parrot controls can be unique compared to the normal stereo controls... Anyway you get used to that, its well worth it not having to use the parrot wireless remote.

Also the USB/ipod cable etc that come with the parrot are great, I have mine wired into the centre arm-rest and its very useful. Can plug iphone in to charge and listen to tunes,use a memory stick in there to play songs too.

Sound quality on the parrot is pretty good, not brilliant but you'll never find a handsfree kit that is perfect in a car n e way. I think it also depends on the sound proofing of the actual car too which isnt too bad with the E90. The one thing I thought will annoy me is the size of the parrot mic and how it doesnt look oem at all!! However I hardly notice it and its probably one of the reasons the parrot is quite good!!

[ChrisE91]

Excellent thank you

So the Unika controls the parrot and maintains the standard functions of the steering wheel? Perfect, that's just what I wanted to know.

Well unless someone comes up with a good review of the other unit, I'll be getting a Parrot then

[urfankhaliq]

Originally Posted by ChrisE91

Excellent thank you

So the Unika controls the parrot and maintains the standard functions of the steering wheel? Perfect, that's just what I wanted to know.

Well unless someone comes up with a good review of the other unit, I'll be getting a Parrot then

Go for it. you'll love it

[ChrisE91]

Best price seems to be about £100 for each unit. Do you know of any cheaper?

Also, don't suppose you know what colour my new car is? Picture in my avatar. Cheers.

[urfankhaliq]

Sorry cant help with the price but colour might look like sparkling graphite, same as mine..? once you get the car you can see the label on the underside of bonnet which will have build date and colour.

[ChrisE91]

Cool thanks.

I'm like a kid at Christmas at the moment, dying to drive it. Have you done any mods to yours? Do you have a mount for your phone?

[urfankhaliq]

Nah not done n e mods and I use something like this for my iphone

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/CAR-AIR-VENT-D...item19bfb0e521

I place it on the vent to the right of the steering wheel as your sat on the seat...

[ChrisE91]

Ah ok thanks. Not a fan of those type of mounts. I see there is a mount that goes inside the centre console, however I don't think it works without iDrive.

[ChrisE91]

Ok so that's the bluetooth covered, I'm going to go for the mki9000 Parrot unit. Any help with the LED rears?

[dxb335d]

Looking forward to seeing pics of the new motah when she arrives!!

[ChrisE91]

Originally Posted by dxb335d

Looking forward to seeing pics of the new motah when she arrives!!

Lol thanks but it's only a standard E91 M Sport. I know they aren't exactly the most popular model of BMW but I'm sure you've seen one before. :-)

[willhollin]

Originally Posted by ChrisE91

Lol thanks but it's only a standard E91 M Sport. I know they aren't exactly the most popular model of BMW but I'm sure you've seen one before. :-)

Yeh probably right, I wouldn't bother.

[raf555]

Originally Posted by ChrisE91

Ok so that's the bluetooth covered, I'm going to go for the mki9000 Parrot unit. Any help with the LED rears?

to get the genuine lci led reras fitted u will need a new tailgate / boot.

also once fitted they will need to be coded too as being led will threw up errors on pre lci e90 /91.

pre lci is pre 58 reg e90/e91.

HTH

[ChrisE91]

Thank you. Sounds like a lot of work for nothing really.

I've been looking at aftermarket lights and found these (http://www.ppcgb.com/BMW/3-Series-E90-E91/Tail-Lamps/pt70_1623_-cma578-cmo1230/)

I can't work out why the top ones are £20 more than the others though. Does anyone have these?

[MEGA]

Just a different style I guess... Maybe more LEDs? I'd personally just go or darklines or similar rather than aftermarket ones. By the way: if if helps the lights on e90 and e91 are the same (at least pre lci) so you can look for either saloon or estate...

Dave

[Falmouthboy]

If you have the registration number, your local friendly BMW dealer will be able to tell you colour and factory options - particularly if you make 'I will be getting it serviced by you' noises (even if you aren't).

[Em135eye]

Nice one Chris - the more pics of E91s, the better!

Like you I bought "blind" (Sytners) and realised I had a few options I didn't even know about! And that was after buying for a main dealer!

E91s look great in graphite - look forward to seeing some pics!

[dxb335d]

He is not posting pics.

[ChrisE91]

Thanks guys. It can't be long until I receive it.

I emailed PPCGB to ask them about the lights and they say they do not fit the E91. I queried why the website says they do and they said it's a mistake.

Are the darkline lights LED?

Thanks chaps. Full pics coming soon I hope.

[ChrisE91]

Originally Posted by dxb335d

He is not posting pics.

I'm sorry?

[ChrisE91]

Ok I've just emailed PPCGB again and asked what the difference is. On the cheaper ones the indicator is not LED. On the more expensive ones it is.