[internaldaark]

Evening all, desperately need advise for my 'new to me' 06 118i (E87) model which has the non-bluetooth BMW Business CD head unit in

I'm fairly techy but never approached this.

Now im happy to replace the headunit as Im a massive bluetooth user, functionality wise with car/car controls am I better going going for BMW Professional stereo or aftermarket (budget about £100).

Not fussed about CD, ideally Bluetooth/Apple Play functionality but easy to install/

Thanks all

 

[Nyxeris]

Welcome

You might be able to get Bluetooth calling retrofitted for £100, but to get a fully integrated head unit for Bluetooth music streaming you're talking £2-300, and CarPlay will make that more like £3-400.

Any chance you could sell any of the Mrs' possessions to bring your budget up?

 

[Rocket Ron]

I've been looking at "professional" headunits, they can be the same on the front but different innards, czech or Hungarian (Alpine) and I have had trouble swapping in the czech one, needs coding.

I think it is worth getting hold of a Profesional one (if pixels are not shot) off ebay, I have been offered one for £37.00.

But what I would do is see where yours is made, I don't know if the 'business' ones are also czech or hungarian/alpine but if for instance it showed 'made in Hungary'/Alpine on yours maybe then a similar origin Alpine one might plug and play, but I think Nyxeris knows more than me, he's been helping me.

Nyxeris, would my suggestion be worth ago, potentially cheaper if it has to be smuggled past his Mrs!? (but make sure pixels are ok!)

 

[internaldaark]

If I need to up the budget so be it (no missus to worry about lol - long story) - I'm thinking like you said for for the BMW Pro headunit to give me the basic bluetooth functionality to patch the audio through now hmmm.

 

[Nyxeris]

Nyxeris, would my suggestion be worth ago, potentially cheaper if it has to be smuggled past his Mrs!? (but make sure pixels are ok!)

A pro head unit is only part of the puzzle sadly.

Ze Germans love their options lists, and all the in-car entertainment stuff on our cars was a good example. You could choose between business or pro stereos, or business or pro nav. Then you had to choose if you wanted no Bluetooth, BT calling, or BT calling and streaming. Then you had to decide if you wanted the USB/iPod interface, and if you wanted the base, hifi or Logic7 speaker setups. All of these were cost options that had to be ticked individually, and they weren't cheap either.

It's possible to retrofit it all, but all the kits/wiring harnesses were discontinued years ago, and breakers are charging a fortune for the parts. So even if you buy the pro unit, unless the car already had Bluetooth (which it sounds like OP's doesn't), you're still missing all the other parts needed to get it

If I need to up the budget so be it (no missus to worry about lol - long story)

We've all been there lol!

If you're happy to spend more, there are fully integrated Chinese Android units that are lightyears ahead of the factory stuff. They do have small annoyances like mine not knowing its lefts from rights, but all in all they're good little units. Pics etc. in my thread here.

Nyxeris' E81 130i

Out of interest did you buy a genuine BMW clutch or one from Valeo/Luk etc? Clutch kit and DMF were LuK, all bolts/fixings etc. genuine BMW via Cotswold. The indie that I use for Landy stuff swears by LuK which is good enough for me! The Valeo parts would have been slightly cheaper but didn't...

www.babybmw.net

You're looking at £300-350, but they're modern kit that's fully integrated into the controls/CANbus, and they're relatively easy to install (and uninstall and stick on eBay when you sell the car). You'd have to spend a good £1-2000 to get anywhere close to the same functionality retrofitting factory parts, and that would be a major wiring/coding job, not 30mins with a screwdriver.

 

[nivens]

Do those units fit in the pre lci dashboards? I thought most of those were major dash surgery which is why I'd never made the change myself.

 

[internaldaark]

Thanks folks yeah I’ve just got an aux line in and that’s pretty much it.

This looks like it will patch into the aux and give me grubby Bluetooth connection to my phone, minimising time ?

 

[porchy]

Thanks folks yeah I’ve just got an aux line in and that’s pretty much it.

This looks like it will patch into the aux and give me grubby Bluetooth connection to my phone, minimising time ?

That's exactly what I resorted to in the end. At least they had the forethought to put the aux port right next to the 12v output!

I did have one of the palovue dongles die on me after a year but when I contacted them they sent me a new one for free. They are a little temperamental at times, not wanting to connect etc but you get what you pay for!

 

[yu-supersonic]

Hi,

I had the same dilemma a few weeks ago and decided to go full retard mode I sourced good used Professional Headunit from wreckers here in Serbia and surprisingly pixels are good, and sound is vastly improved from Business HU. Next step now is to source undamaged MOST bus which I also found and I'm currently fitting it to my E87. Next step is to add Logic 7 amp to MOST ring and Mr 12V Bluetooth adapter. This is expensive, I know, but I hate when my Start/Stop kicks in and turns off my 12V adapter where I plug in my Bluetooth, and Bluetooth disconnects. Also, fitting MOST bus to your car enables you to do whole bunch of interesting retrofits in the future.

 

[Rocket Ron]

@Nyxeris, I am loving your work on the steering wheel and instrument cowling as well as the android unit!

The guy I bought my white coupe off has installed a Nexus tablet in the dash where your cubby hole is, but I don't think it's hooked up to the stereo (only BT calls on this coupe I think, no steaming) and I don't know how to use it, it's factory reset needs setting up.I think I need wifi to do that. I think what he was doing was bluetoothing the googlemaps to the tablet for sat nav from his phone, there's an aux lead to the port in the centre console.

 

[Rocket Ron]

Hi,

I had the same dilemma a few weeks ago and decided to go full retard mode I sourced good used Professional Headunit from wreckers here in Serbia and surprisingly pixels are good, and sound is vastly improved from Business HU. Next step now is to source undamaged MOST bus which I also found and I'm currently fitting it to my E87. Next step is to add Logic 7 amp to MOST ring and Mr 12V Bluetooth adapter. This is expensive, I know, but I hate when my Start/Stop kicks in and turns off my 12V adapter where I plug in my Bluetooth, and Bluetooth disconnects. Also, fitting MOST bus to your car enables you to do whole bunch of interesting retrofits in the future.

I would turn start stop off, I don't like it either and never use it, mines a 123d and I don't like the idea the oil isn't being circulated properly and I don't think it makes much difference to the consumption!

 

[yu-supersonic]

I would turn start stop off, I don't like it either and never use it, mines a 123d and I don't like the idea the oil isn't being circulated properly and I don't think it makes much difference to the consumption!

For sure, I'll do that as well, just need to setup NCS Expert on my laptop. I'm also sucker for good sound so I might do everything else as well.

 

[tmarshall57]

I'm in a similar situation to the OP. I have a 2009 118d e87 here in Spain which I use for about 4 months of the year. I have the basic Business Radio/CD - no Bluetooth, USB or parking sensors - just an Aux connection. I investigated the possibility of obtaining a good second hand profession radio to improve the sound but after considering everything I decided to buy a Sony single DIN head unit with USB (Sony DSX-A510BD), NFC, Bluetooth (2 phone connections), etc. This was £109, plus £10 for compatible DAB aerial and about £12 for DIN adapter harness and the plastic dash surround. I'll be fitting it over the next few days.

My research indicates that the issue I will face will be locating a permanent 12v supply to power the radio's memory. I understand that fuse 2 (ODB port) is a permanent live so will be trying this.

I thought about increasing the cost by adding the steering wheel button interface but I might deal with this later - not essential for me.

I also added PDC to the car - looked at OEM but looked riduculously complex and expensive so bought pre-painted front and rear PDC from AliExpress. I've fitted the rears - easy - and they look and work fine. There are no markings on the front bumper to locate the sensors so I've skipped these. The PDC unit cost £35 so nothing lost here.
I'll update as the radio installation progresses - hope to start (and hopefully finish) next week.