New to Bmw's, Bought an E89

[Ronniefesta]

Hey All, Im Rich and I have finally bought my first BMW which is an E89.
I was intending on getting a s35i 2009 ish but I couldnt find one in the spec I wanted that ran OK so after about 500 miles in roadtrips, I got sick of it and then this little E89 23i 2009 come up what i thought was the right price, at least i got the soundtrack of the straight 6.

So far so good, although It does NOT have any extra toys I would have liked - I didnt even realise it needed them.

For example, my main criteria was Manual gearbox, parking sensors and heated seats. all sorted.

Not owning a BMW before, seeing the phone button on the steering wheel and the BMW Professional radio I "assumed" it would come with bluetooth... It dont.

It also does not have the module that allows the roof to open and close via the remote control.

I first thought that it just needed the carly kit to program it, but apparently you may not have the module fitted.

Can the roof opening and bluetooth modules be retro fitted, or do I need to go down the aftermarket route?

Also thinking of a different exhaust to sound a little more throaty?

Any advice or thoughts?
Cheers

 

[LordLolzeye]

Hey,

As I have been in your situation 2 years ago, I can help with some advice .

1. European model cars (both CAS or non-CAS) can open the roof with the key by holding unlock, the closing feature is only available for the CAS tough. For the US market, only the models that have CAS can open and close the roof with the key. If you want to retrofit this to your Z4 you have two options: SmartTop that offers more functions (for example folding mirrors on holding lock.. etc) or a little cheaper, german alternative that only offers open/close roof via remote (I am missing the link for this one).

2. Little more throathy exhaust - I recommend remus exhaust

3. At one point or another you will have electrical, then hydraulic lines snap on your roof.. this will happen to all Z4's and you will probably need to change them at some point in them when you encounter a red flashing sign on your dash. What I'd like to tell is - if one sensor is not working on the roof and you started to open/close the roof your car will get stuck in that position, not allowing you to access the trunk or operate the roof. If you lack the knowledge and tools to put it back into position it will stay as it is - for example, until I've changed my hydraulic lines on my z4, i've never opened the roof when I was away from my home city.

4. I've never heard anyone retrofitting bluetooth on a Z4 E89 but it might have been done, just look around on this forum, it has a lot of resources.

5. Possible upgrades:
- Front brakes upgrade (since a lot of people started talking about them on the forum)
- Cruise control retrofit
- Android screen instead of the iDrive (you can also retrofit it if your car did not have iDrive), you can find them on aliexpress for about 700$, pretty straightforward to do
- OEM Winddeflector retrofit (can be done for around 3-400$, not that hard either)

 

[buzyg]

Welcome to the board. Cool that you chose a nice straight six to listen too. 8) But what does it look like?

 

[Busterboo]

As I have been in your situation 2 years ago, I can help with some advice .

3. At one point or another you will have electrical, then hydraulic lines snap on your roof.. this will happen to all Z4's ... until I've changed my hydraulic lines on my z4, i've never opened the roof when I was away from my home city.

I like it when a post makes me smile.

 

[Ronniefesta]

Hey,

As I have been in your situation 2 years ago, I can help with some advice .

1. European model cars (both CAS or non-CAS) can open the roof with the key by holding unlock, the closing feature is only available for the CAS tough. For the US market, only the models that have CAS can open and close the roof with the key. If you want to retrofit this to your Z4 you have two options: SmartTop that offers more functions (for example folding mirrors on holding lock.. etc) or a little cheaper, german alternative that only offers open/close roof via remote (I am missing the link for this one).

2. Little more throathy exhaust - I recommend remus exhaust

3. At one point or another you will have electrical, then hydraulic lines snap on your roof.. this will happen to all Z4's and you will probably need to change them at some point in them when you encounter a red flashing sign on your dash. What I'd like to tell is - if one sensor is not working on the roof and you started to open/close the roof your car will get stuck in that position, not allowing you to access the trunk or operate the roof. If you lack the knowledge and tools to put it back into position it will stay as it is - for example, until I've changed my hydraulic lines on my z4, i've never opened the roof when I was away from my home city.

4. I've never heard anyone retrofitting bluetooth on a Z4 E89 but it might have been done, just look around on this forum, it has a lot of resources.

5. Possible upgrades:
- Front brakes upgrade (since a lot of people started talking about them on the forum)
- Cruise control retrofit
- Android screen instead of the iDrive (you can also retrofit it if your car did not have iDrive), you can find them on aliexpress for about 700$, pretty straightforward to do
- OEM Winddeflector retrofit (can be done for around 3-400$, not that hard either)

thanks for the info there. I found a place the retrofits bluetooth and dab to original bmw spec. they want £890 for bluetooth, £+1000 for dab at same time, or £1350 for dab seperate.... or they can fit a different sony stereo for £950 incl steering controls. er, no thanks

the remus exhaust looks about £800. is it worth that kinda money ?

regarding the roof, still undecided

 

[mcbutler]

I would pay £800 for the Remus but £1000+ for DAB!! Madness

 

[Argyll Andy]

Hey,

As I have been in your situation 2 years ago, I can help with some advice .

1. European model cars (both CAS or non-CAS) can open the roof with the key by holding unlock, the closing feature is only available for the CAS tough. For the US market, only the models that have CAS can open and close the roof with the key. If you want to retrofit this to your Z4 you have two options: SmartTop that offers more functions (for example folding mirrors on holding lock.. etc) or a little cheaper, german alternative that only offers open/close roof via remote (I am missing the link for this one).

2. Little more throathy exhaust - I recommend remus exhaust

3. At one point or another you will have electrical, then hydraulic lines snap on your roof.. this will happen to all Z4's and you will probably need to change them at some point in them when you encounter a red flashing sign on your dash. What I'd like to tell is - if one sensor is not working on the roof and you started to open/close the roof your car will get stuck in that position, not allowing you to access the trunk or operate the roof. If you lack the knowledge and tools to put it back into position it will stay as it is - for example, until I've changed my hydraulic lines on my z4, i've never opened the roof when I was away from my home city.

4. I've never heard anyone retrofitting bluetooth on a Z4 E89 but it might have been done, just look around on this forum, it has a lot of resources.

5. Possible upgrades:
- Front brakes upgrade (since a lot of people started talking about them on the forum)
- Cruise control retrofit
- Android screen instead of the iDrive (you can also retrofit it if your car did not have iDrive), you can find them on aliexpress for about 700$, pretty straightforward to do
- OEM Winddeflector retrofit (can be done for around 3-400$, not that hard either)

thanks for the info there. I found a place the retrofits bluetooth and dab to original bmw spec. they want £890 for bluetooth, £+1000 for dab at same time, or £1350 for dab seperate.... or they can fit a different sony stereo for £950 incl steering controls. er, no thanks

the remus exhaust looks about £800. is it worth that kinda money ?

regarding the roof, still undecided

Hi Rich, not sure where you are but if U.K. based how about something like this? I’m not recommending this specific unit in particular just showing you the price of one of their better single din units. You’ll see there’s a fitted price on the link too. In this price it includes everything needed except the additional module/harness to retain the steering wheel controls. It’s another £62 for the E89. I couldn’t self source it any cheaper. So all in just under £300 up and running. Odd thing about this one, and some others, is it’s an online exclusive so you order online and select the store you want to fit it and it gets delivered straight there. You can’t buy these units in store.

https://www.halfords.com/technology/car-audio/car-stereos/alpine-ute-204dab-car-stereo-with-bluetooth-746994.html

As for the Smarttop, I hummed and hawed about that too because of the price but eventually bought one. Even just for the single button operation I feel it was worth it. The big plus is either on here or eBay etc you’ll get approx 75% of cost back when/if you decide to sell. That’s what swung it for me to justifying the cost

 

[IRD]

Hey,

As I have been in your situation 2 years ago, I can help with some advice .

1. European model cars (both CAS or non-CAS) can open the roof with the key by holding unlock, the closing feature is only available for the CAS tough. For the US market, only the models that have CAS can open and close the roof with the key. If you want to retrofit this to your Z4 you have two options: SmartTop that offers more functions (for example folding mirrors on holding lock.. etc) or a little cheaper, german alternative that only offers open/close roof via remote (I am missing the link for this one).

2. Little more throathy exhaust - I recommend remus exhaust

3. At one point or another you will have electrical, then hydraulic lines snap on your roof.. this will happen to all Z4's and you will probably need to change them at some point in them when you encounter a red flashing sign on your dash. What I'd like to tell is - if one sensor is not working on the roof and you started to open/close the roof your car will get stuck in that position, not allowing you to access the trunk or operate the roof. If you lack the knowledge and tools to put it back into position it will stay as it is - for example, until I've changed my hydraulic lines on my z4, i've never opened the roof when I was away from my home city.

4. I've never heard anyone retrofitting bluetooth on a Z4 E89 but it might have been done, just look around on this forum, it has a lot of resources.

5. Possible upgrades:
- Front brakes upgrade (since a lot of people started talking about them on the forum)
- Cruise control retrofit
- Android screen instead of the iDrive (you can also retrofit it if your car did not have iDrive), you can find them on aliexpress for about 700$, pretty straightforward to do
- OEM Winddeflector retrofit (can be done for around 3-400$, not that hard either)

thanks for the info there. I found a place the retrofits bluetooth and dab to original bmw spec. they want £890 for bluetooth, £+1000 for dab at same time, or £1350 for dab seperate.... or they can fit a different sony stereo for £950 incl steering controls. er, no thanks

the remus exhaust looks about £800. is it worth that kinda money ?

regarding the roof, still undecided

Hi Rich, not sure where you are but if U.K. based how about something like this? I’m not recommending this specific unit in particular just showing you the price of one of their better single din units. You’ll see there’s a fitted price on the link too. In this price it includes everything needed except the additional module/harness to retain the steering wheel controls. It’s another £62 for the E89. I couldn’t self source it any cheaper. So all in just under £300 up and running. Odd thing about this one, and some others, is it’s an online exclusive so you order online and select the store you want to fit it and it gets delivered straight there. You can’t buy these units in store.

https://www.halfords.com/technology/car-audio/car-stereos/alpine-ute-204dab-car-stereo-with-bluetooth-746994.html

As for the Smarttop, I hummed and hawed about that too because of the price but eventually bought one. Even just for the single button operation I feel it was worth it. The big plus is either on here or eBay etc you’ll get approx 75% of cost back when/if you decide to sell. That’s what swung it for me to justifying the cost

.
Just had the the roof module fitted yesterday by another Forum member (AnubisZed) who lives reasonably close to me. As you say, not cheap, but worth it for the extra convenience. You can also open and close the roof on the move so that’s another bonus.

 

[JamieZ4C]

Welcome to the forum.

Please see this thread https://z4-forum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=117362&hilit=brought :wink:

 

[Ronniefesta]

Welcome to the forum.

Please see this thread https://z4-forum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=117362&hilit=brought :wink:

LMAO, Seeing as the grammar police are out ill see if I can change it

 

[Ronniefesta]

Welcome to the forum.

Please see this thread https://z4-forum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=117362&hilit=brought :wink:

Anything to keep the members stress levels down

 

[Ronniefesta]

thanks for the info there. I found a place the retrofits bluetooth and dab to original bmw spec. they want £890 for bluetooth, £+1000 for dab at same time, or £1350 for dab seperate.... or they can fit a different sony stereo for £950 incl steering controls. er, no thanks

the remus exhaust looks about £800. is it worth that kinda money ?

regarding the roof, still undecided

Hi Rich, not sure where you are but if U.K. based how about something like this? I’m not recommending this specific unit in particular just showing you the price of one of their better single din units. You’ll see there’s a fitted price on the link too. In this price it includes everything needed except the additional module/harness to retain the steering wheel controls. It’s another £62 for the E89. I couldn’t self source it any cheaper. So all in just under £300 up and running. Odd thing about this one, and some others, is it’s an online exclusive so you order online and select the store you want to fit it and it gets delivered straight there. You can’t buy these units in store.

https://www.halfords.com/technology/car-audio/car-stereos/alpine-ute-204dab-car-stereo-with-bluetooth-746994.html

As for the Smarttop, I hummed and hawed about that too because of the price but eventually bought one. Even just for the single button operation I feel it was worth it. The big plus is either on here or eBay etc you’ll get approx 75% of cost back when/if you decide to sell. That’s what swung it for me to justifying the cost

.
Just had the the roof module fitted yesterday by another Forum member (AnubisZed) who lives reasonably close to me. As you say, not cheap, but worth it for the extra convenience. You can also open and close the roof on the move so that’s another bonus.

Cheers for that, Im in Nottingham UK, its something ive been thinking of similar, https://www.halfords.com/technology/car-audio/android-auto/pioneer-sph-evo62dab-uni-car-stereo-212902.html but the alpine looks quite nice, and a reasonable price.

Just a curious question, if I come to sell the zed, and want to put the original radio in, will it just plug and play, or does it need a radio code, or does it need coding back to the car?

Ive been out in it today and bloody loved it

 

[Ronniefesta]

thanks for the info there. I found a place the retrofits bluetooth and dab to original bmw spec. they want £890 for bluetooth, £+1000 for dab at same time, or £1350 for dab seperate.... or they can fit a different sony stereo for £950 incl steering controls. er, no thanks

the remus exhaust looks about £800. is it worth that kinda money ?

regarding the roof, still undecided

Hi Rich, not sure where you are but if U.K. based how about something like this? I’m not recommending this specific unit in particular just showing you the price of one of their better single din units. You’ll see there’s a fitted price on the link too. In this price it includes everything needed except the additional module/harness to retain the steering wheel controls. It’s another £62 for the E89. I couldn’t self source it any cheaper. So all in just under £300 up and running. Odd thing about this one, and some others, is it’s an online exclusive so you order online and select the store you want to fit it and it gets delivered straight there. You can’t buy these units in store.

https://www.halfords.com/technology/car-audio/car-stereos/alpine-ute-204dab-car-stereo-with-bluetooth-746994.html

As for the Smarttop, I hummed and hawed about that too because of the price but eventually bought one. Even just for the single button operation I feel it was worth it. The big plus is either on here or eBay etc you’ll get approx 75% of cost back when/if you decide to sell. That’s what swung it for me to justifying the cost

.
Just had the the roof module fitted yesterday by another Forum member (AnubisZed) who lives reasonably close to me. As you say, not cheap, but worth it for the extra convenience. You can also open and close the roof on the move so that’s another bonus.

Ah, Ive seen this member on another post offering cruise control fitting. How much did he charge you if you dont mind me asking? Im in nottingham and not a milion miles away from him i think. DO you recommend him then?

 

[Ronniefesta]

I would pay £800 for the Remus but £1000+ for DAB!! Madness

I'm thinking they must have a sticky '0' key and added an extra to all the prices.

got to give the remus some serious thinking. will it sound awesome?

 

[Argyll Andy]

Hi Rich, not sure where you are but if U.K. based how about something like this? I’m not recommending this specific unit in particular just showing you the price of one of their better single din units. You’ll see there’s a fitted price on the link too. In this price it includes everything needed except the additional module/harness to retain the steering wheel controls. It’s another £62 for the E89. I couldn’t self source it any cheaper. So all in just under £300 up and running. Odd thing about this one, and some others, is it’s an online exclusive so you order online and select the store you want to fit it and it gets delivered straight there. You can’t buy these units in store.

https://www.halfords.com/technology/car-audio/car-stereos/alpine-ute-204dab-car-stereo-with-bluetooth-746994.html

As for the Smarttop, I hummed and hawed about that too because of the price but eventually bought one. Even just for the single button operation I feel it was worth it. The big plus is either on here or eBay etc you’ll get approx 75% of cost back when/if you decide to sell. That’s what swung it for me to justifying the cost

.
Just had the the roof module fitted yesterday by another Forum member (AnubisZed) who lives reasonably close to me. As you say, not cheap, but worth it for the extra convenience. You can also open and close the roof on the move so that’s another bonus.

Cheers for that, Im in Nottingham UK, its something ive been thinking of similar, https://www.halfords.com/technology/car-audio/android-auto/pioneer-sph-evo62dab-uni-car-stereo-212902.html but the alpine looks quite nice, and a reasonable price.

Just a curious question, if I come to sell the zed, and want to put the original radio in, will it just plug and play, or does it need a radio code, or does it need coding back to the car?

Ive been out in it today and bloody loved it

I actually looked at that and as stupid it may sound I thought the positioning of the screen was too low and would possibly fouled the gearstick if not at least be obstructed by it. I just don’t know how much it would protrude in comparison to the existing unit. Also with sunlight, I know rare but would it just reflect down there.

There’s a few dearer Alpines but the guy that’s done my last few said they didn’t really offer more options I’d use. You may decide you would

Re your existing unit, just removed the unit, additional wiring harness and disconnect the mic and DAB Ariel and plug your own unit back into standard wiring and you’re back to standard set up

I was out in mine yesterday and I’m the same

 

[Ronniefesta]

.
Just had the the roof module fitted yesterday by another Forum member (AnubisZed) who lives reasonably close to me. As you say, not cheap, but worth it for the extra convenience. You can also open and close the roof on the move so that’s another bonus.

Cheers for that, Im in Nottingham UK, its something ive been thinking of similar, https://www.halfords.com/technology/car-audio/android-auto/pioneer-sph-evo62dab-uni-car-stereo-212902.html but the alpine looks quite nice, and a reasonable price.

Just a curious question, if I come to sell the zed, and want to put the original radio in, will it just plug and play, or does it need a radio code, or does it need coding back to the car?

Ive been out in it today and bloody loved it

I actually looked at that and as stupid it may sound I thought the positioning of the screen was too low and would possibly fouled the gearstick if not at least be obstructed by it. I just don’t know how much it would protrude in comparison to the existing unit. Also with sunlight, I know rare but would it just reflect down there.

There’s a few dearer Alpines but the guy that’s done my last few said they didn’t really offer more options I’d use. You may decide you would

Re your existing unit, just removed the unit, additional wiring harness and disconnect the mic and DAB Ariel and plug your own unit back into standard wiring and you’re back to standard set up

I was out in mine yesterday and I’m the same

Your queries are the same as ive been thinking also, particularly the sunlight.
At the end of the day, its my play toy. I have the boring mondeo for daily s**t and family, so thinking about it the Alpine would be more than adequate

 

[Argyll Andy]

Cheers for that, Im in Nottingham UK, its something ive been thinking of similar, https://www.halfords.com/technology/car-audio/android-auto/pioneer-sph-evo62dab-uni-car-stereo-212902.html but the alpine looks quite nice, and a reasonable price.

Just a curious question, if I come to sell the zed, and want to put the original radio in, will it just plug and play, or does it need a radio code, or does it need coding back to the car?

Ive been out in it today and bloody loved it

I actually looked at that and as stupid it may sound I thought the positioning of the screen was too low and would possibly fouled the gearstick if not at least be obstructed by it. I just don’t know how much it would protrude in comparison to the existing unit. Also with sunlight, I know rare but would it just reflect down there.

There’s a few dearer Alpines but the guy that’s done my last few said they didn’t really offer more options I’d use. You may decide you would

Re your existing unit, just removed the unit, additional wiring harness and disconnect the mic and DAB Ariel and plug your own unit back into standard wiring and you’re back to standard set up

I was out in mine yesterday and I’m the same

Your queries are the same as ive been thinking also, particularly the sunlight.
At the end of the day, its my play toy. I have the boring mondeo for daily s**t and family, so thinking about it the Alpine would be more than adequate

I, backed up by the fitter, didn’t think it was worth the extra expenditure for what I want to get out of it.

I really just want streaming and phone functionality. When things are normal I have a 110 Mile round commute once a week and when the weather’s ok I’ll used the Z4 so the handsfree was a major thing.

 

[JamieZ4C]

Welcome to the forum.

Please see this thread https://z4-forum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=117362&hilit=brought :wink:

Anything to keep the members stress levels down

Ahhhhh... that's much better

 

[IRD]

AnubisZed has done a few jobs for me and for other members from the Forum. His charges are very reasonable. He is a true Z4 enthusiast and very knowledgeable. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend him on the basis of my own experience.

Hi Rich, not sure where you are but if U.K. based how about something like this? I’m not recommending this specific unit in particular just showing you the price of one of their better single din units. You’ll see there’s a fitted price on the link too. In this price it includes everything needed except the additional module/harness to retain the steering wheel controls. It’s another £62 for the E89. I couldn’t self source it any cheaper. So all in just under £300 up and running. Odd thing about this one, and some others, is it’s an online exclusive so you order online and select the store you want to fit it and it gets delivered straight there. You can’t buy these units in store.

https://www.halfords.com/technology/car-audio/car-stereos/alpine-ute-204dab-car-stereo-with-bluetooth-746994.html

As for the Smarttop, I hummed and hawed about that too because of the price but eventually bought one. Even just for the single button operation I feel it was worth it. The big plus is either on here or eBay etc you’ll get approx 75% of cost back when/if you decide to sell. That’s what swung it for me to justifying the cost

.
Just had the the roof module fitted yesterday by another Forum member (AnubisZed) who lives reasonably close to me. As you say, not cheap, but worth it for the extra convenience. You can also open and close the roof on the move so that’s another bonus.

Ah, Ive seen this member on another post offering cruise control fitting. How much did he charge you if you dont mind me asking? Im in nottingham and not a milion miles away from him i think. DO you recommend him then?

 

[IRD]

Hi Rich
Wouldn’t hesitate to recommend AnubisZed. Great bloke very knowledgeable and helpful. Prices are very reasonable.