iPod integration dealer install cost...need opinions

[Tom G.]

Originally Posted by nwilliams

I have all the hardware that I pulled out from my E60 550. Checked with BMW and it's the exact same kit as the E70 X5.

Called my dealer and they quoted 3 hours of labour to install this kit at $130 per hour. That's a total of $390 + taxes to simply install this.

I had done it myself in my 550. All I had to do was remove some tape from a wiring harness that was located in my glove box and insert the optical cables in the iPod kit and fix it with a bracket in the glove box. It took me around 15 minutes.

This time around, when I removed the plastic backing in the X5 glove box, I didn't see this wiring harness. Not sure if it's sitting somewhere inside the dash or the harness hasn't been factory fitted to the head unit.

Any opinions or advice?

Thanks

The 5-series models are very easy to install, the X5 must have the radio removed to bridge into the Fiber loop if a CD Changer was not preinstalled.

Since there is not a pre-existing CD Changer, this will also require coding.