When selling a e39 530...
Discussion
I am looking to sell my 530i Sport soon, as since moving further into London the car sits in the underground parking space and is only used once every two weeks at most!
As a potential car buyer, would you prefer the original radio head unit (business model) when buying a car or would you prefer an iPod ready after market unit?
I know it's not a deal breaker, but i am under the impression that the OE unit would be more desirable, even though the aftermarket allows ipod/iphone/ipad/USB connectivity.
As a potential car buyer, would you prefer the original radio head unit (business model) when buying a car or would you prefer an iPod ready after market unit?
I know it's not a deal breaker, but i am under the impression that the OE unit would be more desirable, even though the aftermarket allows ipod/iphone/ipad/USB connectivity.
OEM all the way when selling. You may find someone who wants aftermarket but they won't be prepared to pay for it.
Quite a few people however may be put off by an aftermarket, no one is put off by OEM.
I would consider listing the aftermarket head unit in the advert as an extra sale item, but be prepared to get buyers to try and barter it in.
I kept my OEM head unit but fitted an amp and sub in the boot, best of both worlds, sort of
Quite a few people however may be put off by an aftermarket, no one is put off by OEM.
I would consider listing the aftermarket head unit in the advert as an extra sale item, but be prepared to get buyers to try and barter it in.
I kept my OEM head unit but fitted an amp and sub in the boot, best of both worlds, sort of

Blue Oval84 said:
OEM all the way when selling. You may find someone who wants aftermarket but they won't be prepared to pay for it.
Quite a few people however may be put off by an aftermarket, no one is put off by OEM.
I would consider listing the aftermarket head unit in the advert as an extra sale item, but be prepared to get buyers to try and barter it in.
I kept my OEM head unit but fitted an amp and sub in the boot, best of both worlds, sort of
Same here, running the standard Business radio with a BT phone kit that allows iPhone music sync and a sub and amp in the boot - this also retains the steering wheel and speed volume control.Quite a few people however may be put off by an aftermarket, no one is put off by OEM.
I would consider listing the aftermarket head unit in the advert as an extra sale item, but be prepared to get buyers to try and barter it in.
I kept my OEM head unit but fitted an amp and sub in the boot, best of both worlds, sort of

NSFW said:
Same here, running the standard Business radio with a BT phone kit that allows iPhone music sync and a sub and amp in the boot - this also retains the steering wheel and speed volume control.
Could you give some more details on this, sounds very interesting!Btw, agree with sentiments of the others, stick to the OEM.
RiccardoG said:
Could you give some more details on this, sounds very interesting!
Btw, agree with sentiments of the others, stick to the OEM.
The kit i am using is a Bury CC9060 which works a treat with my iPhone 4, the sub and amp are connected to the low pass on the speaker outputs and wired up in the boot via a variety of contraptions in the boot (it also has a roof mounted tv with a boot mounted DVD player). The bury looks ok, has the right colour display for the dash and is fairly non intrusive. Btw, agree with sentiments of the others, stick to the OEM.

RiccardoG said:
Could you give some more details on this, sounds very interesting!
Btw, agree with sentiments of the others, stick to the OEM.
In a similar vein, I used a Parrot 9200 kit in my e39 keeping the oem look but allowing full iPod charge/use and voice activated phone dialling. Works brilliantly and has a discreet little screen for the dash that shows album covers etcBtw, agree with sentiments of the others, stick to the OEM.
Definitely go back to OEM - there are far more potential buyers out there that like OEM to those who see the added functionality and quality which the aftermarket option brings. I see both sides, but preferred my BMW as BMW intended 

Subtle, doesn't disturb the OEM look of the car too much and adds much needed additional functionality. Win/Win

E36GUY said:
In a similar vein, I used a Parrot 9200 kit in my e39 keeping the oem look but allowing full iPod charge/use and voice activated phone dialling. Works brilliantly and has a discreet little screen for the dash that shows album covers etc
Exactly the route I went down:Subtle, doesn't disturb the OEM look of the car too much and adds much needed additional functionality. Win/Win

Thanks for the replies guys. I'd be looking at a BT kit mainly as a handsfree option, don't really do mp3s so thats not a priority.
From the (very) brief research I've done I can't tell how these work in terms of handsfree. Do they have a microfone and speaker?
I really like the setup in newer cars where you just get in, synch up the phone via BT and you can then use the car's interface to make calls, it also puts the stereo on mute. I assume that this isn't replicable on our old E39s?
That's exactly what mine does, when a call comes in it cuts the stereo down and plays the phone conversation through the car speakers (you just need an SOT Sound On Top lead to create this effect that plugs into the headunit at the back. Quite an easy job really. A small mike is mounted by my sunroof switch and that's it. I managed to connect it all and refit in less than an hour.
Earthboundmisfit said:
As a soon to be buyer of a 530i sport i have been put off by cars with aftermarket headunits where the original is not included. I thought i was on my own here but from the replies, obviously not.
BTW, is it a manual?
I know, really glad I didn't eBay the head unit!!BTW, is it a manual?
No, it's an auto.
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