Has anyone bought this for their mini, or recently had it equipped on their new mini? I plan on getting it when i order mine, and i want to know just how well it really works. I know we will be able to navigate through songs and artists throught the steering wheel controls, but is it worth it? its a $150 option......thats alot for a stinkin adaptor.
casey.

 

do you know how much they are charging to install this?

 

I have this in my car and enjoy it. I chose this as an alternative to the CD changer. I did not want to take up the limited trunk space and the Ipod holds many more songs. I set up play lists so I can group the songs in the way I wanted them to play but found I mostly listen to track 6 which plays all the songs on the Ipod.


Whether it is worth the price of admission is something you'll need to decide.

 

Install runs from $150-$350 in labor, depends on your dealer. I paid $475 total. You can setup 5 playlists or play all, forward, backward and random, volume - that's it. The input level is slightly below that of radio and there is no way to raise it. I had to use soundforge to alter my mp3 collection to get the levels closer, the mp3's were much too quiet compared to radio. Sound quality is excellent. Conveneince is excellent. I primarily got it because I hate having my iPod sitting in a stupid cradle and having to move it when I park so it's not stolen. I hate things sticking out of the dash too - the cupholder was the first thing to go!

 

I was quoted $250 total with install. Mini of Pittsburgh

 

Since the iPod thing only works on an iPod and the Aux jack on anything with a speaker jack (2-way radio, iPod, cd player, laptop, whatever) I can't see spending the money and time on that when all it does is allow me to skip up a track. I got the car charger and the Belkin iPod holder for my Cooper and I think that's a better option.

 

Yep, bought my MINI from Casandra, at MINI of Pittsburgh. $250 installed.

If you love your iPod, this is the best accesory to get for your MINI.

It is not a hard install for do-it-yourselfers, however, if the dealer does it, it is covered under the warranty.

Steve

 

Your option is fine if 1) you don't mind all the wires hanging around, 2) you don't mind a DC splitter so you can use the Radar detector at the same time, 3) you don't mind taking the iPod with you, or locking it up in the Glovebox when you get out of the car, 4) you don't mind taking your eyes off the road to switch tracks while navigating a series of switchbacks, or tossing the car around a track or autocross course.

my $.02 worth.

p.s I did what you do in my last vehicle, and the iPod adapter is so much more elegent IMHO.

Steve

 

I know the iPod adaptor does not display any info on the head unit display, but could someone advise if the iPod screen itself still displays song info while playing when connected? It would be nice to be able to check in the glovebox for that info sometimes if an unfamiliar song gets played in the random shuffle. (I've got a 15GB iPod with about 2500 songs on it now. I always download the free single of the week from the iTunes Music Store, and I often purchase new music I'm unfamiliar with, based on the 30-second preview, so a lot of the songs on my pod are unfamiliar to me.)


_Dave_

 

No it does not - the iPOD simply displays MINI and is not controlable.

 

No it does not, it displays "MINI" on the screen. You have absolutley no control over the iPod when it is plugged in, other than through the head unit or MFSW.

Steve

 

Does the Denison (?) adaptor work any better?

 

As a cheaper alternative, the AUX input they install into the glove box works great with my iPod. I snake a male-to-male headphone cord I got at Radio Shack out of the glove box, down behind the silver uprights, to the cup holder area. I put my iPod in the cup holder, aimed up at me, and simply plug in the cable into the headphone jack.

Yeah, my head unit only says, "AUX" the whole time, but at least I don't have to set up a mere 6 playlists on my iPod, like you have to do with the official iPod adaptor. I can then read the iPod's face.

The only downfall is that I have to control the songs via the iPod itself, not the steering wheel buttons. But not that big a deal...

 

The sound quality is not the same as a direct link. It's like radio compared to CD.

 

im ordering my mini very very soon, and everyones imput has been very helpful. Im still gonna get the ipod connection. I think its gonna be worth it, but im still a little down about the fact that it doesnt do more. There should be info coming from the head unit on what songs are playing since the ipod isnt in front of you. so the big question is, does the other car adaptors out there do the job better? if so in what ways? Does the ipod stay hidden in the glove box the entire time? does it turn off automatically when the car is turned off? thanks

 

Just FYI, I got the adapter on my second MINI when I purchased the car and the dealer just charged a flat $150, no labor. Not sure why but I didn't complain. I had the aux connector on my first MINI and I like this option much better! The only problem is my IPOD tends to stay in the car more:smile:

 

Yes it stays in the glovebox. The iPod pauses when you change to radio or CD, also when you turn off the radio or car. The Ipod staysin pause mode until the sleep timer automatically puts it to sleep.

Steve

 

I bought my car from MOP from Casandra, and is the IPOD install worth it and does it work on the new ipod shuffle, did they tell you anything about it.
Don't have the reg. ipod but could get the shuffle.
thanks alpinamike

 

No the shuffle does not work. The iPOD needs a dock connection.

 

Yes it was worth it, just one more selling point IMHO. No it doesn't work with the Shuffle, only Gen 3 and 4 iPods with the Dock connector.

No they told me nothing about it. I knew about it beforehand. I tend to make sure I know more than any salesperson before I go buy a car.

Steve

 

Yep, I got it in '05 MCS dealer installed for FREE!

 

--someone else reports that the dension now shows song titles on the head unit. do a search on ipod adapters and check out my post.

--pyratio

 

just dropped the OEM ipod adaptor in...took about 45min. looks like the 02's #9 and #15 cables are slightly different in color (it was always one color off, mine is a 7/2002 production). so i just double checked. it works great and i just saved 150 install fee! maybe i can use this on another part.

fyi...you'll need a little metal pin of flat head to help remove the pins from the port...need to go in from the back where you removed the blue tab (not noted on the OEM pdf).