Hi: My wife and I just bought a used 2008 clubman (not S). We thought it had bluetooth based on the dealers specs, but this does not seem to be the case. I want my wife to be able to talk handsfree in the vehicle. Does anyone have suggestions? Can we install bluetooth aftermarket or is there a workaround? Thanks for you help!

 

Pop over to the NAV and Audio Section and all your questions will be answered.

One note for you thou is to have the dealership check to see if the car is programed correctly.

There have been cars come thru that have all the proper hardware per the spec sheet and then not have the proper programing.

One thing you can do to check is press the menu button there should be a listing for PHONE there. If it is there then the car should be programed but may be corrupt. And if it is not there it means that the hardware may or may not be there.

 

There are lots of aftermarket bluetooth options available in the retail market, from earpieces to the stuff you clip on your visor. Would not necessarily be incorporated as part of the MINIs functionality, but it does achieve the goal of being handsfree.

 

My 2009 JCW has the same problem. I got a "Blue Ant" devise from Amazon.com and it works perfect. The reception and talking are very clear. It comes with a charger. It is very easy to use. It clips to the sun viser and to turn it on all you do is pull out a slide bar antenna. It connects itself to your bluetooth phone and if you do get out of the car and walk away without pushing the slidebar in to turn it off you will still get to recieve your calls. It will reconnect as soon as you get back in the car. It is inexpensive and works great.
Ronnie948

 

I miss having the bluetooth on my Clubman. Does the Blue Ant have a loud enough volume? I had a hardwired setup in a Mazda MX3 in the mid 90's that I had to lean over to make sure I heard well enough at freeway speeds. My last Mini had bluetooth through the speakers. Liked that I could adjust the volume.

 

The Blue Ant does have a volume control. The speaker is clear. I have not had any complaints from anyone I talked to at all. It looks and feels like a quality product. The clip stays on the visor and a very strong magnet holds the Blue Ant onto the clip. It is a great design because you do not have to pull the clip when you want the remove the unit to charge it up. I charge mine about every two weeks or so weather it needs it or not. I don't know if it is the best one out there but it sure works good for me. I don't want a bunch of wires hanging all over my car so I use the "ANT" and my radar detector is also battery powered. My GPS sets in my cup holder and it is next to the lighter socket so still no wires are in sight.

Go to Amazon.com and search for Blue Ant or Blue tooth and read the owner reviews.

 

I may go to the Nav section for this, but I'll jump in and ask here: I have the whole bluetooth package, and it works okay, but....
If I turn up the volume enough to hear the conversation, the ring (which comes amongst my music, or silence, makes all aboard jump out of their seats. It is positively startling. Loud. My dealer said it was adjusted as is. Anyone else?

 

You should be able to adjust the bluetooth-specific volume on the phone, and possibly lower the MINI's speaker volume a bit: as you are having a conversation on the phone via bluetooth connection to the MINI, increase the phone's volume. On my phone, that makes a volume adjustment specific to its bluetooth function. I turned mine up, and it made a big difference. Ring is still startling, even if it's a bit less loud.