The problem really stems from the pricing and then restrictive sales practice of packaging the BlitzSafe with the XM Direct.

If you look at the XM website - you can get XM Direct and an interface for Sony/Pioneer/Kenwood etc etc, and the whole package will only set you back $100.



And you can buy the XM Direct module by itself for $50 from XM or Crutchfield or Circuit City.

So why oh why is the BMW/MINI interface an additional $250?

That appears to be extreme pricing compared to other interfaces for the XM Direct, and the fact that you can't buy it stand alone is restrictive sales, which pi$$es people off even more.

When you can inteface the whole deal for $100, but a BMW/MINI costs you an additional $200, that's one hell of a pick price jump!

Chris.

 

I know what you mean -- I wrote to XM Direct to see if they were, in the future, going to make an interface for Mini. They wrote back and said no.
BlitzSafe are the only people making the interface so I had to go with them.
I think I paid $200.00 for the interface, becasue my kit cost $250.00.
Though you got the interface for a very good price, the price I paid is not that far out of line for some of their other products.(someone made money from me)

My local dealer said if I had purchased a XM Direct tuner, his distributor would credit me when I purchased the whole kit. As it was I did not have the tuner but BigBlueOx should also get a credit.

 

The funny thing is that for the alpine cd changer you can buy the blitzsafe adapter for less then $90.00...but it's almost three times as much for the xm direct...R&D costs are that much???

 

Or a perfectly nice IPOD with ICELINK that I can take anywhere...

 

I don't know how others here are feeling about this mess but I am getting a strong sense that the idea of a group buy may have simply been floated to buy some time .... until things quieted down. After all how long can it take Blitzsafe to put together a GroupBuy?
And for those who are wondering what all the fuss is about, I can only say that to me this is more than simply "squeezing the last dime" out of a deal - this is REAL money.
Here endeth the rant for today.

 

I also found a dealer in TX that has them for 239.99+SH. I don't know anything about the company other than their web page. Does anyone know anything about these guys??

The web site is: www.electronicsopticsandmore.net

 

NAM have said that they haven't had details of the group buy, but did speak to someone at BlitzSafe about the banner artwork they'd need.

So it sounds as if they are doing something, slooooowwwwwlllllllllly

Chris.

 

I'll chime in and add another vote of someone who wants in on the group buy when/if it happens.

I took delivery of my 2005 MCS (BRG/w, Sport, Premium, ColdWeather, HK, CAI coming soon) Saturday. I had Sirius in my previous car, but the delay in getting the Sirius unit for the '05s and the price for the unit + install has convinced me that I'm switching to XM. Even at the $279+ price, it's still cheaper than just the Sirius unit (not to mention the installation costs).

Cheers,

Steven

 

I don't know if any of you have looked yet, but try eBay. I bought my tuner and adapter on ebay and installed it today. The total cost was $160. It works great, but for some reason it cuts off any artists/titles that exceed the display limit of the head unit. It doesn't scroll. I'll try to find a fix but other than that, it's great.

 

I was bidding against you, and you snuck in at the last second!

Small world.

Yep, EBAY can be good too, we found another set for an 04 HK equiped MCS on EBAY and installed this week.

And the text thing is a 'feature' - limitations of the BMW head-unit I think

If you press and hold INF, it says it goes into scroll mode, but still doesn't scroll!

Chris.

 

I checked ebay found a seller but it wasn't the same one posted here so I was scared to buy it. I even asked BS if it would work they said no they were prolly lying please pm me the seller link if it worked cool

 

Ive done a couple of searches and looked at Denisons website, does anyone know if you can use the blitzsafe xm with the pass through and run the icelink through that? Or if there is another way to get these to work together retaining MFSW and head unit control?

 

Sorry to dredge up an old post, but it was stated this was for the 2003+ years and I wanted to clarify this as true. I'm looking to purchase a MCS in the near future and this (as pathetic as it is) might sway me somewhat on my choice.

 

Some very late 02 models are Sat ready, but 2003 onwards they are all Sat ready head units.

You can of course look on Ebay and find an 03 onwards head unit, and retro-fit to an older MCS, as an alternative.

Good luck with the MCS purchase

Chris.

 

Would all the wiring already be there so just swapping out the head unit is all I would need?

 

The wiring is actually the cabling for the boot mounted CD autochanger.

I believe all US cars have that wiring in place.

It's easy to check if you're looking at a car to buy.

Open the boot, check behind the panel on the right hand side.

The cable loom you can see, will have a couple of small plugs on cables taped onto it with masking tape. They are tightly wrapped and may not be immediately clear - look closely for the masking tape wrapping the plugs and cable loom.

If those plugs are there, you're ok for wiring.

Chris.

 

Great! Thanks a ton for the feedback.

 

[font=Arial][size=2]THIS LOOKS LIKE THE ANSWER TO EVERYONE'S PROBLEM FOR A XM DIRECT INTERFACE AND RECEIVER FOR UNDER $200.00...THEY KIND OF CHANGED THE NAME TO PROTECT THE INNOCENT.. I CHECKED THIS OUT AND IT SEEMS TO BE THE SAME INTERFACE AS I HAVE.. GO TO LINK OR CALL CHRISTINE.. GOOD LUCK.. [/size][/font]
[font=Arial][size=2][/size][/font]
[font=Arial][size=2]I have just tested these interfaces and they work with the XM direct tuner. They are designed for the Delphi Skylink but work with the XM direct.[/size][/font]
[font=Arial][size=2][/size][/font]
[font=Arial][size=2][/size][/font]
[font=Arial][size=2]BMW XM SKY 00[/size][/font]
[font=Arial][size=2]$145[/size][/font]
[font=Arial][size=2]http://www.enfig.com/cgi-local/SoftC...html?E+scstore[/size][/font]
[font=Arial][size=2][/size][/font]
[font=Arial][size=2]BMW XM SKY 01[/size][/font]
[font=Arial][size=2]$150[/size][/font]
[font=Arial][size=2]http://www.enfig.com/cgi-local/SoftC...html?E+scstore[/size][/font]
[font=Arial][size=2][/size][/font]
[font=Arial][size=2]Christian Rodriguez
Enfig MotorSport
Enfig.com[/size][/font]

[font=Arial][size=2]Christian Rodriguez
Enfig MotorSport
Enfig.com
[/size][/font]

 

[font=Arial][size=2]SORRY , THIS MIGHT BE BETTER[/size][/font]
[font=Arial][size=2][/size][/font]
[font=Arial][size=2]I have just tested these interfaces and they work with the XM direct tuner. They are designed for the Delphi Skylink but work with the XM direct.[/size][/font]
[font=Arial][size=2][/size][/font]
[font=Arial][size=2][/size][/font]
[font=Arial][size=2]BMW XM SKY 00[/size][/font]
[font=Arial][size=2]$145[/size][/font]
[font=Arial][size=2]http://www.enfig.com/cgi-local/SoftC...html?E+scstore[/size][/font]
[font=Arial][size=2][/size][/font]
[font=Arial][size=2]BMW XM SKY 01[/size][/font]
[font=Arial][size=2]$150[/size][/font]
[font=Arial][size=2]http://www.enfig.com/cgi-local/SoftC...html?E+scstore[/size][/font]
[font=Arial][size=2][/size][/font]
[font=Arial][size=2]Christian Rodriguez
Enfig MotorSport
Enfig.com[/size][/font]

[font=Arial][size=2]Christian Rodriguez
Enfig MotorSport
Enfig.com
[/size][/font]

 

I thought there was previous post stating that Enfig was no longer selling it...

No matter, I ended up buying it from another vendor and it cost me $235.00 shipped. More then I wanted to pay but not by a tremondous amount.

 

DOKLB, I just ordered the Blitzsafe from enfig. Did I understand that you did test it with the Direct tuner? If this works that will be awesome as I already bought the XMDirect tuner and couldn't seem to get the Blitzsafe adapter from anyone. For anyone else interested I will post as soon as I get it in and hooked up. My recommendation would be to order now before the "man" figures out what has happened.

 

Just this morning I received this e-mail from Enifg A couple of months ago before I purchased XFM from a local dealer I was inquiring on a purchase a BlitzSafe interface through them, but at the time they were too expensive – though looking through this thread they used to sell the BlitzSafe for about $100.00 but by the time I got to them they started charging much more.



"I have just tested these interfaces and they work with the XM direct tuner. They are designed for the Delphi Skylink but work with the XM direct.


BMW XM SKY 00
$145
http://www.enfig.com/cgi-local/SoftC...html?E+scstore

BMW XM SKY 01
$150
http://www.enfig.com/cgi-local/SoftC...html?E+scstore

Christian Rodriguez
Enfig MotorSport
Enfig.com
Christian Rodriguez
Enfig MotorSport
Enfig.com "

 

No I DID NOT TEST THE ENFIG UNIT.. THEY DID AND THEY SAY IT WILL WORK.. HOPE ALL WORKS OUT.. GOOD LUCK.

 

I paid $235 shipped for the kit...it includes the xm direct receiver with the blitzsafe adaptor from a yahoo vendor.

 

Short of buying the Blitzsafe adaptor and receiver and then maybe trying to send it back if it doesn't work - is there any way of telling if Miss MINI's head unit is compatable? She was born 08/02 but the wiring harness in the boot is there. Pictures y'all have posted of your HUs are identical to mine, but will she recognize a XM receiver? Any way to tell?