Technology package a must?

[jblaze21]

Hey all,

I'm looking at E90/E92's and have found a couple that do not have the tech package but have premium and cold weather. So basically tech has this:

MDM (m drive)
EDC (can get this optionally also)
Navi
HD/Sat radio (can get this optionally also)
Comfort access

So my question is the tech package a must?

MDM doesn't really bother me, I would keep the car at the more aggressive settings all the time anyways. I like the car to be tight.

EDC - the cars I've been researching have this even though they don't have the tech package and this is a must imo.

Navi - could do without this, don't travel outside known areas much

HD/Sat - same as EDC. Some have this optioned. Somewhat useful.

Comfort access - This is the one I really want. Sounds really useful and nice.



Last question, I understand that the Idrive system has menu's, etc that show you oil level, temps, TPMS, and other data. How do you get that information if you don't get it through the 16:9 navi screen?

Thanks in advance for any and all opinions/advice!

[Beemdog]

Originally Posted by jblaze21

Hey all,

I'm looking at E90/E92's and have found a couple that do not have the tech package but have premium and cold weather. So basically tech has this:

MDM (m drive)
EDC (can get this optionally also)
Navi
HD/Sat radio (can get this optionally also)
Comfort access

So my question is the tech package a must?


Last question, I understand that the Idrive system has menu's, etc that show you oil level, temps, TPMS, and other data. How do you get that information if you don't get it through the 16:9 navi screen?

Thanks in advance for any and all opinions/advice!

I have Nav but there is also a mini info screen centered below the tach and speedo that will show things like oil level, etc.

To me the Nav screen and iDrive go hand in hand so that you can easily change and view settings, but yeah, the navigation itself is not that big of a deal. The nav screen also displays the (optional) backup-up radar image.

I believe all M3s made starting with 2011.75 have the M drive button on the steering wheel.

[jblaze21]

Originally Posted by Beemdog

I have Nav but there is also a mini info screen centered below the tach and speedo that will show things like oil level, etc.

To me the Nav screen and iDrive go hand in hand so that you can easily change and view settings, but yeah, the navigation itself is not that big of a deal. The nav screen also displays the (optional) backup-up radar image.

I believe all M3s made starting with 2011.75 have the M drive button on the steering wheel.

Yeah that makes sense. I have that area under my tach on my E46 that displays MPG, temp, etc. Good to know.

Good point about the nav and Idrive. I hadn't considered the rest of the settings there beyond the nav, that would be very helpful.

Yeah in 2011.5 it changed from tech package to convenience package and everything had the M button from there on out.

[MikeD]

To answer your last question, oil level is shown on BMW's digital screen in the speedo
Oil temp is a gauge on the speedo, see below tach.

TPMS and all other car notifications are all displayed in that digital screen should your car not come equipped with an iDrive.

[MikeD]

regarding whether Tech should be bought or not...

So Tech Package was a package in 2008 (maybe 2009 and 2010?) cars, which you had identified wrapped up a bunch of those options into one package. The only item that could not be purchased as a standalone option was the M-drive-MDM setting.

Only recently, there is now an aftermarket solution to activate M-drive/MDM setting, but it'll cost you some money and time in programming this.


That said, after a certain year, M-drive came standard regardless whether you buy any options or packages for the car. The easiest way to check whether an older model had M-drive was to look for the M button on the right side of the steering wheel.


Should you buy the package? I don't know...depends on how you value each option I suppose...most 08s, 09s, were equipped with this. It's actually pretty rare to find a car without iDrive.

My recommendation is to buy a 09+ car, as the iDrive was updated to the current CIC hard drive based setup, which is an HD screen, and has a HHD, and can also use wireless apps.

Also note, 08 iDrive cars also may not have options for integrated ipod function or XM radio integration. They were pretty cheap options to add to the iDrive, but not everyone did it, so you can't assume it has those features.

[jblaze21]

Yea the cars I've been looking at have the hd/sat radio and EDC (a must for me). The comfort access cannot actually come optionally, just in the tech package which is a bummer. That sounds awesome!

Also the other features of Idrive sound helpful. I'll have to research all the things it can do besides the Nav.

[jphughan]

Hmm, there's another thread just like this that was just resurrected after a few years of dormancy.... Anyway:

- M Drive and MDM are not interchangeable terms. The former is the ability to set up a particular settings profile, whereas the latter is a special mode of DSC. But on that subject, the M Drive option is NOT just that ability to call up a specific profile. If you don't have M Drive, you lose MDM (so DSC is either fully on or fully off), the Sport Plus throttle setting (which is undriveable anyway IMHO), as well as the Sport steering weight setting. If you retrofit MDM (not officially available, but some vendors here offer it), you gain both, but even then, if you don't have iDrive, you ONLY have access to MDM and Sport steering in M mode, and M Mode will ONLY use those settings, leaving only the throttle mode (except Sport Plus), EDC mode, and I believe shift lights customizable. If you do have iDrive, you can configure DSC and steering settings for the M button.

- The Technology Package existed from launch up through 2011.5 (September 2010 production), at which point it was replaced with the Convenience Package, in addition to M Drive becoming standard. The Convenience Package was then jettisoned for 2012 in favor of a more comprehensive Premium Package.

- Like you, I don't have much of a need for navigation, but I absolutely still appreciate having iDrive just as a far superior infotainment setup compared to the base head unit. Using Bluetooth and external audio devices is just so much easier. And if you get a 2011.5 or later, I believe iDrive (along with the Premium Package) is required for Bluetooth audio streaming. And lastly, in addition to enabling customization of M Drive, it also makes configuring the car other settings and viewing service intervals and related information much easier.

- HD Radio is nice especially if you listen to the radio, but not a must-have. Satellite radio used to be nice, but recently in order to add more stations, they've completely killed the bitrate, so Sirius/XM music stations sound worse than an FM station with a good signal these days, which is pretty ridiculous given that the latter is also free. So unless you really like Howard Stern, satellite is a pass IMHO.

[jblaze21]

Originally Posted by jphughan

Hmm, there's another thread just like this that was just resurrected after a few years of dormancy.... Anyway:

- M Drive and MDM are not interchangeable terms. The former is the ability to set up a particular settings profile, whereas the latter is a special mode of DSC. But on that subject, M Drive is NOT just the ability to call up a specific profile. If you don't have M Drive, you lose MDM (so DSC is either fully on or fully off) and you also lose the Sport steering weight setting. If you retrofit MDM (not officially available, but some vendors here offer it), you gain both, but if you don't also have iDrive, you ONLY have access to MDM and Sport steering in M mode, and M Mode always uses those settings. If you do have iDrive, you can configure M Mode to use a different setup.

- The Technology Package existed from launch up through 2011.5 (September 2010 production), at which point it was replaced with the Convenience Package, in addition to M Drive becoming standard. The Convenience Package was then jettisoned for 2012 in favor of a more comprehensive Premium Package.

- Like you, I don't have much of a need for navigation, but I absolutely still appreciate having iDrive just as a far superior infotainment setup compared to the base head unit. Using Bluetooth and external audio devices is just so much easier. And if you get a 2011.5 or later, I believe iDrive (along with the Premium Package) is required for Bluetooth audio streaming. And lastly, in addition to enabling customization of M Drive, it also makes configuring the car other settings and viewing service intervals and related information much easier.

Good info. I did search and found a couple of threads but wanted more specific input.

I would prefer a full decked out M3 for sure, but I've been looking for about 18 months and I'm very specific about what I want and packages hasn't been much of a concern before but I've found a couple examples of nice M3's without tech which is a concern.

Specifically, I'm looking for:

Budget= <40k
E90/E92
Prefer DCT but will consider MT if special opportunity
Prefer Alpine White but will consider other color if special opportunity
<60k miles
Want modded car: aftermarket exhaust, lip, diffuser, tune, suspension, etc

Doesn't have to be all of these but most of them. Since most 2008's were MT, it's been hard. Some deals were close but then fell apart at the last moment. Doesn't have to meet all the mod requirements, but most of them.

I'll keep looking. I watch the FS forum here and many others daily but the right situation hasn't shown up yet.

If anyone knows of any exceptional examples, let me know. I'm willing to buy now and I'll fly out to grab it anywhere.