[jimbo2k]

Hi everybody,

First post on the forums, although I've been lapping it up here over the last few weeks waiting for my new pepper white Cooper :-) finally here and absolutely loving it.

A word of advice for people new to the Mini and wondering what the USB interface is all about - there's lots of info out there and I personally found it all a bit confusing and sometimes misleading.

In short, if you have a new-ish iPod (any video iPod, iPhone and iPod Touch), especially those formatted to work with the Mac, you may find that the standard USB cable does not work. Your iPod may not show up on the radio headunit, and you will therefore be unable to control your music through the radio / multifunction steering wheel.

If you are in this boat, you need to order the special BMW / Mini USB cable from the dealership. It retails at £40, but it definitely solves the problem. However....

Saving yourself £40

....this annoyed me, as I had just spent £17000+ on a new Mini. Why could they not throw in a free 'clever' USB cable??! So a week after delivery I asked my salesperson nicely if he would supply one to me 'on the house'. The reply was non-committal, but suggested he might just be able to sort one out.

2 weeks passed by with no luck, so I stopped by the dealership to fork out the £40 for the cable. I mentioned that I was half-offered a freebie, and mentioned my salesperson's name. 5 minutes later, I was walking away with a free USB cable. Hooray!

So, there you have it. They will give you one if you ask for it and don't mind a bit of patience.. but perhaps only if you buy a new mini ;-)

Happy Mini motoring!

[SoggyCornFlakes]

welcome

[Blown the doors off!]

Quote: Originally Posted by SoggyCornFlakes (original)

welcome

Perhaps we should rename the thread- £17000k USB cable.... Available from MINI Sales..

S

[Electric Sheep]

£40 for a USB cable? Is it solid platinum, edged with gold and diamonds, or something?

[thetope]

it's the bmw ipod cable, ordinary ipod usb cables don't have full funtionality with the mfsw/stereo - am hoping to get one thrown in "free" with my new dooper next week too!

[jimbo2k]

Thanks for the welcome, and yes indeed that was the most expensive free USB cable I have ever had the pleasure of receiving.

Tope, best of luck getting yours for *ahem* nothing as well. That will be £80 saved so far and counting!

[Troy]

I asked for one when I ordered, and then when I took delivery of my car, but the saleswoman kept saying that due to it being a seperate department "parts" they couldn't get it, Althought I got near enough 10% of the cars list price though so I'm not complaining!

[andrewcregan]

I got a USB cable off ebay for a couple of Pounds - everything works fine

[crmpicco]

I always do like that when you get something for free - although considering you spent £17k on the car I think a free USb cable is fair enough

[andrewcregan]

£40 for the cable - anybody willing to guess what it actually costs to manufacture? I start the bidding at under £1

[paa100]

Quote: Originally Posted by andrewcregan (original)

I got a USB cable off ebay for a couple of Pounds - everything works fine

Can you PM me the seller's ID - otherwise I can see me buying loads before I run back to BMW

[andrewcregan]

I bought mine 9 or 10 months ago, so cannot find who I bought it off.
Here is a picture of my cable, which may help you.

[paa100]

Quote: Originally Posted by andrewcregan (original)

I bought mine 9 or 10 months ago, so cannot find who I bought it off.
Here is a picture of my cable, which may help you.

Is it an older ipod you are running then? looks like a ordinary USB cable on a zip line

[andrewcregan]

Quote: Originally Posted by paa100 (original)

Is it an older ipod you are running then? looks like a ordinary USB cable on a zip line

It is about 2 years old - colour screen

[paa100]

Quote: Originally Posted by andrewcregan (original)

It is about 2 years old - colour screen

hmmm. Looks like a bit of a conundrum. I'll try a few cables knocking around the house and my older iPod first. Before investing £40!

[thetope]

Well, i failed in my mission to get a free one I think I wasn't ruthless enough, even though i asked about it while I was in booking my 4 day old mini to get a seat replaced (faulty stitching unravelling) and thought i would have a bit of leverage!

andrewcregan does that usb cable allow you functionality from the MF steering wheel (if you have one?) i have an ipod classic (the newest version) and it seems to be very fussy with cables at the best of times - i had to buy an official ipod AV cable to make it work with my tv as no aftermarket ones work so i suspect the ebay one would be a no go.

the alternative is getting a usb stick, you can buy an 8GB one from play.com for £14.99 (free delivery) which should hold enough songs to satisfy most people, plus then it stays hidden under the dash and less of a faff than an ipod which you'd have to to unplug and hide when you park the car. Think i might just go down that route actually.

[andrewcregan]

Quote: Originally Posted by thetope (original)

does that usb cable allow you functionality from the MF steering wheel (if you have one?)

I do have the MFSW, and all functions work

[paa100]

I have done a few tests.

Old nano (8GB) works great with a standard cable (ipod out of the box usb) MFSW and everything

80GB VIdeo and IPhone don't do a thing with a standard cable.

Does a USB stick still have album, genre etc selectable? Cheaper than a cable!

[thetope]

yes the usb stick has album, genre, artist etc selectable, so long as your mp3s are tagged correctly - i'm going to get one of the 8GB ones (16 just a little too expensive still) as i think i'd be too lazy to unplug my ipod all the time and stash it away - that's just a recipe for a broken window. plus they are handy for other stuff too - i always have one on my keyring , they are so useful.

[Jaydash]

Quote: Originally Posted by Troy (original)

I asked for one when I ordered, and then when I took delivery of my car, but the saleswoman kept saying that due to it being a seperate department "parts" they couldn't get it, Althought I got near enough 10% of the cars list price though so I'm not complaining!

Call me an (off topic) cynic, but I don't believe anyone has ever had 10% off these cars. Nowhere near it.