[Cloud9blue]

I am in a dilemma atm. Cant decide whether to spend the money on the cold weather package (i live in chicago) or spend it on CA.

i was recently on a trip, and rented a nissian altima with keyless access, didnt find it that useful. and on 2007 530i that my family has, i never found using the key is annoying (i even prefer the mechanical key that my mom's 04 X5 has more than the 5er)

so it would be great if you guys can give me some more opinion.
heated steering wheel and chair is nice thing in the winter, but spending $900 bucks on it on something you only gonna use few times a year is kinda waste (plus i dont ski, so the ski bag is useless). but again, since those seats makes you infertile, so you can bang girls without condoms, thats a i guess.

[yoyeewee]

Get both. Comfort access is only $500 here in the States. That's a really good price for this feature.

[Sh0cker]

If it's either/or I'd go with the cold weather. Are you sure you can't scrape together enough to get both though?

With CA I figure if you've never had it you won't miss it but once you get used to it, cars that don't have it start pissing you off.

[TaTaToothy]

IMO the small cost of the Comfort access is well worth it, and the Cold Weather Package is all but mandatory if you live in a cold climate, which you do. I know adding both will seem like a lot of money, but if you can afford the car you should be able to afford both.

[cstavaru]

I am also debating whether I should fork the money for comfort access and change my car options...but if I do, I will also get adaptive headlights and high beam assistant (from the Innovations package). Tough one...it would cost me 560 euro (~ 850$).

[bolty]

Originally Posted by BMWnator

i was recently on a trip, and rented a nissian altima with keyless access, didnt find it that useful.

Youre the first person I've heard say it wasnt that useful. If thats the case, save the 500 bucks then??

[nidget]

Originally Posted by User Name

With CA I figure if you've never had it you won't miss it but once you get used to it, cars that don't have it start pissing you off.

Same comment about the heated seats. Painful back ? The heated seats are not useful only in the winter.

Originally Posted by BMWnator

but again, since those seats makes you infertile, so you can bang girls without condoms, thats a i guess.

Where are your balls located exactly ? It warms the back, not the balls.

[yoiko]

Originally Posted by nidget

Same comment about the heated seats. Painful back ? The heated seats are not useful only in the winter.



Where are your balls located exactly ? It warms the back, not the balls.

We got both. CA comes in handy, but the cold package will probably be used less often for us even though we live in Chicago. We drive our MDX in the winter.

[akack79]

Maybe this post started a couple days ago will convince you to get CA:

http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=170380

There is a post like the above EVERY few weeks about people regretting not ordering CA. Just get both options, CW and CA......what's another $500 on a near $50 K car???

This morning came in very handy, had my lunch, wallet in one hand and other hand was holding a coffee....just brushed the handle to close the door with CA instead of doing a juggling act to get the keys out of my pocket.

[ATSR]

Originally Posted by BMWnator

... and rented a nissian altima with keyless access, didnt find it that useful...

I also rented a Nissan Altima recently with the keyless access, arrived somewhere in a hurry and left the car running without knowing for over an hour

I don't know if the CA for BMW has a way to prevent this from happening, but I didn't like it at all.

I would definetly go with the cold weather package instead. When it is freezing cold outside those seat warmers are the only thing keeping you from freezing to death until the car builds up some heat. And if you have some type of back pain, they also work great!

[Roth517]

CA is a must. It is so damn handy to just walk up to the car, grab the handle, and have it unlock for you and vice versa. To not have it and have to get in the car, insert the fob, and THEN hit the start button seems a little annoying. But heated seats are nice, too, for obvious reasons.

I don't understand how getting both is going to bust you on this expensive of a car... But IF I had to choose, I may choose the cold weather package because that will be a nice selling point down the road (if you're not leasing). If you were to sell it to a chick or someone who doesn't know jack shit about the car, heated seats would be more of a selling point than CA.

[DenverJayhawk]

I think most people that have CA really enjoy it. I've heard of some gremlins that crop up when washing the car. But otherwise, if I were buying new, I'd definitely go for it. If choosing between Cold Weather or CA, the price difference is significant between the two options, so it's not really a good comparison. If you can affort cold weather, you can probably also afford the extra dough for CA.

[GarySL]

Originally Posted by DenverJayhawk

I think most people that have CA really enjoy it. I've heard of some gremlins that crop up when washing the car. But otherwise, if I were buying new, I'd definitely go for it. If choosing between Cold Weather or CA, the price difference is significant between the two options, so it's not really a good comparison. If you can afford cold weather, you can probably also afford the extra dough for CA.

Emphatically, both. Use CA everyday & never see my keys (in the briefcase). And pull them out if you want to use them like an ordinary set.

Get both & never look back regretting it.

BTW-the gremlins go away while washing your car if you leave the CA fob in the car.

[purplewidow]

extremly.. i love it and have no issues.. i still use the fob to lock the car.. but to open it and strt it it is awesome.. i love not searching for a key i know is on me somewhere..esp when my hands are full which is often the case.. and always adds to resale so why not?

[BK]

If you're mulling over a particular option, you'd better get it, or you will regret it. CA is $500 and cannot be retrofit -- it's a no-brainer, because you will regret not getting it.

Heated seats / ZCW -- sounds like you want that, too. And the E90 heated seats are among the fastest and warmest I've used. They're great.

Spend a bit more now and the pain will be short-lived. You'll have to live with the car for a long time afterwards, though.

[shahils12]

I carry a brief-case to work, and never have to find my keys to get in the car, start the car, or get out of the car. Hell, sometimes I know I forget to lock my car, and it locks automatically (not CA related, I don't think so at least).

Also, no possible way you can lock your keys in the car... EVER. sure, you have BMW assist, but what about the hassle of calling them, asking them to unlock your car. What about after 4 yaers, when BMW Assist is no longer free / available?

The biggest hassle is eventualyl getting my keys out to unlock my home door. No way around that yet. I wish they had CA for homes...hahaha

Don't think it's happening anytime soon. I know they have figer-print unlocking doors or keypad unlocking doors. I'm thinking about getting one....

hmmmm

[kson929]

agreee to get it befroe you regret it...its something that you cannnot retrofit..
so no matter how much you willing to spend later.. they won'tbe able to do it for you?
and trust me.. the comfort access could be helpful at times...
altho most of the times you don't really need it..
but for 500 dollar... I would take it.. and soon or later a corolla have this funtction too, so
how could a bimmer iwthout this?

[dgliango]

I live in Chicago to man and heated seats are a must. If i were you i would compromise, just get the heated seats and not the entire cold weather package, then you can get the comfort access to.

[Spool]

Jesus Christ, you're paying 40K+ for a car, spending an extra 500 is like chump change...i throw more than that at the strip club in a night...


a lot of people have regret not getting CA, and in Chicago, Cold package is a must. Imagine your cold ass hands trying to dig into your pocket for your keys when you can just open it and start the car with the key in ur pocket.

[SMBowen]

I would definitely get both!!!!!! You won't regret either one.

Obviously Cold Weather is a must (at least for me, F! the g'Damn Cold!!!)

As for the CA, I love it! I am a minimalist though. I don't like carrying anything I don't have to. I don't carry keys anywhere. I lock my house put the key in the ashtray of the car, then get home, toss them on the table. And my BMW key I just put in my breast pocket of my suit or in my watch pocket of my jeans and forget about it.

The one thing that sucks about the CA (and I have emailed BMW for some sort of fix) is that the battery dies in the key and you have to plug it in when driving occasionally to charge it. (Unless somebody has a fix for this!...I don't see why BMW couldn't just take the ignition module and rewire it to a AC outlet plug and sell them as car key storage/charger)

-sm

[BK]

Originally Posted by SMBowen

The one thing that sucks about the CA (and I have emailed BMW for some sort of fix) is that the battery dies in the key ...

Yes.

Originally Posted by SMBowen

... and you have to plug it in when driving occasionally to charge it.

No. Battery is non-rechargeable. Plugging it in does absolutely nothing.

FWIW, unless you use the buttons a lot, it should last you at least 2+ years, and a replacement battery is $2.

[Mooreski]

Do heated seats as a stand alone option, skip the cold weather package... then get CA with it! Great compromise.