[AoshichanX]

The following is a cumulation of research from myself and contributions from fellow forum members--most notably Technic

Thanks Technic for all your guidance!

All US cars e9x are pre-wired for "telephone preparation" (SA640). European cars do not have this option standard.

If your car is non-US spec, the best route is ULF. Because ULF is not supported in the United States, full compatibility can only be achieved with TCU retrofitting for now. For Euro-spec cars etc, it is simply a matter of purchasing the part and programming at your local dealership.

Research/Steps Taken
09/21/07 -12/31/07 - ULF works but with German voice command. TCU is a bust.
02/06/08 - Conversation with Evan@Tischer Regarding Bluetooth Retrofit - TCU is back in the game?
02/21/08 - Ordered retrofit kit from bimmernav, expected ULF...
02/25/08 - Got package from bimmernav, got TCU instead of ULF.
02/26/08 - TCU part# from bimmernav same as the one mentioned in chat by Evan@Tischer. Found SIB Bulletin and PDF installation.
02/26/08 - Conversation with Evan@Tischer Regarding TCU Part#
02/26/08 - Dropped car off at Savage BMW
02/27/08 - Savage BMW required purchase of bracket/hex unit/loudspeaker/FZD.
02/27/08 - Evan@Tischer assures me they have done retrofit several times with only TCU swap and 2 step programming. Maybe Savage is dumb/they are really "by-the-book"
02/28/08 - Car has been retrofited with BMW Assist with Bluetooth Technology.

ULF Retrofit

1. Retrofit has been known to be partially successful: voice command is unfortunately in German. Bimmernav attributes German voice command to a coding issue by maladroit BMW technicians.
2. With proper coding, the ULF retrofit claims to be 100% operable. There has been no known documentation by a satisfied consumer to back this statement.
3. This option requires dealer activation.
4. The two most notable ULF suppliers: bimmernav and roveractive.
5. Cost
   • ULF Module - BMW Part #: 84109154358 - $675
   • Microphone - $55
   • Bracket - BMW Part #: 65156927700 - $15
   • Installation and Programming Costs - Free (quoted from New Century BMW after I referenced a certain member of this forum)
6. FOR ULF PDF CLICK HERE

TCU Retrofit

1. Available as of September 2007; aka the factory install option: no German voice command problems.
2. 1 success! (me ); 1 documented failure .
3. This option requires coding by BMW dealership due to e90 MOST setup. As a reference, it took Savage BMW 3 days to get it right.
4. Both Tischer and bimmernav supply the TCU retrofit.
5. Tell your dealership to retrofit this TCU as per SIB 84 14 05
6. Cost
   • TCU Module - BMW Part #: 84109171590 - $675 ($548 from Tischer but no stock...ever)
   • Microphone - $55
   • Bracket - BMW Part #: 65156937700 - $15
   • Installation and Programming Costs - $396.24 (quoted from Savage BMW in Ontario- 3 hours of programming only - no labor)
7. FOR TCU PDF CLICK HERE

My Cost for Complete BMW Assist with Bluetooth Retrofit

1. My car is a February '07 Production base model e90 335i with steptronic and navigation/idrive only.
2. SA for this job is Cesar Velasquez of Savage BMW. Savage BMW has never done this retrofit before. They charged for all the parts in the SIB. If you go to Savage please make sure to purchase all your own parts! Purchase the retrofit kit from Bimmernav. Purchase the rest of the parts FZD center module, bracket, hex nuts, and loudspeaker from Tischer. That is the cheapest route for a complete retrofit.
3. Going in, Savage assumed all they needed was the TCU since I had phone prep. Along the way they discovered I needed this part and then another part. Basically, all the parts from the SIB *pdf were required for this complete retrofit.
4. My Bimmernav Kit
   • TCU Module - BMW Part #: 84109171590 - $675
   • Microphone - $55
   • BMW Bluetooth Antenna - Included
   • Shipping USPS Priority - $29
5. Savage BMW
   • Bracket for Telematics Control- - BMW Part #: 65156937700 - $18.26
   • FZD - BMW Part #: 61319137523 (this is VEHICLE SPECIFIC and may be different for your car) - $268.42**
   • Hex Nut - BMW Part #: 07129906048 - $0.68
   • Nut - BMW Part #:41248147832 - $0.18
   • Loudspeaker - - BMW Part #: 65136938657 - $19.86
   • Installation and Programming Costs - $538.38 (1 hour labor, 3 hours of programming)
   • Tax - $24.02
6. Total: $1631.48 (Vehicle option is $750 if ordered with the car )
7. Only you can decide if this is worth it to you. SOS button works, I got a call from the operator--idrive displayed my latitude and longitude during the call. Voice command works in English. All functions work. Calls are clear. My phone is the VX8550 Chocolate 2 from Verizon. Phonebook is downloaded and synced.

**(special thanks to Evan for this price...otherwise Savage would have charged me a good $408. also thanks to my dad for convincing me to talk to the service manager, I would have pussied out probably otherwise and get charged up the ass)