[BoneBenz]

I recently purchased a new 2005 S with the car pre wired for the phone except for a cradle and of course the phone. What gets me is that I am being told that I can't go down to the local carrier store and purchase a V600 from T-Mobile that will work in the vehicle seemlessly. It seems that I have to buy a MBz brand phone. The T-Mobile phone after rebates, etc. actually pays me back $75 and phone only costs $179. I am hearing that the MBz phone has specific proprietary software/firmware that makes it work with the vehicle. Is this true? I can't just buy a Motorola V600 from the local wireless carrier and get it to work with the vehicle?

In a nutshell, if the vehicle is prewired what do I need to purchase? The cradle and phone only? If so, does anyone know of reputable places that sell the cradle and the phone without paying ridiculous overpriced money for changing technology. Thanks for all of your help.

 

[BigSis]

MB branded Motorola phones ARE just very expensive. Nothing you can do about it.

Having a pre-wired car means, that you can add a phone kit quite easily, BUT you do need the PSE, additional wiring etc. to make it work. Which will cost some money either way.

Here is a link with phone kit info - you will see that you can get either UHI (which is compatible with various GSM phones) or MHI kits (which are compatible with MB branded Motorola phones) for your car:

http://www.mbenznl.com/products/phones/

greetingz,

BigSis

 

[JG in SB]

The MB V600 has additional software and hardware on it that allows it to work with the MB integrated phone kit. It is also a full quad-band GSM phone, not a tri-band like the T-mobile version.

Also, having the pre-wire doesn't mean you can just drop in a cradle and phone and be on your way. The complete install (including the MB handset) runs between $2500 and $2900 depending upon whether or not you get the voice control module. As far as I am aware, the parts are only available through MB, and it takes trained MB maintenance techs about half a day to install and configure the system. Once installed, it is covered by the MB warranty on your car's electrical system which is a plus.

I got this installed, am using the V600 with Cingular, and the setup works incredibly well. This is obviously not just something you drop $$$$ on because it is fun to have. I travel alot for business and do alot of business via cell phone while in the car, so it was worth it for me.

Yes it is expensive, but look on the bright side, you won't get stuck with any long-term contracts []

 

[Pepper]

As an option, you should look at the Mikbox. It is a solution that lets you use non-MB phones with almost all of the integrated features of the MB phone.

http://www.mikbox.com/

 

[DFM]

The mikbox will not work on your car and even if it did, you don't have as much as you think.

Your car is pre-wired but does not have the electronic components installed. In addition to the cradle, you need a linear compensator, an MHI interface, and a voice control module (you do want this).

Go with the dealer install and the warranty. The system is new for MY2005 and there are sure to be some minor glitches that will need to be addressed.

 

[BenzBloke]

Check out www.eurocarphone.com