Fast Car

How to Add an iPod to a BMW 745i

1. Acquire a cassette tape adapter (if the vehicle has a tape player in it, as many older BMW models do). You can purchase this handy little device for around $20 at most electronics, audio or department stores. Simply insert the plug into the headphone jack and put the tape into the tape player to transport the sound from the iPod through the tape deck and subsequently out of the BMWs speakers.
2. Purchase an FM transmitter. This small broadcaster plugs into the iPod and transmits the audio within a small radius, allowing the antenna on the vehicle to receive it and play it on an empty FM radio station. (An empty station has either complete, or nearly complete, static; this means no radio stations are broadcasting locally on that particular frequency, making it open for FM transmitters to use.)
3. Have an auxiliary cable wired into the BMWs stereo by a car audio specialist. This small cable will run from the internal guts of the stereo into the cabin of the vehicle, allowing you to insert it into the headphone jack of the iPod and play it through the stereos auxiliary input.
4. Bring the vehicle to a car audio specialist and ask to have an iPod integration dock installed. This option will prove the most, but some car stereos allow you to plug a small adapter into the data dock on the iPod and use a digital display on the stereo to cycle through the iPods menu and operate it in almost the same way as if you were holding the iPod in your hand. (Note that this option may require a full replacement of the BMWs stereo.)