Review of CIC retrofit through BPMsport's Mike Benvo

[BroomofWrath]

I finally got a CIC + combox retrofit done on my X5 through Mike Benvo of BPMsport and I wanted to post a review to tell you of the awesome job he did. I have been wanting this retrofit done ever since I found out it was possible. As you all probably know the CCC is an unwieldy rhino whereas the CIC is an agile panther! I did my research on this forum and others and was all set to send my money to Patryk, however I was a little weary of the DIY aspect of the install going through Patryk. I am technically savy but I would rather have a professional do the install then attempt to do it myself. As a result I started scanning the forums to see if there was somebody in the greater Los Angeles area who could handle a CIC retrofit. My search led me to Mike Benvo and I am so glad I decided to trust him with my car.
The first thing that comes across when you talk to Mike is that he is a consummate professional, off the bat he told me exactly what I needed and even talked me out of a 6nr+iphone cradle upgrade because he felt it would be wasted money! After I placed my order he went about gathering all the parts needed for this retrofit, and he kept me updated constantly as to where my parts were and when they would arrive. Upon arrival of the CIC, screen, controller and a rear camera and parking sensor module Mike checked the parts for scratches; he is a perfectionist when it comes to that type of a thing. After the parts passed his meticulous inspection we set up an install date.
On the day of the install I met Mike at his place of business and he promptly went about taking the car apart like a pro after he was done my poor X5 looked like it had been in a chop shop… After the dismantling was done Mike went about painstakingly putting everything together and recoding the CIC to US specs. There were some issues that arose during the install such as US maps not wanting to install however Mike was able to write a work around for that and now I have 2012 US maps and the best part Bluetooth audio streaming!! Mike even procured and installed the rear LCI taillights and coded all the extra features such as dvd in motion and speed display in the front display for me, thus completing the transformation of my X5.
All in all I am extremely satisfied with the work Mike did and if anyone in the Los Angeles area is looking for a professionally done CIC retrofit I would highly recommend Mike Benvo of BPMsport.

[blue dragon]

If you don't mind me asking, what was the cost? PM me if you'd rather not say publicly. How much longer are you planning on keeping your '09?

[skunkd]

have fun when you have a problem and have to swap back to the CCC for BMW to look at that...

sounds like a headache that is not worth the thousands of dollars it costs to retrofit.

It is cool and if you have the time and money to deal with that then its worth it.

[BroomofWrath]

Originally Posted by skunkd

have fun when you have a problem and have to swap back to the CCC for BMW to look at that...

sounds like a headache that is not worth the thousands of dollars it costs to retrofit.

It is cool and if you have the time and money to deal with that then its worth it.

I agree it would be a headache to swap it back. However I asked the dealer if my navi is covered under my extended warranty and the said no only engine and powertrain so I wasn't planning on having the dealer look at it anyway. Other than that the activation is OEM and none of the other systems were touched.

[skunkd]

just wanted to point that out for potential retrofitters.

Sometimes... the dealer is the only option for getting a problem settled, especially electrically. So, you would have to recode to stock and replace the ccc for them to be able to do anything.

[blue dragon]

Don't rain on his parade. At least let the novelty wear off

[skunkd]

Well I'm sure he did the research before hand and knows the risks/benefits since it's no simple task.

I would love to do it to mine, since it's one hell of an upgrade! just too scared looking down the road.

I applaud everyone who does it because the CIC is awesome.

[mlee4984]

Excellent upgrade! Now time to do the rest of the car since the tails don't match the pre LCI stuff.

[3s-a-charm]

I would also love to know what the approx. cost of this is.

[skunkd]

rough estimate of 2-2.5k usd I'd bet maybe even up to 3k. Although thats just a guess so we'll wait for him to get back to us.

[BroomofWrath]

I wouldnt want to state the costs here so I have sent PMs in regards to the approx costs! Cheers. If it helps, Skunkd you are close (for a DIY install) but a little on the low side.