Do you keep your BMW (Mini too) interior as stock/showroom as possible or you like having gadgets laying on your dash, center console side pockets, etc... The only reason I ask is because my best friend just came up to visit over the weekend and he has a 2000 MB C230 Kompressor (yes I know, the other side of the spectrum) that is all decked out with DVD players in the front/back, nail clippers on the A pillar, assorted drinks in the back seat for rear passengers, AC adaptors to charge up your cell phone/Ipod/etc... Endless wires going from point A to point Z as every space in the car (excluding the seats) has some gadget. Also, he has a full monitor flip up screen from his aftermarket stereo that also plays movies and the like. He keeps just about everything in his car such as extra clothing in the trunk, blankets, first aid kit on steroids, various miscellaneous items showing for all to see, this and that. The velcro just ruins the interior . I would rather have a interior be as clean and clutter free/showroom condition as possible. Your thoughts? I can understand a radar detector and an ipod but having laptops coming out of the dash board and nail clippers is a bit far fetched.

I hate clutter in the interior, though I'm not totally anal about keeping everything perfectly clean (the car is a daily driver, after all, and some use is to be expected). But at 165k miles, this is what it looks like inside:

Can't really provide a relevant answer here. If I had a choice, I would like to have an interior that is completely stock (or modified in a way that looks stock, ex: iPod adapter) and clean as possible. Unfortunately, it's not possible in my case. There's no space I could "integrate" my GPS unit, nor is there a space where I could easily integrated my iPod connections without modifying the dash a bit.

This is the sort of thing that would make me consider the iDrive system if I was buying a new car over a separately available and much cheaper GPS unit; the iDrive unit is built-in and I'm pretty sure nobody would bother breaking in and stealing it.

Well I do have my sirius radio and iPhone on my console.
I don't really wanna waste the hundreds of dollars to integrate my sirius into the iDrive, so luckily it's a really small unit.
Other than that i try and keep it clutter free.
I do have a 2.5yr old, so I have a single bag for his toys.

My dad always used to make a point of keeping the interior of the car as empty as possible, with the rationale that anything extraneous in the vehicle could easily give any would-be thief reason to think that there might be something in the car worth stealing, thus providing a potential incentive for a break-in.

I tend to agree with that premise, and try to make sure there's nothing in view to tempt fate. I think your friend is just asking for a break-in, as it's clearly obvious his car's loaded with easily stolen crap. I don't even like to leave suction-cup marks on a window (even if they're not from the V1 or GPS), as that might be interpreted as a dead giveaway for something potentially lucrative to steal.

Furthermore, anything loose in the interior will be free to flail about the interior in case of an accident or rollover - clutter isn't particularly safe, in that regard.

Besides radar detectors all of my cars are pretty empty and 100% stock. Sounds like your friend added about 50 lbs worth of stuff . It makes me think that if someone ever had that much stuff in their car and they rolled it they might get hit in the head a few times....

I think your friend is just asking for a break-in, as it's clearly obvious his car's loaded with easily stolen crap. I don't even like to leave suction-cup marks on a window (even if they're not from the V1 or GPS), as that might be interpreted as a dead giveaway for something potentially lucrative to steal.

Furthermore, anything loose in the interior will be free to flail about the interior in case of an accident or rollover - clutter isn't particularly safe, in that regard.

Excellent points. I tend to feel the same way. My friend is in the USMC and he feels that he is safe (until his windows are smashed). He lives in a great area in Jacksonville, NC but he is deploying to Iraq next month for a year (not on the front line).

This is the sort of thing that would make me consider the iDrive system if I was buying a new car over a separately available and much cheaper GPS unit; the iDrive unit is built-in and I'm pretty sure nobody would bother breaking in and stealing it.

I hate clutter in the interior, though I'm not totally anal about keeping everything perfectly clean (the car is a daily driver, after all, and some use is to be expected). But at 165k miles, this is what it looks like inside:

This would drive me crazy!
I like to be prepared, but I like to have places for things. Cubby holes for this, door pocket for that, you get the idea! I'm like James Bond with my stuff.

Depending on where someone lives, I'd think they'd be inviting a broken window and a few stolen items with everything out and about.

I picture your interior like this E38 a woman had in a Roundel issue about 10+ years ago. She had every side panel and center console filled with napkins, wipes, first aid kits, flashlights, rockets, machine guns, satellite dishes, etc...

Besides radar detectors all of my cars are pretty empty and 100% stock. Sounds like your friend added about 50 lbs worth of stuff . It makes me think that if someone ever had that much stuff in their car and they rolled it they might get hit in the head a few times....

Excellent points. I tend to feel the same way. My friend is in the USMC and he feels that he is safe (until his windows are smashed). He lives in a great area in Jacksonville, NC but he is deploying to Iraq next month for a year (not on the front line).

Nobody's safe. You could be the police chief, your car will still get broken into if you leave that crap in the car and parked on the street in, say Bridgeport, for example.

Botond+iDrive= I can't see you using iDrive!

And why not? You callin' me stoopid?

Nice interior. Unfortunately, I am very anal.

That you are.

All that stuff in the car has a potential to hurt or kill you in one way or another should you get into a nasty accident. There are people who carry pens in their cars, just sitting there in a holder. That could potentially take your eye out, or depending on what kind of pen, kill you once it goes flying around the car!

I assumed you didn't like iDrive. The new version is great . The worst example of an interior was when I was a flagger full time during the day (classes at nights) back in 2002. For a while they paired me up with a partner who had a early 90's Ford Taur@$$. This guy who had to be in his 50's had nothing but junk, garbage, clothing, you name it all over the interior. It piled up to his rear window blocking the view. He even had crap under the brake and accelator pedals . I also noticed shaving cream on his dash. I kind of felt sorry for the guy as he was probably living in his car and here I was in a nice clean E34 535i . True story BTW.

Oh, and when I'm done driving for the day/night....my little sirius radio fits in the glove compartment, and I always take my iPhone with me. My car is essentially clutter free. I always go through the interior each week to clean it up (mostly kid toys and such). I just love the way it looks when it's clean. Keeps it looking new.

I think you're gonna like my newfound cleanliness Chris... I just ordered that wheel brush that I saw on the forums (finally) and now that I have a crack-free dash waiting to be swapped in and am looking at sport seats, I think it's going to be a lot more fun cleaning the interior...

And once I figure out where to stick that darned iPod cable, I'll be Mr. Clutter-free 2009.

This post ended up being a lot longer than I intended, but here goes...

Thankfully, I've found ways & places to stow ALL the essential gear in the VERY compact roadster interior and nearly useless glove box. Because I really hate miscellaneous stuff all over the interior of my car.

The V1 goes on the windshield tucked in next to the mirror with remote display unit below the left side dash vent, all wires completely concealed.

SIRIUS sat radio tuner concealed under dash and integrated into Pioneer aftermarket head unit. The antenna puck is velcro'ed to the rear console between the roll hoops and gets good reception there even with the top up. This negates the need to stick the black antenna onto my shiny white sheetmetal, then run the wire into the trunk and through the aft firewall.

iPod goes in the flip top compartment in the center console arm rest and the cable is concealed under the console running to the connector in the back of the Pioneer head unit. Nice, neat and completely invisible to the casual passer by.

My one indiscretion is my Palm PDA which when combined with a very small Bluetooth GPS receiver, serves as my Nav system. The Palm rests in a bracket that clips to the center vent and takes power from the cig lighter socket. The GPS receiver which is about 1" x 2" x 3/4" fits neatly in the little cubby at the back of the center console and gets clear reception inside the car even with the top up. It has 12hr battery life so there is no need for power to the GPS receiver while underway.

Sunglasses and toll $ go in drivers door pocket, there's a useful little flip up lidded compartment to restrain a small amount of loose change. The Z3 came with an elastic cargo net on the passengers side of the transmission tunnel that is good for holding maps, tourist brochures and other hardcopy reference material. I added a second cargo net on the driver's side where I'll keep my wallet, cell phone and two-way radio (for group drives).

I typically never have food or drinks in my my car except on the rare occasion that the Mrs. is with me for a significant road trip (say from Connecticut to Greenville SC).

For security purposes, the stereo head unit faceplate is removable and gets locked in the trunk when I am forced to park in questionable places. The V1 and any other individual electronic gear is also removed and stowed in the trunk under these circumstances. The Palm will either be locked in the trunk or carried with me when I depart the car. It is particularly important to remove or hide anything inside a ragtop to eliminate the temptation to bypass the locked doors and just slice the expensive cloth top.

So there you go, now you know it IS possible to fit 25 lbs of "stuff" into a 5 lb bag