Is Navigation Worth It?

[kvrdave]

I don't think I could have factory navigation. My dad has it in his Acura. The cost difference doesn't bother me a lot. What really bothers me is that he has to hit "ok" and agree to their terms of agreement every time the car is started. That would piss me off to no end.

[D.Pham4GLTE (>60GB)]

i've had both an OEM for my passat (paid 900 used), and a aftermarket (garmin 2610). the oem factor is nice, but i definately wouldn't pay $2k for it. if i find one used for under a grand, then i might swing for it though. thing is, i don't use the navi enough to gain from the convenience of having an integrated navi.

[Buford T Pusser]

I just use maps. Call me old school.

[msdmoney]

Slightly off topic, but I highly reccomend the TSX, I bought a used 2004 TSX last year, it is a great car.

I didn't get the navigation, even though I can see it being useful I just couldn't justify $2000. LCD's have come down a ton and with the aftermarket units much cheaper I think the factory units should come down in price.

[Preacher]

Originally Posted by Buford T Pusser

I just use maps. Call me old school.

Hey, Old School.

[The Bus]

Let's see: Cost of navigation unit: $300-1000 (?)

Cost of map: $10

Cost of Mapquest printout or paper and pencil sketch: $0.10

Yeah, I don't see the benefits. I know within the next couple of years here in the states we will finally get traffic reporting in the units (something that's been in Germany at least for a decade). I've seen the Acura commercials for Zagat ratings, etc. Seems interesting, but not worth $2000.

Give me GPS, directions, AND real-time traffic, AND traffic prediction (like Inix's Dust Network that's going to be in BMWs)... and then maybe you have a sale. Maybe.

[jonw9]

Originally Posted by SpaceBoy

I really think it's worth the extra for the built in. You'll get a bigger screen, and it won't look like a cheap add-on. Personally I can't stand any add ons, and having my sirius not intergrated (car only has xm. I hear there is a converter I will likely get) kills me. Plus with my pilot I can just speak and use it, although at times that's tricky. It is a nice feature.

My car has a factory sattelite ready radio made by poineer. Best buy sells a Sirious/Pioneer adapter for $100, but it only works with aftermarket units. Thus I need to buy the manufacturer integration set which runs anywhere from $250 online to $400 at the dealership!!

Looks like I am getting an add on

[zuffy]

Originally Posted by The Bus

Let's see: Cost of navigation unit: $300-1000 (?)

Cost of map: $10

Cost of Mapquest printout or paper and pencil sketch: $0.10

That's great if you planned or know in advanced where you're going. What if you get lost by reading the direction wrong? You don't have a printout of how to get back on track. Or, the time you wanted to goto another place but you don't have access to a map or Mapquest. Can you bookmark a location on the fly and not worry about a printout on how to get back to the bookmark location? Or you're in middle of nowhere and you like to know where is the closest restaurant or even a shopping mall, how are you going to do that without internet access or access to a computer?

I remember back in 2000 when I bought my first GPS unit, I went to Yosemite National Park by myself. Startup my GPS unit and I was ready to go from the San Francisco airport to Yosemite. No need to ask or have a printout of how to get there. I don't need to constant read the printout to make sure I didn't miss a turn or exit. I can go anywhere, bookmark interesting locations and not worry about how I will get back to those locations or from anywhere back to my hotel. You can't define these conveniences with cost.

[greg9x]

Originally Posted by The Bus

Yeah, I don't see the benefits. I know within the next couple of years here in the states we will finally get traffic reporting in the units (something that's been in Germany at least for a decade).

My first experience with in car GPS was my rental in Germany... I could not have did all the stuff I did without it !! But it took a while for me to believe the traffic alerts.. they weren't always right so I was always hesitant to reroute, plus some of the reroutes in Germany would take you pretty far out of the way !

[Thor Simpson]

Like the cell phone, this is something we will all be dependent on within 10 years.

[Bushdog]

Originally Posted by greg9x

My first experience with in car GPS was my rental in Germany... I could not have did all the stuff I did without it !! But it took a while for me to believe the traffic alerts.. they weren't always right so I was always hesitant to reroute, plus some of the reroutes in Germany would take you pretty far out of the way !

My first serious experience had us up in the mountains (hills, by some people's standards) on a vacation. On the fly, my wife and I kept deciding places to go, and we did. Not very exciting, but it gave us a lot more freedom than we would have had otherwise.

[jiggawhat]

I have a 2004 TSX with NAV and let me tell you: IT'S WORTH IT!

It's worth it if you live in a big city if you don't then it's clearly not worth it.

You will use it more times than you will ever think. Sometimes if you're looking for an ATM it'll give you the closest ones. A lot of times it helps you get around traffic just by looking at the map. It has definitely paid for itself and then some.

Also Acura/Honda has the best model for Navigation: Touchscreen, Zagat Ratings, and a big screen, bigger than all the other models. All other NAV units pale in comparison.

It also doesn't have to cost exactly $2000. When I got it I had them lower the price of the car by $1000 and essentially I got it for $1000.

[Buford T Pusser]

I remember doing an SUV photo shoot in the Monument Valley area about six years ago and one of the guys was excited because he'd just gotten a GPS tracking system that was hooked up to his laptop computer. It worked fairly well and let us find some dirty back roads that were not on our maps.

[Bushdog]

That raises another point. I sometime use it to pull up a map and make my own decisions.

And of course then there is the point of interest database. Hotel, Gas, ATM, Food, etc... They also let you search for specific store names, in case you are out and looking for a place. I'm a fan of them, but then lots of people who post here already know that.

I've also seen a 125% return on my Garmin stock this past year, so I'm a huge fan.

[GIjon213]

Originally Posted by The Bus

Let's see: Cost of navigation unit: $300-1000 (?)

Cost of map: $10

Cost of Mapquest printout or paper and pencil sketch: $0.10

Not arguing with my wife because someone was holding the map upside down: priceless

[jonw9]

What about Tomtom? Is that anygood? i am not really considering the system, but i see it advertised quite a bit.

[fujishig]

Originally Posted by The Bus

Let's see: Cost of navigation unit: $300-1000 (?)

Cost of map: $10

Cost of Mapquest printout or paper and pencil sketch: $0.10

Yeah, I don't see the benefits. I know within the next couple of years here in the states we will finally get traffic reporting in the units (something that's been in Germany at least for a decade). I've seen the Acura commercials for Zagat ratings, etc. Seems interesting, but not worth $2000.

Give me GPS, directions, AND real-time traffic, AND traffic prediction (like Inix's Dust Network that's going to be in BMWs)... and then maybe you have a sale. Maybe.

This reminds me of people who swear that Tivos are worthless when you can just program a VCR. I know, it's not a direct comparison, but a GPS reminds me of Tivo in that
a) People who own them usually love them
b) People who don't own them don't see the point

[The Bus]

Originally Posted by fujishig

This reminds me of people who swear that Tivos are worthless when you can just program a VCR. I know, it's not a direct comparison, but a GPS reminds me of Tivo in that
a) People who own them usually love them
b) People who don't own them don't see the point

A Tivo is a VCR. But Tivos aren't hundreds of times the price of a VCR.

[Bushdog]

Originally Posted by The Bus

A Tivo is a VCR. But Tivos aren't hundreds of times the price of a VCR.

No, no a Tivo isn't simply a VCR, you just don't get it.

As for GPS, since pretty much all of the aftermarket units are sub 1000, they're not 100 (much less hundreds) of times more expensive than your $10 map.

[Binger]

Originally Posted by kvrdave

I don't think I could have factory navigation. My dad has it in his Acura. The cost difference doesn't bother me a lot. What really bothers me is that he has to hit "ok" and agree to their terms of agreement every time the car is started. That would piss me off to no end.

My Escalade only asks you to agree every couple of weeks.

[Cardiff Giant11]

I think if you want navigation and you're buying a new car that has navigation available, it's worth it if for no other reason than your resale value will be higher. I'm of the school of thought have as many features as possible with it being as clean as possible so factory nav or an aftermarket nav indash is the way to go. It's funny though, I remember that Acura TL add where it shows the guy using XM Radio, his bluetooth car speaker, and his nav system. I now have 2 of the 3 in my Subaru in a pretty clean install (moto wireless bluetooth speaker on the visor and an Alpine in dash with integrated XM). Guess all I need now is an in dash GPS

[D.Pham4GLTE (>60GB)]

damn_it! thanks to this thread, i just bought a navi for the car that i haven't even bought yet!

[Bushdog]

What did you buy?

[D.Pham4GLTE (>60GB)]

it's the euro spec vw mfd2 cd navigation system.

[criptik28]

I have a 2004 Acura TSX. I didn't need the navigation, and don't usually use it, but it was a nice bonus when I bought my car used. This was a week after I moved to Atlanta, so it was helpful early on.