Nav, worth it or not !!!!

[avonside]

I am seriously looking into retro-fitting the nav system in my 05 X, I beat myself up everyday cos I didnt buy it with it fitted as new,but that is old news.
My question is to eveyone with nav, is it realy worth it and given the choice if it meant paying more to fit after the event would you bother.
Basically the maths work out that if I buy the new kit from 'roveractive' all new parts, plus fitting.Then by selling my 05 radio module and my OBD unit I can get a little bit back.By taking the fact that nav was a $1800 + tax option in the first place and the cost of an aftermarket unit ( I want nav somehow )the balance comes out to be about $700 ish out of pocket.
So the question is it worth it boys and girls.
Would apreciate some nav user feedback.
I would hate to spend the money and go through the pain of seeing the car in peices only to discover that we never use the system !!!!!!!!!!!!!

[jek889]

I looked high and low for an X5 w/Nav, DSP, and sport pkg. and they are not easy to find, especially if you want any color other than black. Finally found a CPO '04 4.4 with it. If you install it, you'll be one of the approx. 10% of X5 owners with it. Although the system is not as advanced or simple to use as say, the Lexus system, it still gets the job done decently. They really should integrate the directional arrows into the instrument cluster like on my E65 Nav. though...anyone from the factory reading this? For the extra price, it is a great feature to have and I use it all the time. If you add the voice recog. module, it gets even better because you can ask the computer to show you various POI on the map by voice input only. For the money, it looks like it's about the same as an aftermarket portable system, but I like the idea of the factory look and integration of an OEM unit. Good luck with your project!

[ROMEO]

Certainly a nice feature. I love mine. slow at times but handy.. I have a 2002 MKIII on it with latest 2005 CD version.

[powers1]

I have got so used to Nav on my cars that I cannot imagine buying a car wit out it!

[MissionX5]

Worth it. Definitely. My wife has decided that we will never buy another vehicle w/o it. I had to evacuate in an emergency situation with extreme traffic and the reroute capability was invaluable. However, I would not retrofit the factory system. For the money, there are plenty of aftermarket solutions out there that you could use to do a nice installation, that are just as capable from a navigation perspective.

[Thunder22]

not worth it. Find a Garmin product that you like and go with that instead. IMHO. I have a 2610 and move it between cars, works great.

[WestCoastX5]

My two cents...

I noticed you guys are from SoCal as well, I rarely use my NAV here in LA. Most of the time I end up staring it at while sitting in traffic on the 405 freeway! Kinda neat how it can figure out which way you're pointing, regardless if you're in the northbound or southbound standstill traffic.

The times I do need it are when I need to get to a friend's house down there in the OC or San Diego area. But most of the time with all the new housing developements and roads you guys have there, my NAV gets me to what's still an empty tract of land on the map. (Maybe I need a 2005 update, dunno)

Having the NAV's LCD screen also gives you options like the TV tuner or what my friend's working on, Windows Embedded and his own skinned Windows Media Player (he's putting it in his Rover Sport, I'll let you guys know how that works out)

My final opinion, for vanity sake, the glow of a OEM Nav system while sitting in traffic late at night on the 405 seems to always get people's attention. If that's worth it for you, go for it!

[bozo]

Your question is it worth getting it retrofitted as opposed to going to Halfords and having one put in..I think the answer is no..If its not the look your concerned with, most aftermarket Nav systems are far superior to BMW's..I think anybody would agree with that...Shop around first, thats the main thing...

[phil47]

If you're looking to maximize functionality, then you should consider an aftermarket system. If you are willing to compromise a bit of functionality for OE look and fit, I'd say go for the BMW Nav. I have it on my '05 X5 and it works and looks great. I also have the latest system from Honda/Acura on my '06 Odyssey Touring so I know what a really good system can do...but the BMW system is just fine and certainly gets the job done.

[footsurg]

Originally Posted by gresch

not worth it. Find a Garmin product that you like and go with that instead. IMHO. I have a 2610 and move it between cars, works great.

I agree 100%. Its nice to have the Nav unit built in and I am glad I have one in my X5, but if I were faced with spending upwards of 3 grand to install it myself after the fact I certainly would not. Especially after seeing all the new Garmin units that absolutely blow away the factory system. I was looking at the new Garmin 2620 yesterday in a store and I have to say I was very impressed. Nice large bright touchscreen. 20 gig internal hard drive with a lot more map detail than the BMW system. The ability to see the maps in 3D and the ability to navigate to multiple locations simutaneously. All for $900 and you dont have to go ripping anything out of your X to use it.

http://www.garmin.com/products/sp2620/