After first coming here, we decided to order our IS250 with MT with Navigation. It had so many cool options for controls.

You probably all have been following my horrible special order process. I could get in an IS250 MT with all the options I want except for the Navi. Is it worth waiting for?

What made me wonder is I saw where the guy was told that the backup camera fix was going to cost 3,500. We buy good cars and drive them until they don't drive anymore. We currently have a 2000 Sienna and my son is driving my husband's 1995 Acrura Integra. Would we maybe be more wise to go without the Navi for the long haul?

 

i'd definitely wait for the navi. Don't get impatient or u'll regrets.

 

yes do wait for the navi

 

The Navi is great!

 

Below is my personal opinion, and I'm sure it won'tbe popular, so Nav fans might want to skip it, and please don't take it personally-

I think the Nav option is insanely overpriced and not at all worth it.

For 1/10th the price of the Nav option you can get a standalone GPS that does more, doesn't need to be hacked to not cripple itself when the car is moving, can be moved between vehicles if you have more than one, and costs massively less to update the maps each year too.

You lose the backup camera though, but coming from much larger cars that's not much of an issue for me.

I special ordered mine explicitly because I wanted the ML system -without- Nav in fact (plus I wanted the sports pkg, which nobody has around here)

 

I think it's worth it. I wouldn't say it's overpriced because there's a lot more you can see/control than just navigation. A/C for instance, outside temp display just to name a couple. I think it's well worth the wait.

 

Yep wait for it or be prepared to regret. Some folks here do think that the navi is not needed, but my personal opinion is it gives the car a special classy look that ordinary dash does not. Afterall, you are paying a lot of money for this car so might as well add a couple more to make sure you are not missing out anything.

One other thing that you may do is take a drive in cars with and without navi and judge for youself

 

Thanks, everyone. These kind of posts are why we opted for it in the first place.

We built a pool and wondered if we should put in a spa, too. We asked those out in cyber space what to do. We even considered building just a pool, and then getting a portable spa. We are so glad we made it part of our pool, and use it all of the time.

The separate navi is nice, but what made us decide to do it in the first place was the additional features. I started to wonder if it would be great in the beginning, and a pain at the end of our time with the car when things start to break down.

I'm just so sick today that I had been lied to and mislead all of this time. What makes me more mad is that while they did this, they sounded like beauty contestants discussing the values of world peace and puppies. My husband said, They're car salesman. What did you expect.

The pursuit of excellence. Excellence in deception.

 

Yes wait for it....makes the interior look so much nicer and I guess it adds to the resell value to what most people seem to make a big deal out of. Plus using the car navigation in large cities with numerous skycrappers... handheld gps units-if they can't manage to get a signal won't be of any use, but the car navigation unit can also deduce by vechicle speed and steering inputs.

 

Get the Navi. My first special order came without Navi (a mistake on their part) and I said no to that. I'm driving an AT + Navi now and I don't regret waiting for the Navi, even though I waited 7 months to get a MT + Navi.

I can live without MT, but there is no dash kit out there that would make an aftermarket Navi look just as good as factory installed. Plus it's covered under warranty.

 

Yes wait it is a big help when you are out of town.

 

you want the nav! resale is better for the nav as well, and it just looks so darn cool!

 

I have Nav and would recommend getting it. But in your case you have been bounced around so much I would definitely weigh the additional wait time (I'd call it 'aggravation' time) and hoping you'll eventually get what you want, to getting the MT car NOW sans Nav. The Nav is nice but not indispensible in enjoying the car. You can always get a Garmin, or equivalent, for the same functionality. Yes, you lose the integrated system, backup camera (not as important on a smallish car like the IS), and the control of the audio and other systems, but it isn't a disaster if you didn't have it.

I wouldn't worry about the $3,500 repair someone else experienced. We don't have all the details on what is going on there. And resale value difference is going to be negligible if you are a buy and hold owner.

If I was in your shoes I'd think long and hard about waiting longer or getting the car now. I think I'd vote for getting the car without the Nav and put the bad experience behind you. Otherwise you have another 2-3 months of waiting.

 

First it was Daisy with the Park Assist debacle, and now BucBaby with the "Order/No Order" fiasco. Lexus ...... "Have you no shame?"

 

If it were me I'd get it now, however in my area they all come *with* nav and I had to wait much like you did to get it without. Much like the poster a few spots up, I personally think the stock nav is ridiculously overpriced, and options typically don't add to the cars value just in your personal enjoyment. Since I know where I'm driving to anyways, there's no purpose in a computer telling me the exact same thing.

It really comes to personal taste though, I would have regretted not waiting to get one without nav. If its something you *want*, then you'll regret not waiting as well. After all its not really something you can add afterwards.

On a side note, someone in the aftermarket sound section has a beautiful custom setup with the screen located below the stock control buttons.