Jmags

iTrader: (1)

Yup, me too... I really think it's more dangerous to be adjusting all that stuff on the highway looking at the nav screen when you want more or less heat, etc..

350FSport

iTrader: (1)

Except you can press the little voice button and say "its too hot" and the magic lady will turn down the ac for you

Thinktwice

I've never actually used a Ford nav system before, but from what I've seen they do look far superior. With that said Lexus' nav system isn't really that bad.

felixdang

I just bought a 2011 IS with nav and I love it, hey way it looks, the feel and the practicality of it.. It give your car an elegant look to the interior.. Didn't like the one without nav.( looks bland n ugly to me) 2011 has the new Lexus enform which is like GM onstar.. It's great I LOVE it, I would never buy a car without nav..these days

Thinktwice

Saying it's dangerous really is an overstatement. Once you get used to controlling the system everything becomes second nature. It's just a quick glance and tap here, a quick glance and tap there. Now trying to enter in a street address while you're driving is dangerous (with the hack of course).

Kurtz

iTrader: (1)

The point is that the "value" of the nav option declines faster than the the car as a whole.

Meaning nav is a money-loser from a resale perspective.


(ie if you buy a car for X dollars without nav you will get say 60% of X back when you sell it... if you buy buy a car for Y dollars WITH nav you will get LESS than 60% of Y back... because nav is a loser in depreciation since it gets outdated quickly... the 06-09 nav is really bad in this respect... it was outdated even in 06 and it's laughably so today)


To put numbers on it, and why the "Nav gives you value for resale" argument is false-

Say you buy without nav for $35000. You later sell the car and get 60% back. You now have $21000.

Say you buy WITH nav for $37000. You later sell the car and get 55% back because nav is bad for resale. You now have $20,350. And spent $2000 more upfront too.

DOH!

Thinktwice

The only things I don't like about the factory nav are the 2D maps and omittance of street names in the voice guidance. I wish they would step into the modern age and include these things that have been available on PND's for almost 10 years now.

350FSport

iTrader: (1)

While I agree with the raw numbers here, I think at a certain level of car (luxury), there will be more second-hand buyers looking for a car with Nav, then looking for one without. For instance, when I was contemplating buying used, my search started with IS350, Nav, Black.. I picked out from there, so off the bat I didnt even look at the available vehicles without.

Same theory as with stick-shift, harder to re-sell because the pool of buyers interested in stick is small (and getting smaller). Not necessarily anything wrong with stick, but your car might sit in your driveway with that for-sale sign a lot longer. This is just another way to look at it rather than hard numbers profit/loss.

Jmags

iTrader: (1)

And the ugly colors and the other 25 features the FREE google maps navigation app has..

350FSport

iTrader: (1)

My main gripes:
1. There is no way to display the audio info while you have the default map-view up. No way to know you are on SAT1 vs FM vs USB whatever, you have to press the Audio button. So the thin bar across the top that shows your station info when you are in the Audio screen, should stay there (by a config option) in ALL other screens (if you want it that way).
2. Interface is clunky, boxy, not-sexy (Lexus and not-sexy don't often go together). I could have coded this interface in 10th grade..
3. 2d maps? Really?

rebs

/sigh. The old Nav debate again? I recommend people just do a search and reference the old Nav thread.

Having said that...

You're right. It is a horribly outdated article (~4 years) that tries to focus on one electronic component.

If you do a little more research you'll find that almost every electronic upgraded component (including not only the NAV, but upgraded speaker systems, etc.), tends to lose value quicker than your base car. It's part of life in the modern age...buy pretty much any "high-tech" electronic component and keep it a couple years....it's going to depreciate quicker than almost any other commodity.

However, what some people fail to realize is that NAV is now becoming a standard. At one point, they were predicting more cars will be sold with navigation than without within the next decade. I tend to believe the economy is going to change that timeline, but regardless even if that component depreciates quicker over the next few years it can still make your car more marketable in the long run (there isn't a huge non-A/C market or a non-Cruise Control option, but those vehicles do exist ... and can be purchased today).

I think the bottom line for the OP would be do whatever you want (but test out the Nav options even if it's on a different model). I got the Nav and the ML (among other options), and both are over-priced and will depreciate quicker than the base car....but I wanted them, and I would have been disappointed without them.

ISRocker

iTrader: (1)

I had the same issue when I bought my car in January. I really didn't want or need the Nav, but the only way to get the options that I wanted was to get a car with the Nav. So I bought the car with Nav. After having the car for 2 months, I really like the Nav with the touch screen interface. I find it very user friendly. As for the navigation itself, I really have no need for it. I did have a Garmin for the occasional trip, but I have found that I like the in dash screen a lot better than the garmin sitting on the dash. Bottom line is that I am glad I got the options that I wanted instead of settling for less...Good luck!

skinfan2k

you are buying a car this expensive. if you want to resale it later, i bet the question a potential buyer will ask does it have nav

kslater

People argue some weird stuff on here, keeps me entertained though. Way I see it is, if you like it, you get it, if not, then don't. It is overpriced if you ask me and lacks a lot of functions that a garmin has to offer, but then I again, I am not the sort of guy that cares for a calculator or picture viewer or most of those things I already have on my iphone.

ISSteve

^ This.

You guys realize that even cheap Chevy's, Ford, & Hyundai's are coming with nav now too, almost as standard options. 3-5 years in the future, your car may very well seem "dated" for a luxury car that is missing features commonly found on economy cars.

Personally, when I was looking. Nav wasn't a priority for me. I could take it or leave it. Now that I have it, I'm very glad I got it. Yes it's outdated compared to other units (the Ford Expedition is pretty nice), but it's what's available I think it will make your car more desirable when you go to sell it.

My $.02