george1

I read this in the automotive section of a newspaper and I think it sounds like a good advice.

What do you guys think?

Q: I plan to buy a new car in 2011—maybe Lexus or Cadillac. I don't want to pay the extra $3,000 for a navigation system as my Garmin Nuvi works just fine. I keep my cars for five or more years. Will I suffer at the next trade-in time by not buying the navigation option now?

A: I doubt it. With time, built-in automotive navigation systems as we know them may seem as old-fashioned as the car phones of the '80s.
People are increasingly using hand-held navigation devices or smart phones to find their way, and those systems are improving rapidly. By the time you are ready to sell your car the lack of a navigation system may even be an advantage.

StanVanDam

I use my factory Nav system often and besides not being able to type while driving, I have no complaints. I can even watch videos on it from my iPod via the VAISTech SL2Vi.

Some people don't like factory nav sysem graphics, some people don't have the latest map updates, so it depends.

$3000 is a lot of money for a nav system, so it depends on who will be paying. It is unlikely that someone 5+ years in the future will pay a $3000 premium just to have a nav system. Now, if this nav screen was operable while driving, and configured to play videos, then that may entice a future purchaser.

In some jurisdictions, it is illegal to operate a handheld electronic device while driving, but it is OK for systems built into the car.

5spd97

I wouldn't pay a penny extra for a car with a 6 or 7 year old navigation system, as a mater of fact I would see it as a liability but that's just me.

fergo308

Seeing as the navi on my '04 is the first system I've had in a car I've owned,I'm quite happpy to have it there. I don't care that it's not the latest version,or the best on the market. When I need it,it works,and that's all you need.

When I bought my 430,I was determined to get one with nav. why? because that version had everything else in it as well. a lower spec car that didn't have the nav,wouldn't have anything else either. no ventilated seats,no UL rear seat pack,no sunshades.

other manufacturers likely do the same thing as toyota. the top model has all the fruit. the next one down has half of it,the bottom one has nothing.
You're not paying extra for just the navi,but for all the other bits that come with it.


Over here they're cracking down on people using mobile phones while driving,and the number of people who have their navman stuck right in front of their face on the windscreen clearly need something else to help them as well,possibly glasses to see past their little 3" LCD screen and out to where they're going...
Having the unit built into the dash,and bluetoothed to my phone has been pretty convenient so far.
I can get where I'm going,and take calls legally. Can't say the same for the guy next to me at the lights who's messing with his I phone in one hand,and staring at his GPS up on the dash as he pulls away...


Justin...

Milan

iTrader: (5)

You have a 2002 LS430? I thought the video only worked with the 04-up 5th gen nav systems.

LexusJoey

It really depends. First off, Toyota/Lexus NAV are not the best compared to Honda/Acura and some portables. HOWEVER, when I went looking for my LS, I wanted the NAV. Without NAV, I would not have bluetooth, voice command (not that I use it), back up camera, etc.

CarGuy89

I really like the nav system in this car, very easy to use and gives me something to play with while I sit in traffic. It is great for those who get lost often (such as myself). Yes, you can get a portable one, but the screen size won't be half the size as an in-dash one. Also, the portable ones always have some weird zoom whereas the one in the Lexus keeps a constant scale at all times and pulls up a zoomed in version when approaching a turn...very thoughtful. As other have mentioned, the nav also includes bluetooth and backup cam which are very useful features.

That said, having less equipment in a car means fewer things to go wrong! If you are keeping the car long term and aren't too keen on having a nav system don't bother with it.

caddyowner

This was my original intention when shopping for my LS. However, I found that this only works if you're shopping for mid-priced cars and domestic luxury brands where navigation is available as a stand-alone option. As others have said, if I wanted the features of a higher trim level on the LS, I was getting nav. I only needed the features of the Premium trim level on the LS430: parking sensors and heated/cooled seats, but I didn't like the Toyota-esque look of the non-nav center stack. I wanted the backup camera and bluetooth from the Modern Luxury. I was seduced by the black semi aniline leather and added leather trim of the Custom Luxury. I bought a CL and got the nav - never really wanting the nav functions or complexity of having the radio and HVAC controls built into the nav screen.

Jmags

iTrader: (1)

I'm very happy that the IS i have didn't come with it.

Mainly because I would be annoyed having to use the screen for multiple uses. I like learning a car by where the buttons and dials are.

Plus the lexus nav is just pitiful, as most oem solutions are.

The worst are the ones that you have to carry around a dvd for.

Jabberwock

I specifically wanted to avoid an LS with NAV. Here is why:

1. Lexus NAV is obsolete. The Lexus NAV in the LS has a dated clunky interface and not even close to having latest features available with a current portable NAV (traffic alerts, gas prices, area, real time speed limit warning, traffic camera locations, etc.) .

2. Updated maps and software from Lexus are a significant yearly expense. If you want to keep the Lexus NAV updated you have to buy an expensive map disk every year that cost about as much as a new portable NAV. On a Garmin its $129 for lifetime updates (some offer free yearly updates).

3. More technology to break. The NAV screen also integrates multiple other controls on the car (radio, heat,air). If the NAV breaks you are left with a large repair bill and cannot make basic adjustments to the car.

4. The design paradigm is obsolete. We are in the infancy of design good UIs for cars. The current UIs in LEXUS are clunky, slow, and awkward to use. Attempting to build HW/SW solution for NAV and COM and then intergrating multiple other functions into it on a car is difficult and unless its easily modified and updated it quickly becomes obsolete. Think about the Lexus link HW/SW that has been discontinued in our cars.

btw I spent the day driving a 2010 RX yesterday with NAV - amazing to me it for an almost brand new car, the Lexus NAV was clunky, with poor graphics, and an embarrassingly crappy low resolution screen. The RX requires a mouse and mouse buttons on the console to make basic adjustments while driving. I am used to high technology and love it at home and at work but the interface in the RX was pretty poor. In the BMWs with iDrive and recent Fords the UI is especially bad. I am in the high technology business so just the junky low res screen on the RX would drive me crazy.

In terms of longevity - I think we will see a point in the future where cars will have some kind of wireless docking feature that accepts multiple types of smart devices (think iphone/ipad/droid, etc) that will actually power the soft features of the car (like NAV, Internet interface, Phone communication, and emergency com feature something like onstar, etc) - but it will all be phone based HW/SW instead of attempting to have proprietary HW/SW for computing/com power built into the car. And last but not least the more modern design with have an easily user replaceable plug and play screen port in the car's dash. At that point cars with old style "turn of the century" obsolete NAV systems integrated with other user controls will not be very desirable.

Having said all that there are folks that love the LEXUS NAV system and the integrated controls and its works very well for them. This is just one guy's cranky opinion, and its worth exact what folks paid for it : )

jayclapp

I agree. I thoroughly enjoy the NAV in my UL. I want everything in the car, no dangling wires, etc. That why I installed VisaTech unit. iPod is in the glove box and only removed when I want to add music to the 160GB.

StanVanDam

Video works fine with all Gen2 and Gen3 Nav systems with the SL2Vi and a supported iPod (I use the iPod Touch 3rd gen).

chunkyda

Unfortunately, the way NAV is packaged with other desirables, it is sometimes unavoidable. I do agree that older factory systems aren't the greatest but at least they are always there.

jayclapp

I completely disregard resale value as affected by options. I never buy a car for the next person. I only buy it to satisfy myself. If the next person doesn't like it, then that's his/her problem, no mine. Why should I be unhappy with a compromise just to save a few bucks for the next person? Makes no sense to me.