[just516in]

i didint get one with the navi. but it does have a backup camera and parking sensors...

has anyone else did not get navi and regret it?

i use my blackberry or iphone's navi

[mlai]

I didn't get Navi either. Nice but would rather spend money on other options that cannot be added/provided by better and more affordable aftermarket solutions.

Almost all smartphones nowadays comes with GPS navigation anyway. And even a tom-tom/garmin unit is significant cheaper and much easier upgradeable......

Only think I may miss is the 10" screen, which I am sure can be retrofitted a bit later.....

[bodonx]

For this month, Nav is a free option so it is a no-brainer to me.

[BobRBob]

I think Nav is a must have. Smartphone Nav is not convenient and is a compromise, at least so far. Garmin or Tom Tom work well but look kludgy stuck up there on the windshield with wires hanging out everywhere.

[jondoc72]

I don't have NAV in my 328i, not a deal breaker
I do have a NAV unit in my glovebox. garmin I believe from costco

I will need NAV instructions 1-2 times a month
I heard NAV is important to maintain good resale value
I do regret not having the SP
sometimes I also regret not buying the 335i, but evrytime I floor this beautiful NA I6 engine ....

[Rochdale Pioneers]

I have only had built-in nav on one car. I don't miss it on my E91 and I won't miss it on my F10 when it arrives. I do have a TomTom unit which spends most of its time in the arm rest cubby unused - I like maps and have a good memory for places so its not needed most of the time.

[northernmonkey]

For me I agree with comments here. I too rarely dont know how to get to where I am going but I always have navigation routing me there for two reasons:

1. gives me pretty a accurate ETA which is really useful when attending customer meetings or even when travelling to see people in general.

2. Let's you know if there are any traffic nasties enroute.

All that aside the issue is not really about did you buy media pro because you need navigation because by that argument you would just by business nav pack or a tom tom.

I guess most people, me included, just get sucked in by the screen size, how it displays the i-drive interface beautifully and were convinced it made the whole dashboard just look right. It's an expensive toy but I love it.

Pick up any 5-series BMW brochure and I'd say that 95% of shots include media pack pro and on exterior bigger alloys. They design the car too look better with these options and then just break it to us gently at time of order that they are actually very expensive options.

For lease/company car drivers I can see how it needs more thought to justify these extras though.

[BavarianCraving]

Agree with everything NM said. Plus, I think it's required in order to have the back-up cam, which I absolutely needed. It's nice to not have some random, ugly stand sticking up from your dashboard with a tiny screen. (I had one on my old Nissan Maxima back in the day, and it always found a way to fall off at inopportune times). Come to think of it, I only really use it to get to new restaurants and such, but it just looks so right. I would probably have sacrificed leather or some other options to keep it.

[BavarianCraving]

Another post (by ukstevens, thanks for the info) shows some new retrofit that allows putting your iphone or whatever more stylishly in place of models without a screen... now if they could do that with the ipad, it would be much sweeter.

[newstuart]

Mine is a company car and i could not justify the extra £100 a month it would cost me to top it up, i do 40,000 miles a year though and rely on sat nav, here is my work around with no wires showing and comes on/off with ignition

[Rochdale Pioneers]

Thats a neat install!

[BobRBob]

Well done. Doesn't it block the airflow from the passenger side vent?

[radarguy]

Originally Posted by BobRBob

Well done. Doesn't it block the airflow from the passenger side vent?

It looks like the passenger should have no problem, but I'm sure the driver has a severely restricted air flow.

[BobRBob]

I didn't even notice it was right hand drive!

[BMW_ACURA]

People don't buy navigation equipped car for the sole purpose of using navigation, it gives a very good look for the interior cabin. No matter what after market navigation you buy it cannot match the neatly installed form the factory. I saw one car here with after market blocking the air went, it looks very cheap. For a car with more than $ 50000 mere $ 1730 should not be a very big deal.
I personally feel that Navigation is a must have, and even BMW feels that way, that is why they are offering for free now and make it stranded feature on 2012 model.
It like justifying 528I is better than 535i, deep down your heart you know that 535i is much better car and navigation is must have.
just look at the pictures of interior with and without Navigation, the difference is huge.

[mlai]

Originally Posted by BMW_ACURA

People don't buy navigation equipped car for the sole purpose of using navigation, it gives a very good look for the interior cabin. No matter what after market navigation you buy it cannot match the neatly installed form the factory. I saw one car here with after market blocking the air went, it looks very cheap. For a car with more than $ 50000 mere $ 1730 should not be a very big deal.
I personally feel that Navigation is a must have, and even BMW feels that way, that is why they are offering for free now and make it stranded feature on 2012 model.
It like justifying 528I is better than 535i, deep down your heart you know that 535i is much better car and navigation is must have.
just look at the pictures of interior with and without Navigation, the difference is huge.

I agree. $1730 is for NAV is not a big deal. However, the rest of the world has outrageous tax on cars, plus the options are priced differently in the rest of the world. For instance, here in Hong Kong, Nav with the bigger screen costs HKD37K pre-tax. That's close to USD4.5K. Now add 115% tax on that. Pretty hard to justify paying additional USD10K for Nav and a bigger screen

[newstuart]

Im the one with the unit fitted in the air vent, as for loss of air flow i have not noticed this at all.

With regards to the cost of the full screen, of course i wouldve preferred the big screen but this is a company car on a 3 year lease,the sat nav would've cost me personally nearly £100 per month over this period just to hand the car back after.

As nice as it is I dont think its worth £25 per week with no end value to me at all

I personally just couldnt justfy the expense but i rely on sat nav every day so this was the neatest sollution I could find

[Bamsha]

Originally Posted by newstuart

Im the one with the unit fitted in the air vent, as for loss of air flow i have not noticed this at all.

With regards to the cost of the full screen, of course i wouldve preferred the big screen but this is a company car on a 3 year lease,the sat nav would've cost me personally nearly £100 per month over this period just to hand the car back after.

As nice as it is I dont think its worth £25 per week with no end value to me at all

I personally just couldnt justfy the expense but i rely on sat nav every day so this was the neatest sollution I could find

So you will actually pay £100 extra for 36 months for a £2000 option on a lease contract? Surely your math is way off?

The real number should be closer to 2000/36 * 50% or whatever your rest-value will be. So around £30 per month?

[Rochdale Pioneers]

Its still a lot of money. I can respect the "no BMW should be missing Nav/Zenons" argument - its a personal opinion that you are entitled to. Some of us disagree and can't afford those even if we wanted them. A car is about the shape, the style, the handling, the build quality. It is not about some shiny shiny trinket that makes the manufacturer several hundred percent profit margin.

[04S]

Polluting an expensive car with aftermarket nav is just plain silly IMHO. But, each to their own.

[just516in]

Originally Posted by Rochdale Pioneers

Its still a lot of money. I can respect the "no BMW should be missing Nav/Zenons" argument - its a personal opinion that you are entitled to. Some of us disagree and can't afford those even if we wanted them. A car is about the shape, the style, the handling, the build quality. It is not about some shiny shiny trinket that makes the manufacturer several hundred percent profit margin.

now that's a perfect way of saying it!

[newstuart]

Originally Posted by Rochdale Pioneers

Its still a lot of money. I can respect the "no BMW should be missing Nav/Zenons" argument - its a personal opinion that you are entitled to. Some of us disagree and can't afford those even if we wanted them. A car is about the shape, the style, the handling, the build quality. It is not about some shiny shiny trinket that makes the manufacturer several hundred percent profit margin.

My point exactly , to me this is not a car I will ever see a return on as it is a company car, with the miles i do (30+k p/a) i had a choice of m-sport or sat nav in my budget and went with m-sport as I wanted the handling, seats and body kit more than a fancy screen.

If it was my own money and i was looking to sell it on i expect I wouldve included it