To Nav or not to Nav that is the question.......

[mgordon]

Just about to order a 335i M Sport Coupe and really cannot make my mind up about Sat Nav. Trading in a 335d SE Coupe, without Sat Nav, and although my trade in value is about 2 grand down on what it would have been had I specced Sat Nav I saved the 2 grand by not speccing it, if you see what I mean.

I suppose what I am really asking is... If I'm not going to use it am I shooting myself in the foot not speccing it. It doesn't seem to have made much of a difference this time, but that doesn't mean it will always be the same.

Car spec.

335i M Sport Coupe
Sparkling Graphite
Manual
19" wheels
USB Audio
Black leather
Hi Fi Loudspeaker
Heated seats
LHD Xenons

Price without Sat Nav £28,788.82

Price with Sat Nav £30,465.32

[DavidLScott]

If you've got more than one car then surely buying a portable is the way.

I've got a Garmin Nuvi with cushion mount so it just sits on the dash (and doesn't slide). Nor does it leave a mark on the screen. The only downside is the aerial wire when you set it up for traffic info.

Unless it does much more when built in, I can't see the point in spending 4 times a much for the same thing.

[Neil.D]

Re-sale may be a problem without it as most people expect Nav in newer BMW's.
If you are trading it back in or planning on keeping it for a while that may not be a concern you have.
Might be an investment to get it specced with.

[gwatson]

mgordon said:

Price without Sat Nav £28,788.82

Price with Sat Nav £30,465.32

I am confused... is that new????? That's a very cheap....

[mgordon]

Yes those are new prices, I am in the Army serving in Germany so can buy the car without paying VAT. On top of this BMW UK give forces members a further 10% discount on their first car or 13% if you are a returning customer.

You see spending half your time in Afghanistan and Iraq does have some privileges after all apart from and

[gbbird]

When i was looking for my Z4 recently, i ruled out any with SatNav. My view was that the sat nav unit would probably become out of date much quicker than the car. Plus i already have a sat nav which can transfer between vehicles.

g

[edb49]

As you've said, it doesn't make a massive difference financially. I'd go for your preference; some people like the convenience of not worrying about suction cups and wires.

But suction cups may be your thang

[mgordon]

I already have a Tom Tom, complete with suction cup , so I get the feeling I will be ordering without Nav and saving myself £1700. I've had the Tom Tom for ages now and have hardly used it, the inconvenience of a cable from the cigarette lighter is something I think I can put up with for the best part of 2 grand.

[NickXX]

You'll get a lot of it back when you come to sell the car anyway. Well worth getting imo as BMW sat nav is very good.

[phelix]

In the E60 there's a business nav and a professional nav. I have the professional nav in my E61 and it's pants in comparison to a TomTom but it's fully integrated into the car and I prefer it that way.

[Methane Bloke]

NickXX said:

You'll get a lot of it back when you come to sell the car anyway. Well worth getting imo as BMW sat nav is very good.

It is good apart from one or two reservations. However my dealer said the depreceation on Nav (in fact most options) doesn't track with the car. He said that after six months of ownership the Nav option would only recoup about half of its cost, whereas it would take the car three years to hit that sort of depreceation. Of course assuming you can justify / afford it in the first place.

Regards

Chris

[jezzaaa]

NickXX said:

You'll get a lot of it back when you come to sell the car anyway. Well worth getting imo as BMW sat nav is very good.

Well my BMW sat nav isn't good...it might have been considered ok 5 years ago. Doesn't even do 7 digit post codes for god's sake! Tom Tom et al are hugely better in every respect...except as mentioned in not being permanently fitted.

[mgordon]

I can definately afford it as I have been offered £30,250 trade in on my 335d SE Coupe after 12 months and 4k miles. So if I go for Sat Nav I am looking at handing over my car and adding another £200, if I don't go for Sat Nav I hand over the SE and get the M Sport plus £1400 in my hand.

As I said earlier I really dont see everyone's fascination with built in Sat Nav, ok it saves a cable here and there but costs so much in comparison. My Tom Tom is good and very eassy to use. One thing that does bother me about Sat Nav in the BMW is the i drive which I have heard can be quite slow to use and generally a bit of a pain in the arse.

I think its going to be a Nav-less car for me and I'll put the £1400 cash back in a petrol fund to make up for the dip in economy I'm going to see after the 335d

Roll on another Germany posting for me next year and hopefully by then BMW will be doing Forces discounts on the M3

[B17NNS]

mgordon said:

my trade in value is about 2 grand down on what it would have been had I specced Sat Nav

Who told you that?

Sounds to me like the dealer wants to ass rape you twice.

First time he is using it to justify his low PX price because you didnt spec nav last time and the second time because he can talk you into paying £2k for something that you can buy elsewhere for £200.

Don't even get me started on the £500 bluetooth option. 'The cabling is very expensive' was one dealers explanation.

[mgordon]

Looking at the price guides I am getting probably about a grand less than I would have if I had specced Sat Nav so he probably was trying to pull the wool a little bit. As I've said I already have a Tom Tom, less than £200, so I think he has lost the battle in trying to get me to spec it this time.

Bluetooth would be nice but not worth £500 in my opinion, especially as I average only around 5-6k miles a year so it would hardly get any use. I'm not a great fan of the daft little fin you get on the roof of the car either. Some of the options are ridiculously priced as far as I am concerned.

In the end though they are great cars, I'm glad I chose the BMW rather than the Audi A5.

[B17NNS]

mgordon said:

In the end though they are great cars, I'm glad I chose the BMW rather than the Audi A5.

Absolutely and I don't think you are going to be disapointed with the 335i.

My girlfriend has just ordered a 325i M-Sport coupe (with bluetooth - one salesman said it would be worth £1k less come trade in time than a similar car with teeth )

[NickXX]

jezzaaa said:

NickXX said:

You'll get a lot of it back when you come to sell the car anyway. Well worth getting imo as BMW sat nav is very good.

Well my BMW sat nav isn't good...it might have been considered ok 5 years ago. Doesn't even do 7 digit post codes for god's sake! Tom Tom et al are hugely better in every respect...except as mentioned in not being permanently fitted.

Do you have the CD or DVD sat nav? If you have the CD, you can upgrade to a DVD drive easily. It's totally hasslefree and very accurate - it's great for trotting around Europe.

[AlexE46]

But having the nav screen does make the interior look a little more classy doesnt it?

Or does it have the screen anyway? - E46 always looked much better with nav.

[CommanderJameson]

I don't think it's going to add hugely to the residual value of the car - however, its presence will ease any future sale.

[mgordon]

See, as with the little fin on the roof if you go for Bluetooth, I'm not a great fan of the double hump dash look that you get if you go for Sat Nav. I prefer the cleaner lines of the standard dash.

I guess speccing Sat Nav and Bluetooth would make the car easier to sell on in the future, I can't see many people being put off because a car had these features but I do see that some people wouldn't be interested if I car didn't have them. The gamble is, will they actually add value to the car or just make it easier to sell? I'm hoping that the fabulous engine and the fact that the car will have very low mileage, whenever I sell it, will make it attractive enough that it will sell easily anyway.