Professional Nav worth the money?
Discussion
My lease is up on my car in a few months and I am starting to think about my next car. I currently have an E92 without nav and stick a tomtom on the windscreen when I need it.
The problem is the tomtom keeps falling off at annoying times and it is a faff to keep putting it in and out of the glove box! Not the end of the world I admit but...
I was looking at the brochure for a new beemer and was tempted by the Professional Nav but was put off by the two grand price tag as it essentially adds £50 a month the lease costs.
Other than saving a bit of faff and keeping the interior dangly wire free would anyone recommend the professional nav over a tomtom for any particular reasons?
The problem is the tomtom keeps falling off at annoying times and it is a faff to keep putting it in and out of the glove box! Not the end of the world I admit but...
I was looking at the brochure for a new beemer and was tempted by the Professional Nav but was put off by the two grand price tag as it essentially adds £50 a month the lease costs.
Other than saving a bit of faff and keeping the interior dangly wire free would anyone recommend the professional nav over a tomtom for any particular reasons?
Hi Xrr
You'll get differing opinions on this but essentially reading between the lines, you've sort of answered you own question.
£2000 for a built in satnav that does the same as a £100-150 portable unit. To my mind it's a no brainer - get the portable unit, or go one step further and have your choice of GPS software on your mobile phone.
Satnav built into the car baffles me at £2000, that's the same sort of price as they were 10 years ago wasnt it?! this should now be a £400 max priced option.
Your's falls off the windscreen, perhaps buy a new high quality suction mount for £20? if you opt for software on your phone, then I bought Co-Pilot UK for £27 and also got the USA maps for another £25.
Basically, I'm a supporter of saving you around £1900!
Aside from the 'convenience' I know others will say it's nice to have for the resale value, yeah.. but TWO GRAND!?! - oh and I forgot, don't they charge like £100+ per update of the software and maps?
Cheers, Dennis!
You'll get differing opinions on this but essentially reading between the lines, you've sort of answered you own question.
£2000 for a built in satnav that does the same as a £100-150 portable unit. To my mind it's a no brainer - get the portable unit, or go one step further and have your choice of GPS software on your mobile phone.
Satnav built into the car baffles me at £2000, that's the same sort of price as they were 10 years ago wasnt it?! this should now be a £400 max priced option.
Your's falls off the windscreen, perhaps buy a new high quality suction mount for £20? if you opt for software on your phone, then I bought Co-Pilot UK for £27 and also got the USA maps for another £25.
Basically, I'm a supporter of saving you around £1900!
Aside from the 'convenience' I know others will say it's nice to have for the resale value, yeah.. but TWO GRAND!?! - oh and I forgot, don't they charge like £100+ per update of the software and maps?
Cheers, Dennis!
DennisCooper said:
Basically, I'm a supporter of saving you around £1900!
Thanks Dennis :-)I know that £2k is a lot of money and my head shouts NOOOOOOO! but I am intrigued what you get that justifies the extra cash....
Mattt said:
If you're buying outright, then non nav cars have worse resale, so you do recoup an element.
For me it's about the integration and screen, not the nav.
I will be taking a 3 year lease so resale is not an issue. Other than the iDrive and a bigger screen what other integration is there? Better/easier to use iPod controls? Owt else?For me it's about the integration and screen, not the nav.
As someone who actually buys/has bought a few 3 year old BMW’s, I am surprised that cars with sat navs have higher residuals, (and perhaps pleased as I can get a basic car cheaper) I would not buy say 25,000 pound car and risk it being redundant because manufacture no longer support some bit of auxiliary kit, so I have no interest in built in phones, din 2 size Radios, sat nav etc, I’d rather but the 3 year old car and then add the latest after market bit of Kit.
I remember there was a story a few years ago about the S class having a redundant phone socket because Nokia no longer made the phone model Merc had built into the car, and working old phones were fetching big money on Ebay.
Then in the longer term there is the issue of reliability, the only problem I had/have with my old 635 are the electronics for the test lamps/computer etc, mechanics are great (and I have one without the body rot) so for a ‘higher residual after say 6 years is it better not to have these ‘add in ‘ items?
So I’d rather get a low spec 3 year old car and sell that on at say 5 years Am I alone in thinking this?
I remember there was a story a few years ago about the S class having a redundant phone socket because Nokia no longer made the phone model Merc had built into the car, and working old phones were fetching big money on Ebay.
Then in the longer term there is the issue of reliability, the only problem I had/have with my old 635 are the electronics for the test lamps/computer etc, mechanics are great (and I have one without the body rot) so for a ‘higher residual after say 6 years is it better not to have these ‘add in ‘ items?
So I’d rather get a low spec 3 year old car and sell that on at say 5 years Am I alone in thinking this?
I bought mine second hand and i wanted pro nav, just for the convenience; controlling everything on screen, not just the nav. Also prefer the look of the dash. Premium wasn't much more if you wait for a decent price. Took time though.
Anyway, the nav, well, it's not as good as a tomtom imho, it's a good backup and if i plan on going anywhere i tend to favour google nav on my phone, which i place in a charging holder that plugs directly into the cigarette lighter. That's much better at POI or more tricky locations.
Anyway, the nav, well, it's not as good as a tomtom imho, it's a good backup and if i plan on going anywhere i tend to favour google nav on my phone, which i place in a charging holder that plugs directly into the cigarette lighter. That's much better at POI or more tricky locations.
Edited by briers on Friday 30th July 09:53
Hi all!
It's clear to see that there's a vast proportion of 'non enthusiast' BMW owners will have a 'budget' and will tick option boxes to hit that amount and SatNav seems to be a very popular choice. Classic example of wants over needs which from ANY company selling it's goods it a perfect scenario!
A few respondents here have alluded to that as well!
Now when looked at logically and comparitively with other solutions, it then doesn't make sense. The 'only' advantage a TWO GRAND satnav system has is it's built into the car. There are no other advantages. Stand alone GPS units and/or software on your mobile phone offer a multitude of advantages over a car built in satnav. They're typically £1900-1800 cheaper, have more functionality, can be moved car to car, easily sold on in case you want a change to the latest version, much cheaper updating, choice of extras and features and voices..
Of course, if your pockets are deep enough then by all means go for a Satnav equipped car, come resale time, yes it'll be 'technically' worth more. However, there's no constant in that it 'WILL' be worth more, at the least it increases desirability only. Take a look at the first 'good' GPS systems from BMW in the E39, E38, E46 and E53, they were introduced in 2001 and the last Mk4 DVD based system was great.... for 7 years ago. People still look at cars for sale and 'want or must have the GPS system' - only because of 'looks' - functionally, they're nowhere near the features of a current GPS/PND (personal navigation device)unit.
This gulf between desirability and logic means of course more cash sloshing around and BMW are the ulitimate winners. Until consumer trends change, it'll probably stay like this.
So ultimately, is Pro Nav worth the money? only you can decide that for yourself - for me, no it's nowwhere near any good value for money, for that, the system would have to be around £449.
Cheers, Dennis!
It's clear to see that there's a vast proportion of 'non enthusiast' BMW owners will have a 'budget' and will tick option boxes to hit that amount and SatNav seems to be a very popular choice. Classic example of wants over needs which from ANY company selling it's goods it a perfect scenario!
A few respondents here have alluded to that as well!
Now when looked at logically and comparitively with other solutions, it then doesn't make sense. The 'only' advantage a TWO GRAND satnav system has is it's built into the car. There are no other advantages. Stand alone GPS units and/or software on your mobile phone offer a multitude of advantages over a car built in satnav. They're typically £1900-1800 cheaper, have more functionality, can be moved car to car, easily sold on in case you want a change to the latest version, much cheaper updating, choice of extras and features and voices..
Of course, if your pockets are deep enough then by all means go for a Satnav equipped car, come resale time, yes it'll be 'technically' worth more. However, there's no constant in that it 'WILL' be worth more, at the least it increases desirability only. Take a look at the first 'good' GPS systems from BMW in the E39, E38, E46 and E53, they were introduced in 2001 and the last Mk4 DVD based system was great.... for 7 years ago. People still look at cars for sale and 'want or must have the GPS system' - only because of 'looks' - functionally, they're nowhere near the features of a current GPS/PND (personal navigation device)unit.
This gulf between desirability and logic means of course more cash sloshing around and BMW are the ulitimate winners. Until consumer trends change, it'll probably stay like this.
So ultimately, is Pro Nav worth the money? only you can decide that for yourself - for me, no it's nowwhere near any good value for money, for that, the system would have to be around £449.
Cheers, Dennis!
A fairly mixed reaction so far then :-)
£2k really is taking the p*ss so I was intrigued what they bundled up with it to justify it over and above a £150 tomtom. Sounds like not a lot.
Built in pros:
£2k really is taking the p*ss so I was intrigued what they bundled up with it to justify it over and above a £150 tomtom. Sounds like not a lot.
Built in pros:
- Built in
- No sucker/wire faffing (or hole drilling for 3rd party mounts)
- Better screen for the radio/ipod/map
- BMW Assist (though I can't see how that would get used very much)
- Better residuals (possibly) - obviously does not apply on a lease plan
- Nav software is not as good as tomtom
- No good when you swap cars with your wife/get a hire car on holiday/etc
- Map updates are more expensive, but I am sure certain 'discounts' are available on the web
- TWO THOUSAND ENGLISH POUNDS!
Edited by xrrr on Friday 30th July 13:31
As a built in unit - it adds a whole host of other bits to play with (Audio, phone, heating, Google etc)
In LCI Hard Drive form - as a Sat Nav I have found it utterly useless (no full PostCode search - anyone found a way of doing that in an HD car ??)
I tend to use Google Maps on my computer and send the data on to the car via the Net and Connected Drive - fine when you are planning a journey. On the fly use - it gets you to the vague area, which for a 2k system is pathetic. My £30 second hand 5 year old TomTom is better . . .
Captain SC
In LCI Hard Drive form - as a Sat Nav I have found it utterly useless (no full PostCode search - anyone found a way of doing that in an HD car ??)
I tend to use Google Maps on my computer and send the data on to the car via the Net and Connected Drive - fine when you are planning a journey. On the fly use - it gets you to the vague area, which for a 2k system is pathetic. My £30 second hand 5 year old TomTom is better . . .
Captain SC
The iDrive system is much more than just nav though. The media centre stuff with music on a usb stick is great, as is the live traffic update and the google POI search. I've avoided countless traffic jams thanks to the re-routing and the warnings of accidents/congestion/etc
Worth every penny IMO, and probably the last option i'd cross off. I find it bizarre to see cars with £800 xenon lights and no idrive
Worth every penny IMO, and probably the last option i'd cross off. I find it bizarre to see cars with £800 xenon lights and no idrive
£2000! Wow!
I think it probably makes more sense when you're looking for a used car. We specifically looked for an E91 Touring that had iDrive and professional navigation (not the current generation mind). In the process, we ended up with a car that had £10k worth of extras put on it by the original owner. By the time it was 4 years old, the difference to us as used-car buyers was negligible.
Don't even use the navigation function very often, but when I have used it, I've found it fine - It even routed us around traffic congestion auto-magically.
I think it probably makes more sense when you're looking for a used car. We specifically looked for an E91 Touring that had iDrive and professional navigation (not the current generation mind). In the process, we ended up with a car that had £10k worth of extras put on it by the original owner. By the time it was 4 years old, the difference to us as used-car buyers was negligible.
Don't even use the navigation function very often, but when I have used it, I've found it fine - It even routed us around traffic congestion auto-magically.
CaptainSlowCoach said:
I tend to use Google Maps on my computer and send the data on to the car via the Net and Connected Drive - fine when you are planning a journey. On the fly use - it gets you to the vague area, which for a 2k system is pathetic.
Only getting to the vague area is pretty shocking! Someone needs to write a BMW satnav programming google map app for the iPhone so you can programme the car from your phone whilst, erm, sitting in it. In-car programming of the satnav to where you actually want to go? Its the future ;-)CaptainSlowCoach said:
As a built in unit - it adds a whole host of other bits to play with (Audio, phone, heating, Google etc)
In LCI Hard Drive form - as a Sat Nav I have found it utterly useless (no full PostCode search - anyone found a way of doing that in an HD car ??)
I tend to use Google Maps on my computer and send the data on to the car via the Net and Connected Drive - fine when you are planning a journey. On the fly use - it gets you to the vague area, which for a 2k system is pathetic. My £30 second hand 5 year old TomTom is better . . .
Captain SC
Eh? Even the BMW nav systems ten years ago used to get me to the street I wanted anywhere in Europe.In LCI Hard Drive form - as a Sat Nav I have found it utterly useless (no full PostCode search - anyone found a way of doing that in an HD car ??)
I tend to use Google Maps on my computer and send the data on to the car via the Net and Connected Drive - fine when you are planning a journey. On the fly use - it gets you to the vague area, which for a 2k system is pathetic. My £30 second hand 5 year old TomTom is better . . .
Captain SC
Zod said:
CaptainSlowCoach said:
As a built in unit - it adds a whole host of other bits to play with (Audio, phone, heating, Google etc)
In LCI Hard Drive form - as a Sat Nav I have found it utterly useless (no full PostCode search - anyone found a way of doing that in an HD car ??)
I tend to use Google Maps on my computer and send the data on to the car via the Net and Connected Drive - fine when you are planning a journey. On the fly use - it gets you to the vague area, which for a 2k system is pathetic. My £30 second hand 5 year old TomTom is better . . .
Captain SC
Eh? Even the BMW nav systems ten years ago used to get me to the street I wanted anywhere in Europe.In LCI Hard Drive form - as a Sat Nav I have found it utterly useless (no full PostCode search - anyone found a way of doing that in an HD car ??)
I tend to use Google Maps on my computer and send the data on to the car via the Net and Connected Drive - fine when you are planning a journey. On the fly use - it gets you to the vague area, which for a 2k system is pathetic. My £30 second hand 5 year old TomTom is better . . .
Captain SC
I've had two BMW's, one with iDrive and one without and I've always regretted not speccing iDrive on the first car. I still carry a Tomtom for tricky situations and speed cameras of course. It's not the best satnav, but IMO BMW should have fitted this as standard on all of its cars.
Not sure if it's been mentioned, but this is a useful iDrive feature...
Not sure if it's been mentioned, but this is a useful iDrive feature...
Webber3 said:
I've had two BMW's, one with iDrive and one without and I've always regretted not speccing iDrive on the first car. I still carry a Tomtom for tricky situations and speed cameras of course. It's not the best satnav, but IMO BMW should have fitted this as standard on all of its cars.
Not sure if it's been mentioned, but this is a useful iDrive feature...
You'll never get out of that space Not sure if it's been mentioned, but this is a useful iDrive feature...
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