^ I 2nd mc2's opinion

 

Personally, I didn't opt for the navagation system. I'll save anywhere from $1k to 1.5k when I get either the Navman Pin or Magellan Roadmate GPS's. They are portable, which means I can move them from car to car. I believe these two aftermaket rigs are better than the OEM system. There are probably other aftermarket units worth looking at, as well.

With the monies, which I will save, I can put the said into mods.

In any event it's a personal preference issue, again.

 

It does make the car much easier to sell and you will get at least $1500 for it... If you sell it yourself you might even get the full 2g. if you are buying used the best thing to do at the dealer is go in not saying anything about the Navi and when you see it act like you don't care, if the sales person brings it up, tell him you think its totally useless. Thats what I did and it worked quite well. It also depends on the dealer also... Some places will be hard asses on the cars with the navi's so they can switch you to something that seems a lot cheaper...

 

I think it looks great. It just doesnt perform as well as other solutions. The data was missing roads that I know had been in NavTeq data for at least a year. Functionality was limited when in motion. Didnt appear all that quick. And I had read quite a few people had DVD mechanism problems. If it were a better nav system, I'd have snagged it for sure, regardles of already having a pda/gps. I had been shopping for a system to add to my 2K max when I decided to get the G. So, I was really underwhelmed. I *really* wanted that screen there. I just knew I wasnt dropping 2K on that.

You will get some of your money back on resell, and I believe Zenrin (sp?) has closed the gap slightly on data/maps.. However, the other premium auto mfgs have many more features in their 2K nav options. Aftermarket NAV trounces it thoroughly. I'm only knocking its value as a navigation unit compared to other options, not its aestics. Cant really argue that.

 

It's cool to look at, but I'm going to wait and invest in something portable. Most aftermarket systems have more features than the OEM setups anyway.

 

The "pop-up" is a nice gadget but the Navi itself ain't all that great.

Knowing what I know now, I'd go with one of the aftermarket double-din solutions instead of the OEM unit.

 

Install a custom carputer and get the screen from Chuck (Digitalwheelz), whole project wont cost you more than 1500 and it will give you a WHOLE lot more options then just navigation

Mp3 playback
DVD movies
Rear view camera
Wifi
Navigation
etc etc

 

I've done 3 different iterations of carputer with my WRX. It was neat and all, but I'd rather have something commercially available at this point.

 

There's something to be said for the in-dash (or retractable) NAV system. However, I personally went with a Garmin StreetPilot 2610. You can get them on eBay for $535 brand new with warranty. They come with the latest maps, they are easy to upgrade, with a 1 Gb CF card they'll hold nearly the entire US, and they work beautifully. I can use it from all of my cars (not just the G) and in a few years when GPS technology gets even better I can upgrade and still have spent less than the factory NAV.

But, still, there's something to be said for integrated nav. It's cool.

--Steve

 

get it and if you don't use it make it into a tv with an xbox


i don't use mine all the time but when i do it is great