[GarlicBread]

Get the nav

[TerpEvo]

Have an 02 Range Rover with Nav. The rest of the car looks great. Seeing that ancient little low res screen really dates the truck. I didn't want that in the BMW. I opted out of the Nav when looking. Phone is my go to for navigation.

[Johnny Boost]

Originally Posted by TerpEvo

Have an 02 Range Rover with Nav. The rest of the car looks great. Seeing that ancient little low res screen really dates the truck. I didn't want that in the BMW. I opted out of the Nav when looking. Phone is my go to for navigation.

You didn't get nav because the navigation in your 11 year old range rover looks dated? What does that have to do with this thread?

[Dozhdbog]

Originally Posted by Johnny Boost

You didn't get nav because the navigation in your 11 year old range rover looks dated? What does that have to do with this thread?

I think he means that if one plans on keeping a car for a while, the nav screen is one of the first things to look janky, old, dated, and nasty.

[Mr.Smithers]

worst thing worse, you can just not use the navi if it gives you problems, IMO the car looks fully loaded and high tech with it.

[TerpEvo]

Originally Posted by Dozhdbog

I think he means that if one plans on keeping a car for a while, the nav screen is one of the first things to look janky, old, dated, and nasty.

Exactly. I've had that truck for 11 years. If I plan on having this bmw for 11 years (i do) then I can expect the navigation to look just as dated. Opted to go for all the other packages that wouldn't date a car so easily.

It's just personal preference in the end.

[AndreyT]

Exactly. Until they start installing retina-quality displays in their navi systems, say "NO!" to any large built-in LCD screens in your car. These cheapo low-res ones they use today screens are not upgradable and become obsolete in a few years. They quickly begin to look downright terrible.

If you plan to keep the car longer than 2-3 years, the presence of a built-in LCD screen in the car will significantly hurt the car's resale value (if you care about such things).

[v6turbo]

When I was looking to buy I wanted Nav but it wasn't going to be a deal breaker if the car didn't have it. It so happened the car I found had it and I'm glad, now that I have Nav I couldn't imagine ever buying another BMW without it, being able to control so much from the Idrive while resting your arm is nice. IMHO buying used if the car has Nav the price is not much more if any with it, compared to $1800 or whatever price it is as a factory option.

[Be Awesome 335i]

Even tho so many claim the idrive sucks....I am very happy with mine and when i was shopping for my car, it was an option i was looking for but wasnt a deal buster.

I agree with what many said already....get the navi!

sharpens up the interior and helps resale in the future!

good luck with your find

[CarEnthused]

iDrive was a must for me. I knew that if I didn't get it, I would want it. But I bought an '07 and now I want to do the CIC retrofit. Get a '09+ with iDrive and you'll at least have the door opened for nearly every technical option you could possibly want to retrofit.

Also it's nice for the TPMS and maintenance stuff

[benzo23]

Maybe im the only one, but I could care less about having nav or not. Theres no where I ever go where I need it, google maps on my phone has never failed me, and ive not once had someone ride in the car and ask where its at.

[iknowitsfast]

i would never avoid it. And I actually dont mind humps, but were talking about cars arent we?

[v6turbo]

Originally Posted by tylerwillingham

iDrive was a must for me. I knew that if I didn't get it, I would want it. But I bought an '07 and now I want to do the CIC retrofit. Get a '09+ with iDrive and you'll at least have the door opened for nearly every technical option you could possibly want to retrofit.

Also it's nice for the TPMS and maintenance stuff

I know anything is possible, can this be done for a reasonable price, if so have any ideas how much? What all does it involve, and does it include new screen and new Idrive control.

[Bobby_Sardells]

no navigation IMO The regular radio / thermostat is perfectly fine. Just put your iphone on google maps in the ashtray it fits nice!

[lilez19]

i have a 2011 335 with navi and i love it !

[CarEnthused]

Originally Posted by v6turbo

I know anything is possible, can this be done for a reasonable price, if so have any ideas how much? What all does it involve, and does it include new screen and new Idrive control.

I've been trying to price it out but haven't been able to totally figure it out. The price can run in excess of $1,700 from some vendors. I'm going to try to piece the kit together myself.

I know that at the very least you need the CIC unit, the new screen (you don't NEED the new controller but if you get it, you need the newer center console trim) and you need to be able to code the CIC to your car. I believe to use maps you also need to obtain an "FSC" number? I'm not sure if that's right.

There's a ton involved and it's a large undertaking but to me, it's worth it. I love my car and the options that it has but I want the newer nav. At this point in the used market it might make it more worthwhile for some people to get an '09 w/ iDrive but I've already paid off a good chunk of my car and I don't want to pay off a more expensive car. I would rather just wait and step up to an e92 M3.

[v6turbo]

Originally Posted by tylerwillingham

I've been trying to price it out but haven't been able to totally figure it out. The price can run in excess of $1,700 from some vendors. I'm going to try to piece the kit together myself.

I know that at the very least you need the CIC unit, the new screen (you don't NEED the new controller but if you get it, you need the newer center console trim) and you need to be able to code the CIC to your car. I believe to use maps you also need to obtain an "FSC" number? I'm not sure if that's right.

There's a ton involved and it's a large undertaking but to me, it's worth it. I love my car and the options that it has but I want the newer nav. At this point in the used market it might make it more worthwhile for some people to get an '09 w/ iDrive but I've already paid off a good chunk of my car and I don't want to pay off a more expensive car. I would rather just wait and step up to an e92 M3.

Wow! Yeah that would be more than I would want to spend. But to each his own. I would have thought if the car already has Nav it would be a few hundred dollars to change over. Guess I shouldn't be surprised, anything BMW is big bucks.

[Rollo`]

Who brought this thread back to life?

...I have purchased 2 cars without nav since I made the thread....in retrospect I wish I would have found one with nav. Now that I have driven a few loaners with I-drive I see the tremendous benefits of it.
Unfortunately, reasonably priced 328s with 6MT, sport, nav, Bluetooth, power seats, etc are hard to find...the one I found didn't have I-drive.

[bahasad]

I would find one with Navigation if you can. Helps resale, looks better, is useful when you need it, and modern cars should have it.

I definitely regret not getting Navi. I'd give up Sport Package for it tbh.

[tony20009]

You should buy the car that is structurally and mechanically the best. If the cars you are considering are equal in that regard, buy the one with the lowest miles. If there's no material difference (<1000) difference in that regard, buy the cheaper one. If the prices are the same, buy the one having your preferred color combo unless nav is more important to you than the car's color combo, in which buy the one with nav.

You're looking at an '09 and I believe that's when the updated version of the nav was issued, so you should find it easy to use and that it works. (if the nav controller looks like the ones on the current E92 you can configure online at WWW.BMWUSA.com, it's the new one. The older variations are a bit wonky to operate but they do work.

IMO, on the E92 cars, the best reason to buy nav is for the ease of accessing secondary HD radio stations. Nav-equipped cars have iDrive and that's what you'll mostly use to control the radio. Many radio stations these days broadcast alternate programming in addition to their primary offerings. If one has iDrive, one will see a little folder to the right of the radio station info and depressing the iDrive wheel makes the iDrive display the various alternates, typically denoted as HD2, HD3, etc. If you don't listen to the radio, that benefit probably isn't worth a sou. (FWIW, I don't have nav on my E92, but I do have it on my F10. I have yet to figure out how to access alternate radio stations in my E92 and I even, to no avail, created a thread to ask about it here.)

The other benefit to iDrive is that it makes it easier to understand and adjust the car's various settings You can tweak those same setting using the BC display between the speedo and tach, but you'll need to use the turn signal stalk controller to do so and you'll need to know what the silly pictures displayed in the BC window between the dials mean in order to know which one you want to choose. (or you can refer to the owner's manual) In contrast, cars with iDrive present the choices in the language of the country to which the car was initially delivered.

Having said that, you are buying a car, not an assortment of car options and certainly not car paint, car seat covering materials, etc. There isn't one good reason for choosing a worse quality used car because it does or doesn't have navigation. Were you ordering/choosing among new cars, it'd be a whole different story.

All the best and good luck.

[duky]

Originally Posted by TerpEvo

Have an 02 Range Rover with Nav. The rest of the car looks great. Seeing that ancient little low res screen really dates the truck. I didn't want that in the BMW. I opted out of the Nav when looking. Phone is my go to for navigation.

2013 Range Rover navs look dated so I don't think that's really comparable to BMW that has been a leader in MMI interfaces especially these new ones that look and work great. Nav is a must have; the argument not to buy it because in a decade it will look old just makes no sense

[Meeni]

It is not a discriminating factor.
* the nav part is clearly inferior to most handheld units that cost 1/2 the price of the yearly map update with 10years of maps.
* most extra functions are also available in the radio head unit (like mp3 song names, setting some of the customizations etc). It is better to have the large screen, but it does work just fine with the embedded LCD of the head unit.
* the hump is indeed ugly

So whatever. Buy the car you like, with or without. It's not that important, merely a "good to have but whatever" item.