Aftermarket navigation

Jun 16, 2006 7 Replies

All,



I just splurged and bought a 9-3 Aero / Combi / Tour / Cold. This is my first new car and 2nd Saab.



The only thing I didn't get was Navigation b/c it didn't seem worth the extra 2K. Has anyone put an aftermarket Nav unit in the car? I'm just wondering how your experience was with that? It seems like it's a bit messy.



I've heard that with some of the new units, you get traffic info. If it matters, I live in the NYC area.



Thanks,



Josh


I was quoted 2K for after sales install of Sat Nav - seems that it is painful to do with most of the dash coming out.

Go for a Tom Tom or Garmin - portable nav systems is where it's at.

IMHO

2K for in-car navigation??!!! If you often get into your car and don't know where you're going, may I suggest a good map? And with most of them, you don't even need to remove the dashboard.

HTH ;)

Just to clarify, I'm not going to put anything into the dash. I want the separate unit, which is a lot cheaper. And, if it works, the traffic part will be really nice here in the NYC metro area. But, I'm wondering what works well with the 9-3 Aero interior as far as placement and connecting it up. I don't want cables all over the place or nasty glue marks.

I echo the setniment of a separate unit. I have a Tom Tom, and it works great. Plus I truly just use it when I need it, it's not there wasting space thw whole time, and it will not be wasted money once I get a new car. Build-in satnav is totally overpriced in new cars. And the build-in systems are not as good as the separate units, which need to stay ahead of the curve to be appealing. I know people who have built-in satnav and use a separate, newer (and cheaper!) unit because it's far superior.

Incidentally, I still use maps. There are things a satnav can't do. They are destination, and not *journey* oriented. For fun weekend motorcycles rides maps and word of mouth still rule supreme.

...pablo

You got that right. My navigation system is from Rand McNally and costs about $2 per state - when they don't just give them to you.

I fear the loss of map reading and intuitive navigation skills in mankind. Man has been navigating since the dawn of the humanoid - it's a valuable skill... get out there and work at it a little. Worst comes to worst you get lost for a little while - it's not that critical unless you're delivering donor organs.

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