mattduke1

you really never get lost. Does it do anything spectacular or make the interior look so great to justify spending the money to get it. To me, I'm thinking it would be very pleasing to the eye, but is it really worth approx. $2000 if you are already good with directions.

Also, has anyone heard anything bad concerning the webasto sunroofs. I think I may be interested in having one installed. Do you think it would mess with the aerodynamics too much? Is it good for the car to do such a thing to the roof aftermarket?

Mantis3024

if you do a lot of city driving and have a horrible sense of direction then yes.

zand02max

iTrader: (22)

It does help in resale, but upgrading the DVD every 2-3 years can get expensive. Worth it if you do not plan on upgrading your system, if so, just buy an all-in-one unit. Just my .02

BTW, I had a Pioneer AVIC-N1 in my 03 Z. Loved it except for the glitches and other minor rants, and the time I ended up in the hood in San Antonio and was suppose to be somewhere else. Yikes! Or the time I went on a road trip and it was 200 miles to my destination, yet Pioneer insisted I take the 1200 miles route. Or the time, the installer drilled through my heater core installing it and my engine overheated due to no coolant, since it was in my floorboard. Not trying to scare you, but the OEM does not have these issues you could face.

Only thing I hate about the OEM is its not touchscreen, other than that the OEM beats the AVIC-N1 in the other aspects.

mdracer76

iTrader: (1)

I've lived in Northern VA all my life. Needless to say, I dont get lost often. I have Nav. and I love it. With gas prices the way they are, its a great way to discover new short-cuts! Also, when I am going somewhere I have never been before, I just tap in the address, and bingo.. Im there

BadDriver

iTrader: (1)

Good points, also the POI (points of interest) search is very usefull. It lets you choose a catergory, like chinese restaurants, then view a list sorted by proximity to your current location. Excellent for when you are in a new area, or visiting friends.

Blue 03 Z

I have navigation and I personally love it. I don't use it all the time but it definately comes in handy. I built a carputer for my car and it does everything. 80gig HD so it holds a $hit load of music,videos,and software. Its all touchscreen and I built it all myself for like $1100 including software. I checked out the stock navigation and personally it didn't seem worth it to me. I could build my own system that does a hell of a lot more for almost half the price. Just my $.02 Check out www.mp3car.com

zand02max

iTrader: (22)

Thats true, but in the end if you ever sale your Z, the OEM will up the resale value hands down and then you have to pay to pull the GPS Nav and whatever else you put in there.

I should know, I paid $300 to pull my entire stereo, alarm and GPS system when I traded in my Z. Dealer wanted to give me an extra $1000 for $5K stereo system and Track Wheels, yeah right!

But to each his own, the OEM is def. not worth the 2K for sure, but it does have its +'s.

mattduke1

does it just sit inside that middle compartment or does it actually pop up and outside of it?

BTW, thanks for all your responses. I think I'm leaning towards getting it!!

zand02max

iTrader: (22)

It is in the nav console, it does not pop uplike the G35, but the door is automatically opened/closed when the vehicle is turned on

mdracer76

iTrader: (1)

Not in the 03's! .. hmmm.. wonder what parts I can get for it to do that

Reggi914

iTrader: (3)

i have the nav and love it. I use it every now and then. Its great when its a beautiful day and you drive and drive untill you get lost In the end its just a luxury item thats nice to have. I am really happy i got it though. It sure does make the interior look amazing.

cpoe52

Back in Feb 2003, I wanted to purchase a Le Mans Sunset Touring model 350Z in So. Cal.

My credit union did dealer searches in two counties without any luck.

I found one at a brand new dealership in Rancho San Marguerite that had been open only for week. I bought the car and it had navagation. I really didn't want it , but after owning it, I would never own another car without it.

I live in a metropolitan city area ( LA, Orange and San Diego Counties)

Janus

iTrader: (1)

In retrospect, I think most of the aftermarket Nav systems are just as good, and have more features AND cost less/same.

Such as Kenwood P-NAV 7015.

I would of replaced the double-din head unit with this. I am thinking of buying the non-nav version and swapping out the head unit with that. But with the new laws in cali, most shops won't do it, and I lack the skill to do things like wire the relay to mute the speakers for the nav.

KenWH

iTrader: (1)

I don't have first hand experience with the OE Nissan Nav, BUT my Mom has an 03 Pilot with OE touch-screen Nav and I'm very familiar with it. Basically it's nice for the big, major metro areas where it has good coverage. We live in a fairly rural area so it's pretty much useless unless we are taking a trip somewhere. Not to mention, even in Metro areas, the POI database in not that great. THe Honda nav system and discs are made by Alpine for Honda. Updates are expensive, and they still don't improve rural coverage. Rural coverage is pretty much limited to major state routes/hwy's.

Compared to the small, self-contained aftermarket units like the Steetpilot line from Garmin http://www.garmin.com/mobile/products.html#automotive which show just about every street in the US and many more POI's, I don't see the need for an OE nav unit. These units are fairly easy to install, and also easy remove if you sell the car.

Heck, I was checking out map coverage online for the Lowrance unit http://www.lowrance.com/Automotive/default.asp and it even showed the rinky dink post office here in Medina.

If you look at Kelley blue book or Nada, the value increase for a car with OE nav is about $400-$600 over one that doesn't. Which is roughly 1/3rd what you paid for the nav option if you bought the car new with it as OE.

IMO, in their present level of coverage, OE nav units just don't seem like a good investment compared to the aftermarket units that are cheaper, have better coverage and can be moved to other vehicles. The only thing the aftermarket ones don't offer is the "WOW" factor of having the little monitor built into the dash.

That's my somewhat educated $.02's

scubasteve

iTrader: (6)

I have factory NAV......it's great and all and I would never buy another car without NAV, but I think there are many aftermarket systems that are easier to use. I hate the little ****......My dad's MDX has touchscreen and it's much easier to use. Also, you can program while on the go with aftermarket while factory prohibits this. Something to consider. You can configure an aftermarket nav system to fit in just like OEM, but in the end, have a better overall system for the same price or even cheaper. The only reason I got mine is becuase it was already in the car and I got a killer deal on the car.

-Steve

MadMax76

I am going to save $2000 and get myself a nice laptop and the navigation software for it with blue tooth. I think it would come out less then 2Gs.

SteveZ33

Can anyone else chime in with comments and their experiences with the Pioneer AVIC-N1. I was really leaning toward the purchase of one of these units (real soon). But the comments made by zand02max has kind of put me off. I would hate to spend close to 2 grand only to end up in a dangerous situation or 1200 miles out of the way. Thanks for the help. BTW, I'm so sorry I didn't get the factory nav. I will never buy a new car again without it.

BigMike

I like the factory nav ONLY because it looks like it belongs there. I already had a Garmin 2610 that I use in all my cars and on my Harley. I paid $650 delievered to the house and spent another $50 on an antenna and hard wire kit. I can pop the unit out of the car in 30 seconds and can use it in any vehicle.

Below are some pictures of it after it was installed.

https://my350z.com/forum/audio-and-video/115725-gps-install-complete-garmin-2610-a.html

Joeys_z

iTrader: (-1)

Nav = 95% style points

Paul350Z

iTrader: (1)

I installed my Garmin iQue onto the door of where the navigation computer would have been. I would have paid the $2000 for the navigation system but the dealer said he'd have to order one ... weeks! I asked what it would cost for him to install it in the showroom car I bought - $3500

You can get a Pioneer AVIC N2 for about $1600 that runs rings around the $3200 Bose/Navi Nissan unit. In a previous life I use to do custom car stereos so installing this myself isn't going to be an issue.