kansasflower
New Member
Joined: Dec 21, 2010 19:11:40 GMT -5
Posts: 46
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Post by kansasflower on Apr 15, 2011 12:46:33 GMT -5
I got a stand alone Garmin when I got my new car last year. The garmin is great; it takes voice commands and gives traffic alerts.
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8 Bit WWBG
Administrator
Your Money admin
Joined: Dec 19, 2010 8:57:29 GMT -5
Posts: 9,322
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Post by 8 Bit WWBG on Apr 15, 2011 13:17:43 GMT -5
...:::"OK OK...now for the other side: All 3 of our cars have built-in Nav system. The absolute coolest is in my DHS Corvette and my Cadillac.":::...
I do agree it is nice not to have to deal with hiding it in the glove compartment, or trying to nestle it on the dash or suction cup it to the windshield. But for several thousand more in my pocket, its worth it.
My parents have had in-dash nav in a Lexus, an Audi, and a BMW. The Audi and the BMW both utilized an absolutely horrendous analogue jog-dial type of input. I felt like a safe-cracker trying to break into a bank vault. The Lexus (oldest of the 3, a 1998) had a decent setup. The Audi required loading different maps too once you got to a certain point. My parents always had to stop at the border of NJ to load different maps before continuing on. The BMW navigation didn't always give enough warning with directions, so you get a lot of "damn, THAT was the turn".
I like to rest my Garmin against the dashboard, so it is actually better in my field of view without being obstructive. Plus, the directions are quite good, and the only time I miss turns is on complex forks or interchanges where there are A/B exits and I misinterpret the direction.
I used to think that if I was going to plunk down $40k for a luxury car, I could plunk down $43k and get the nav. But now that $3k could buy a laptop, an Android tablet, a smartphone, and a Garmin, with enough money left over to actually drive somewhere and have fun, I simply can't justify the cost to myself.
If the cost of an in-dash system was $600 or so... maybe.
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