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How much would it cost to set up your own navigation system and is it worth it to do it yourself.  How much would it cost to have somone put one in for you aftermarket?

I am also interested in this. The indash CD player/ Nav systems are a little pricy and i am very happy with my factory stereo but would love to have the navigation. If anyone has any suggestions for add on systems that would be great.

thanks  

Actually installing one would be a lot of unnatural labor that would involve a lot of dashboard rearranging.  Simply buying one (i.e. Garmin or Magellan) only costs a couple hundred though, compared to a typical $2,000 for a factory-installed system.
 

Well, I think it's probably a lot safer to use GPS than read printed directions while driving.  The in-dash navs are nice, but they are much pricier than a Garmin and such.  The other advantage of the portable units is that you can take it with you and use it in other cars, etc.  In terms of bang for the buck, the Garmin is probably the way to go.

Speaking of realtime traffic data, I hope more nav systems offer that in the future.  The only car I know of that offers it now is the new Acura RL.  Haven't tried it out yet, but I imagine it'd be very nice to have! 


 

If your car manufacture has the option, I think it is worth the price (comparing with a 3rd party unit).  I have the one from Acura and it is very accurate and integrates very well with the stereo.  It costed $2000, and $170 a year if you want to upgrade the map and address book.  You are paying for the convinience to use in the car.

Of course, the down side of it is that you can only use it in the car, and only in YOUR car.  You just don't have the option to take it with you when you are boating, hiking, or in your friends' cars.

I think a decent 3rd party unit costs $600+.

I got a Garmin Quest (a new model) for Christmas.  Primarily it was for sailing, but it came with a car mount that suctions to the windshield.  The model runs for about $400-600 (depending on where you look, sales, etc).  It works quite nicely in my Grand Cheroke.

I think it really depends on whether you're someone who would use it.  For me, I am always using it.  I'm sure part of that is the novelty.  However, many of these things can do more than just tell you where you are and where you're going.  I like the portable kind because you can easily hook it up to a computer to apply updates to maps, "places", etc.  Several times I've thought, "crap, I need cash", and lookup the nearest Wells Fargo Bank/ATM.  It finds my bank and gets me there quickly, without taking me too far off my current path/route.  Also very handy when you're running on fumes, and need to find the nearest gas station.  Granted it's not perfect, but very handy.

If you're an out doors person (camping, hiking, off-roading, sailing), one of these portable ones are great for all of it.

So... my cost for auto-only use... free (Christmas gift), but to buy it would be about $550 for where I looked.  It comes with everything you need to use it right out of box, including the latest map software and maps.

A good resource for different Nav systems :  http://www.thegpsstore.com/

One good model for car-specific use:
http://www.thegpsstore.com/Detail-Navman-iCN-510-SmartST-CD.asp

-Alex
 

I just bought a brand new 2004 Chevy Impala.  The firs thing I did was bought a navigation unit. But my main criteria that the navigation unit had to have was it had to look like it was meant to be in the car and not be some bulkey laptop or some unit just sitting on top of the dash board and looking completely out of place.  I bought the Pioneer AVIC-N1.  The unit cost me $1300.  That didn't include installation.  I paid a shop to put it in and the installation cost a little over $1,000.  (I could have taken it to a cheaper shop to install it, but I don't trust just anyone with my car.)  

I would like to get one of these as i am always lost- i am just concerned like Morlow that it wont look stock and it will look aftermarket or the install will negatively impact the dash esp. if I need to get a second one and its  a different size  Any thoughts on where the place to have one installed is  ? .
 

See this thread for reference: