<p>I would not buy a car without a factory system. I hate using the suction cup/dashboard gizmos when I rent a car. Can’t imagine driving and using an iphone to navigate at the same time - sounds like that should be against the law just like texting and driving. Love the big screen and sound integrated into the bluetooth phone and stereo. It depends on what your H wants to spend - glad to hear he’s okay!</p>
<p>I have a built in nav system in my Toyota Solara. I only originally got the nav system because for the car/color/level I wanted, they only seemed to have them with the nav system. A nav system is usually part of a high end package that includes a high end stereo (in my car the nav system and stereo is one unit) and is part of the reason it is so expensive (not saying it should be, the built in nav systems are like other packaged upgrades, they are how car dealers and makers make a lot of money…for years things like A/C and automatic transmissions were expensive options, that cost the manufacturer about 50 bucks and cost you 700 or 800). The whole package thing is old, old stuff in the auto industry, often when you wanted an option they required you to buy it as part of an ‘option group’, so if you wanted a transmission oil cooler you had to get what they called the entire ‘towing package’, even if all you wanted was that; if you wanted the X engine, you often had to get a whole package of basically plastic crap, including badges, bogus spoilers, etc…</p>
<p>I have used both the portable and the built in one, and I have found my built in one to work much better overall, it is easier to read the screen and the voice section works well. Likewise, the map software in it is pretty comprehensive, though obviously maps are constantly upgraded. Plus I have a pretty decent sound system, with multiple cd changer, MP3 support, etc, etc…the portable ones had iffy connectivity to the satellites in both city and mountainous areas, which was a problem. </p>
<p>There are downsides to the built in units:</p>
<p>-The map upgrades you can order are really expensive, I think on my toyota it was like 400 bucks, which is ridiculous (fortunately for where I do most of my driving, I have yet to need it). </p>
<p>-If something goes wrong, the unit in my Toyota is 2500 bucks to replace. I had a defective one, and because I hadn’t driven it much didn’t discover it had problems until after the 3 year bumper to bumper expired…fortunately, the dealer was willing to replace it under warranty, since they could see the car had little mileage on it and it was definitely a factory defect involved. The good news is from what I can tell, the failure rates on these is pretty low, but it is still a concern. </p>
<p>The plus side is the built in units are not a target for thieves from what I hear, and the portable ones often are. </p>
<p>As far as built in ones not working when you drive, there is a reason for that, it is to stop the many idiots who will try and set it when running, it was done like that deliberately. One of the downsides of the portable units is that drivers will do exactly that, be fiddling with it while driving, another distraction…</p>
<p>Phone based GPS’s can work in voice mode, if you are listening to the directions, but trying to follow them when driving is a pain, and if a driver is doing it, oye…</p>
<p>Not saying anyone should definitely get one, depends on what you are looking for and how much you use a nav system. If you don’t drive to unfamiliar places a lot, then it could be a waste and a 150 buck portable would do just fine, but if you drive a lot to unfamiliar places, I would seriously consider the built in nav unit.</p>
<p>We have never traded in a car of my husband’s. They all die a sad death – this one on the guardrail of the highway, the last was totalled on the dealer’s own lot. Generally he drives them until they won’t run anymore.</p>
<p>Thanks everyone for the info. We’ll see what happens.</p>
<p>I bought a Garmin Nuvi 2595 two weeks ago and took it on a 2,000+ mile trip. My previous Garmin was an iQue 3600 (combination PDA/GPS) which I bought in 2003 and has served me well. I wanted a new solution as my old GPS was underpowered and it would have taken five to ten hours to update the maps and download them to the device. Back then, storage devices were much smaller so you couldn’t store all of North America on the device. You had to pick the states that you wanted to bring with you.</p>
<p>So I bought the device and had no problems using it. Garmin removed a lot of the features from the model that I had but greatly improved the interface. The trip was much easier with the Garmin. We had a 3G iPad 2 with us as well so we could zoom out and plan outside of the GPS.</p>
<p>Benefits of a Garmin vs in-car system:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>Our Nuvi 2595 was $250 and I bought a beanbag mount for $50. I much prefer the beanbag mount to the suction cup mount. The $250 price includes lifetime free map updates. Map updates for my old Garmin are about $75/year. So no paying for map updates.</p></li>
<li><p>Voice recognition - this was great for finding services along the way.</p></li>
<li><p>We rented a car for the trip so we could just move the Nuvi from my car to the rental car.</p></li>
<li><p>Ability to use it as a pedestrian. We were with a group of people looking for a restaurant that could accommodate us. We didn’t have a 3G signal so we couldn’t use the iPad. I took out the Garmin and was able to find restaurants that we could phone for availability. That would be hard to do with an in-car system with a large group of people.</p></li>
<li><p>I wonder if I can use it for my runs, similar to the watch-based systems with running track software.</p></li>
<li><p>To update the maps or the software, you just plug it into your computer and go to a web page where it will check for updates for your device and install them if you wish.</p></li>
<li><p>It has bluetooth so that it can import your address book from your phone, receive and place calls, etc.</p></li>
<li><p>Technology improves at a pretty fast clip. Buying a cheap system means that you can upgrade five years from now when there’s are compelling technological reasons for doing so. One of these days I expect GPS systems will provide weather information on demand.</p></li>
<li><p>The Nuvi we bought reports traffic conditions.</p></li>
<li><p>I like the GPS to be up on the dashboard as opposed to the console (it’s in the console on many cars) so that I can take a quick glance without the road leaving my vision range.</p></li>
<li><p>Satellite acquisition on the new Garmin is so much faster than on the old one. The old one would normally take at least a minute to lock the position and could take up to three minutes. The new one locks in a few to several seconds. I expect that this technology will continue to improve with time.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>I had built-in Nav systems in three cars in a row… and didn’t get it in the current car. </p>
<p>Built-in maps are ALWAYS out of date.
I never learned how to get anywhere because the Nav always told me where to go.
Built-in maps cost $200 to get updates of… and even then they’re still out of date.
When you sell the car, they’re really out of date and the Nav system is a liability not an asset.
They cost $2000 or more and they’re always out of date.</p>
<p>I’ve done much better with a good set of road maps (yes, really).</p>
<p>The best GPS I’ve found is a friend with Google Maps at the other end of the phone.</p>
<br>
<br>
<p>Our portable gave us a warning and asked if we wanted to override the setting. My son was doing the routing on the GPS. We discovered the voice mode later inadvertently and after that, I (or someone else in the car) just used voice commands for routing.</p>
<p>I didn’t know that in-car systems completely disabled routing while you are moving. What if you have someone in the passenger seat trying to do the routing? Does this mean that you have to pull over somewhere to do the routing?</p>
<p>bceagle:
Off topic but if you have an iPhone the ‘Runkeeper’ app is good for tracking runs - it’ll plot on a map exactly where you went, the time, the mileage, etc., and store it historically.</p>
<p>bceagle brings up another good point - the portability of the non built-in units. They’re small enough to carry around with you in a strange city. A smartphone can usually fulfill the role but a GPS can be handy for that plus use in rental cars. Of course just because the car has a built-in one doesn’t mean someone can’t buy a portable one as well since they’re so cheap.</p>
<p>We have had the built in Nav systems for many years and I would not be without it. Maybe it depends upon the vehicle, but we have always received the map updates for free. We also have the traffic and construction feature through Sirrus/XM. There must be some type of signal in those big construction barrels/cones because the Nav road construction is very accurate. </p>
<p>I don’t want a suction cup nav system, nor do I want to monkey around with my iphone while I am driving. I like the large screen of the built in system that is stable and right in front of my face.</p>
<ol>
<li>Whatever nav system I get from now on MUST have the traffic on it.</li>
<li>AND it must be accurate! On my DROID phone, the traffic is always blatantly incorrect. I just love sitting in absolutely immobile traffic, checking my phone for the status on the map (how long is the red line, etc.), and seeing that I am stopped dead on a GREEN line on my route!</li>
</ol>
<p>
I can’t count how many times my DW called me up at work and asked “where am I?” 
</p>
<p>I have a friend with an in-console GPS, and the screen doubles as a monitor for the rear camera when you are backing up, which is pretty cool.</p>
<p>Even if I liked in-console better (and I’ve never had a car with one) I don’t think I would spend 10x over what a portable one costs, especially since I would need a portable one anyway for the cars that don’t have one built-in.</p>
<p>We have factory nav systems with real time traffic in all our cars and love it. Now if you are in a small town, hard to justify the added cost but in any major metropolitan area and with you H traveling it sounds like a no brainer to me. The real time traffic has been a life savor when headed to meetings/appointments more times than I can recount.</p>
<p>We really liked VZnavigator ($10 a month on Verizon cellphone) for several years. A big advantage for us was ability to take on trips and use in the rental car. Now we have same function on smartphone for “free” (part of the data plan). </p>
<p>We thought we’d never have need for on board navi system. BUT WE LOVE HAVING THE BACKUP CAMERA THAT COMES ALONG WITH SOME NAVI SYSTEMS. </p>
<p>I’m a short mom. The minivan is great for visibility. Now that we are shopping for a sedan, we are considering backup camera. Usually they are combined into navi systems. (I’m told you could also get backup cameras as aftermarket add-on).</p>
<p>What about old fashioned paper maps?</p>
<p>The rental car (small suv) that we had had a backup camera but no nav system. The display was in the left third of the rearview mirror which was nice as you had a real view in addition to the camera view.</p>
<p>To the OP,
I can empathize with you. Sunday my s/o bought a new car, as his was totalled in an accident. He replaced his Lexus with a Ford, since he only received Blue Book value for the Lexus. We have no idea if we will receive any $$$ for injuries and damages. (Don’t get me started on drivers running red lights in the middle of the day.)</p>
<p>Back on track: We chose not to get the Nav system, but it does have Bluetooth and Sirius and voice. For his travel needs, Nav not necessary. When I moved out of state for a while, I survived only with a Nav system, and felt the same way for son’s car. Personally, I like the large screen of the built-in system.</p>
<p>I think you and hubby should think about your needs, and if the new car will be used for driving in unknown places.</p>
<p>My husband does receive a car allowance from his employer – which is expected to cover all vehicle expenses. That allowance will allow us to replace his car with whatever he wants to drive. Of course, he wants to get the best <em>deal</em> possible which is why I wanted some advice on the Nav systems and whether its worth it. One dealer I spoke to said that he had some leftover 2011s on the lot, but was running out of the configuration with a Nav system.</p>
<p>I often drive through areas of heavy traffic and the navigation system w/built-in traffic info has been really helpful as to which bridge, tunnel or branch of highway will be my best bet to avoid a backup. For my purposes it seems to be more dependable than traffic reports on the radio. I find it most useful as you get close to your destination and have to maneuver through a village or town. I also like that it can “find” restaurants and specific businesses at my destination. </p>
<p>It can be goofy…I have used it on trips when I know the route like the back of my hand just to see what it says and while it would have gotten me there if I had followed the recommended directions, it often doesn’t give the best route. </p>
<p>I do like my built in model as compared to the less expensive Tom-Tom that I had in my old car. The built-in has a nice large screen that is easy to read. I agree with Dadx that a GPS system is something you might not actually need but once you have one it becomes a tool you regularly use. I actually use mine quite a bit though $1600 for JUST a GPS sounds like a lot of money.</p>
<p>
Apparently, that’s called “MomStar.”</p>
<p>I bought a used car with a built-in GPS, and I have to say that I’ve used it much more than I expected. One thing I don’t like about it is that unless it’s turned on, there’s no clock–not a big problem, but I don’t like to have the GPS on at night unless I really need it, because it’s bright and distracting. I haven’t updated it, which means that sometimes it says I’m driving through virgin land.</p>
<p>I bought a car with a GPS system, and really like having it. It gives me better directions than my iPhone map function.</p>