[Fragger]

Hi Guys,

Wanted to hear your experiences of, you finally finding the car you want, with everything you wanted in it, EXCEPT the Navigation/iDrive system...

Can you share your experiences with me? Did you regret it or grown to love the decision you made?

Thanks in advance for your stories...

[bmwauug]

Well, one can live w/o nav, one really can...but, unless it was a really, really good deal, I personally would not purcase a car without it. The BMW nav is very nice, especially if you like gadgets and with the 16x9 screen, etc. IMHO, I would not buy a car with out nav. That said, it does nothing for the driving experience...

What car and what are the options your are looking at?

[marksned]

Originally Posted by Fragger

Hi Guys,

Wanted to hear your experiences of, you finally finding the car you want, with everything you wanted in it, EXCEPT the Navigation/iDrive system...

Can you share your experiences with me? Did you regret it or grown to love the decision you made?

Thanks in advance for your stories...

I have Nav/iDrive BUT...I was in a similar situation a month ago. On my "must have" list was manual tranny but those seem to be pretty much special order only. Got a good deal on an auto with M-sport package and paddle shift. While it is not quite a stick I am fairly satisfied with the decision and have been getting used to driving without the left foot. So far I have no regrets other than lack of smartphone integration and BMW apps. The through loading feature might be nice as well, the car I bought had heated seats but not the full cold weather package that would have included through load...go figure.

As for nav, many choices of standalone units or use a smartphone.

[timmahh]

It's out there.. My car has everything, including a manual tranny, except for the servotronic steering wizardry, and heated seats.. but I can add heated seats.

Took a couple of months to find it, but they exist.

[giovane]

Is it a pre-owned one? Early CCC nav systems (up to 2010 I guess) are not great at all, so unless you are buying a new one or a recent model year, having it doesen't make a difference imho. I have a 2008 X5 with nav system, never used it. Iphone works much better.

[DaveL]

Had the Nav on my 07 not my current 2010 and don't miss it one bit as for me it's all about the drive.

[Sara]

I cant live with the nav. I hardly use it but its just beautiful to look at.

[mundo74]

You will rarely use the nav. But the I drive/Bluetooth/iPod USB you will use everyday. Besides. All luxury cars should have a screen IMO

[Kolyan2k]

Originally Posted by Fragger

Hi Guys,

Wanted to hear your experiences of, you finally finding the car you want, with everything you wanted in it, EXCEPT the Navigation/iDrive system...

Can you share your experiences with me? Did you regret it or grown to love the decision you made?

Thanks in advance for your stories...

no problem for me at all. thats if everything else was perfect.....features and pricewise

[Fragger]

Originally Posted by mundo74

You will rarely use the nav. But the I drive/Bluetooth/iPod USB you will use everyday. Besides. All luxury cars should have a screen IMO

Thanks for the responses guys! I basically agree with the thought in the quotes above, LOL! Mostly because the Bimmer interior is just so plain man! I know the F Series is getting better, but for the e90, without the Nav/iDrive screen, the interior looks kinda

With that said, what's got me super excited about the car is that it's CRIMSON RED! xDrive and 18" wheels with the Sports Package!

Plus they are willing to CPO it. I still don't think the price is something to get too excited about, $33,000 for 56K miles on an 09...

Anymore thoughts?

[lucky7]

This is the exact same situation I ran into... Dream car.. exact color I wanted... every feature I was looking for... except iDrive. I don't regret it at all. Unless you REALLY need nav (say you drive to random places for a living) you won't regret your decision. You can always get a garmin/tom tom for nav anyway. The screen seems cool, but when your driving a BMW, you won't care.

[Bakeme521]

I wanted nav when I was looking for a car but I honestly have only put a destination into my nav and used it 2 times since I got my car and its been almost 2 years.

If its your dream car, get it. I use google maps on my phone and just follow it, so much easier then entering in a destination into that nav. The only thing I actually use it for it to find back streets around traffic.

[nbkkvv5]

When I got my new car back in 09, I told myself that I would only consider a 335i sedan with nav, sport, premium, usb, auto and grey leather. And the car had to be silver or sliver. I did not want any regrets about color or equipment trade offs. Of course at the time I looked for that specific type of car, there were about two dozen for me to pick from across several dealers in the area. Oct of 09 was one of the worst months for dealerships trying to sell and one of the best months to buy.

[rekordboxer]

Before picking up my 335 I had a 2007 Escalade and 2 different 06 Range Rovers.. all of which had navigation. My 335 now doesn't have it and I don't miss it at all. In fact, it's kinda cool as not having the light from the navigation while driving around at night.

Bottom line? For me, I don't miss it one bit!

[phistyle]

I thought I wouldn't need or want the navi at first, but now I'm sure regretting it...would be nice to have the idrive functionality with my ipod and etc.

[rickysahota]

Originally Posted by giovane

Is it a pre-owned one? Early CCC nav systems (up to 2010 I guess) are not great at all, so unless you are buying a new one or a recent model year, having it doesen't make a difference imho. I have a 2008 X5 with nav system, never used it. Iphone works much better.

You can upgrade the maps. I have a 2007 Idrive with 2011 maps, it works better than my iPhone.

[rickysahota]

Originally Posted by mundo74

You will rarely use the nav. But the I drive/Bluetooth/iPod USB you will use everyday. Besides. All luxury cars should have a screen IMO

I beg to disagree, I use my Nav in the Bay Area all the time. Its really handy. And the car does look better with it in it.

[yakev724]

I use tomtom+traffic app on my iPhone, once you get used to interpreting the voice commands, you have all the info you'll need without a screen. It also dims down the music when it's giving instructions.

Got used to it on a previous car and still use it without any issue. Also great for travel since you're already comfortable with it.

I think a music video playlist would be pretty damn sweet though...

[badass1g]

I RECENTLY just had to decide between the same issue, i had a 330i exact car as the 335i but it had nav and was 3k cheaper. I went with the 335i cause i will use the turbo's a LOT more then the nav. You could wait MONTHS to find the exact car your looking for and you would probably have to travel. Good luck sir.

[335 oClock]

I ordered my car just the way I wanted it and had to wait 9 weeks for delivery... but I am extremely picky and when I know something exists that I want I know I wouldn't be happy without it; I wouldn't like to think about "what if"... but again, I'm picky, im sure most can do without navi

[s3ries]

navi is pretty much the only option i have in my 335xi, non sport no heated seats, no comfort access... nothing.. but i sure do love this navi..

everytime i get a loaner without a navi, im like ughhh it makes everythign so much more annoying to do

[Dozhdbog]

I have a top of the line garmin nuvi vent mounted to my 335i, so that takes care of navigation(and it takes voice commands as well). I do a fair bit of travel to other countries and states, and when I do, I can take the nuvi with me and use it in rental cars.
My iphone is bluetoothed, and I have an ipod touch connected via the bmw iphone adaptor for playing music. The itunes functionality works fine through the BMW system, as does the iphone's phonebook.

If money were no object, sure, I'd get BMW's idrive system, but, as it stands, I have no need whatsoever for one.