Sat Nav - factory or after-market

[kksmvs]

hello all -

i have been trolling through the boards and there is just an incredible wealth of information here! i am planning on buying a mini cooper s soon, although i haven't test driven one yet. but test driving is really a formality... as for options, i'm wondering if i should get the factory sat nav or if i should go for the aftermarket ones (i'm looking at the pioneer NAV-SYS900DVD). the thing that i like about the aftermarket ones is that they also play regular dvd's. but i do like the integration of the factory installed one.

so here are some questions that i have:
1. what is the difference in the aftermarket ones in terms of quality? does the gps work better when it's integrated?
2. what is the difference in the software? which one is easier to use? does it cover all of north america, or is it only the US?
3. is one system faster than another?
4. any other comments?

[SP02 TYS]

Howdi,

I cant answer any of your questions but I am more than happy to offer my opinion.

I was going to opt for the standard sat nav but I have decided to go for an aftermarket solution. A couple of reasons really...

Firstly, I love the big speedo in the middle of the dash!

Secondly, if and when I sell the car, God forbid, I can take the aftermarket product out and put the original stereo back in. That way I'm not paying in excess of £1000 for a system that I wont get my money back on. Not everyone wants sat nav so when I come to sell the car I will only be appealling to a particular market...

I must agree with your choice too, the Pioneer NAV-900DVD system is very snazzy, with many more features than the standard sat nav or cd player mini have to offer. Its a sat nav system, dvd player and top of the range cd player in one... And you can pick one up from ebay for sub £1000... Even cheaper in the states.

Hope this helps!

[Bugged]

The problem is KKSMVS is that not many people have played with both an aftermarket and the factory system.

Plus there are probably even fewer people who have done side by side comparasons between the two to determine which is faster.

I've got the factory system, I like it. It does have it's shortcomings though and its not as flexible or intuitive as I had hoped. However, given the chance, I'd get it again....