I was wanting the kuda mount it looks like the thing
was made perfect to the car, and it is right in your
vision - perfect.

My friend in OH warns me - you can't even have the little
ring on your windshield here, the meth dudes break your
window out.

I'm thinkin OK better not go to OH.

Now, my friend here says
DO YOU READ THE PAPER
I say, uh, no.
You can't even go to taco bell now and you come out
and the meth dudes have broken your window.....

So I really want the kuda mount and all, but I don't want
to buy a window every week.

Thumbs up or down to installing the garmin on the kuda?

 

I installed mine almost a year ago and love it. I haven't had any break-ins probably because I take it off the mount whenever I park where I can't keep an eye on my car. It is still very obvious that a GPS unit goes there so depending on where you park, people may break in thinking you left it in the car somewhere.

Don't tell anyone but I keep it in the secret compartment.

 

At my wife’s work they break in if the ball is there to see if you left it in the glove box. Of course they score 95% of the time.

I'm leaning towards getting the factory mount as it doesn’t scream after market.

 

I've had my Kuda mount installed for a grand total of four days...45 minutes of actual use (functional check-out) with the GPS unit installed...

I contemplated its visibility and the possible theft motivation prior to plunking down the significant coin to purchase it. I live in a safe small town and neighborhood, rarely drive into or park in areas I would consider to be a threat, and have the stock anti-theft alarm system too, so I figured the Kuda mount carried low enough risk for me.

95% actually leave their aftermarket GPS units in their unattended car? As Jerry would incredulously say, "Who ARE these people?"

 

I know there are times to worry...but I tend not to be too paranoid on this. I leave my Garmin on the mount in plain sight. My philosophy is very simple minded...the real good thieves will get it now matter what. The really bad ones will make a mess. And I just can't take everything out of my vehicle that thieves might like.....So..
The result so far is 4 years business travel over 5 states and big cities and small...NO PROBLEM Ah, so tonight it will happen...

Good luck no matter what you decide.

 

Who are they? Teachers in the school parking lot. LOL

I can understand it though. When I have mine and I'm out running around I pop it off and throw it in the glove. I usually leave the mount on the windshield.

After a few break ins they got wise and no longer leave the mount in view.

 

How about garmin's bean bag mounts? My wife has one in her car and we just put the whole thing in the glove compartment.

 

Because I didn't want any sign of a GPS in the car, I went with the bean bag from Arkon.com. I think it fits much nicer on the MINI dash than the "four-legged" Garmin bean bag.

I have used it extensively at this point and have never had a problem with it staying in place. It fits snuggly into the left corner of the dash. When it's not on the dash, I put it in the footwell behind the drivers seat with a black hand towel over it.

 

condor27596,
I've had my Garmin nuvi 760 GPS attached to a Kuda mount for a couple of months now and before leaving my Mini I remove the cradle and GPS and put them in the secret compartment.I don't bother putting a towel over the Kuda mount to hide it from prying eyes as I doubt many even know what that is used for but if you do get the Kuda mount you could cover it when you leave your car.

If theft is a problem in your area you can get a portable GPS mount like richs10 has.

 

If I've cornered the suction cup mount off the windshield, will those beanbag mounts really stay put? Even in an accident?

My philosophy, MINIs are high profile targets, they attract attention 95% of the places around the country. There's places where I'm at a higher risk of a break in there's place I'm at a lower risk,and act accordingly. I certainly don't pull the GPS out every time I leave the car, and most times I don't take the GPS down at all or cover it up, and still no break in issues *knock on wood*.

 

+1
In several years of using a portable GPS in my M3, and now in my MINI, I have not had a problem. I also have a Valentine 1 attached to the windshield near the rearview and almost never remove it. Between work and home, I'm just not very frequently in risk areas.

 

I'm leaning towards getting the factory mount as it doesn’t scream after market.

Is there a link to the factory mount?

I honestly don't care that much about an
$80 GPS. I do care about the expense
and hassle of an insurance claim on a window.
I very care about the secret compartment
being ransacked.

Which could happen at any time I agree.

I was thinking about putting a cable, through
a hole in it, and attaching that securly (must use
your imagination) so that any would be theif would
be discouraged (having forgotten his cable snippers)
and just leave, not wanting to take so long.

 

I would never use any security cable inside my car. A thief is just as likely to try to force it free, potentially causing a lot of expensive interior damage.

 

Here is a pic of the factory portable navigation system. It is just a Nuvi 360. You can just buy the mounting hardware from MINI and get your own Nuvi. I think I paid about 140 for the mounting kit.

 

Never bothered with anything but the OEM mount. As for the circles on the windshield, keep moist eyeglass towelettes in the glovebox to wipe them clean afterwards. Not too much of a hassle and costs $0.

 

During the years I lived in town, we had 3 car breakins, and one car stolen (88 Mustang LX 5.0) from our driveway. When we found the car, they had actually stolen the crappy stock Ford stereo and screwed up all the wiring for my remote mirrors. One of the vehicles they broke into had a removable face plate stereo and the face plate was in the house. That didn't stop them from breaking out the window and stealing other stuff. The officer told us that we should leave the glove box open at night so that they can see that the faceplate is not in there.

My nephew who lives in Portland Oregon carries glass cleaner with him so that when he removes the mount for his GPS he can clean off the rings from the suction cups.

I always saw if there's a will there's a way and if they want something in your car, or your house, there is nothing that will stop them.

 

Will this work with newer Nuvis that have different mounting plates, like the Nuvi 760?

 

It will not work with the widescreen nuvi. Not enough room. This post has some good pics of the mounting bracket without the nuvi on it.

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...6&postcount=15

 

Thanks. I think it would be a bad position for me anyway. Seems like it would be awkward to operate.

 

The simplest solution, in my experience, is to stick the OEM suction cup onto the NE corner of the mega-speedo. This location, highly visible, also allows easy data entry with the right hand. Best of all, it is quick and easy to dismount the whole apparatus and stash when parking.

 

I suppose it makes a big difference where you live. Personally, I'm paranoid about having my MCS broken into by some guy looking for my GPS. I mount my NUVI using the suction mount on the speedometer (I prefer the digital readout anyway), and remove both the GPS and the mount when not in actual use. Everything fits nicely in the "secret" compartment when not in use. I mount it ONLY when I'm going to use the GPS for its intended purpose for directions...... watching the moving map display may be interesting, but I found that gets old quickly. Any mount that leaves the mount/ball in place is a sure sign there's a GPS around, even if the GPS itself is removed..... and your car is vulnerable even if you take the GPS with you. But again, I'm paranoid.

 

Yeah, it's an ideal spot. The only problem I had was with the speedo glass shaking too much (as opposed to the windshield). If the road gets rough my GPS starts shaking like crazy.

 

I have the Kuda mount installed in my MCS and use it for my Nuvi 360 - I love it. It's in the perfect position to see while not interfering with your field of vision. I can keep my hands on the wheel and play with it if I have to while I'm driving, and still not have to look down. It also wasn't too hard to install; I did it myself with a little bit of help. I even hardwired power for it all by myself.
I park in the garage at night and am lucky enough to work somewhere that I can leave the car unlocked with the Garmin visible and not have a problem. When I park anywhere else I just throw it in the secret compartment and I haven't had any problems. I also just make my boyfriend drive his company car when we go anywhere I don't feel comfortable leaving my MINI.

 

In California it is illegal to stick things to your windshield so we have to use alternative mounting methods. I notice some of the Garmin's come with a vent clip mount. Anyone tried one of these? How well does it work?

 

I really prefer the clean look of the factory mount and it I find it very easy to operate. Also I like the permanent mount as I have my Nuvi tied into the stereo system so when it speaks it mutes and speaks through the front speakers.