I haven't lost my GPS signal for longer than 10 seconds (in a tunnel to NYC) in the last 10 years of using GPS units, so I'm not sure why that would be an issue unless your offroad in the deep woods or something?

I have no problem with "loosing the money". What I have a HUGE problem with is, they (Mini/BMW) sold me something that does not work, and if that's not bad enough, they are not making good on it. They are not supporting their product, and they are not supporting their customers. Trust me when I tell ya, they will be sorry sooner or later. GM and Ford used to treat their customers and products the same way. And for years they said, ah, don't worry about it, they will still buy our cards.... Where are they now? In 10 years, lets come back and revisit the subject. ALL I want, is my software fixed, it's that simple. they sold a defective product, and it should be fixed or replaced as it says in my warranty.

What really bothers me about this even more is, I have the Cold Start issue, and the last few days it's been REAL cold here in NY, so of course my mini sounds like a Mack Truck desiel start every morning. It sounds like it is tearing the motor to pieces. I don't know if it is doing damage or not, but what scares me is my $32,000 investment might go up in smoke, and Mini won't give a rats **** about it. Because they quite simply, do NOT support their product. It's a shame really.

 

LynnEL,
VERY well said and dead on. Except of course: "1. The POI search stinks." That should read: "1. The POI search DOES NOT WORK."

 

Speaking of which, the Garmin has both off-road and pedestrian settings, so you can use it to find your way, even off public roads.

I also just noticed something else cool about the Garmin: The map scale automatically adjusts to better show the particular moment. For example, if you are far from your next turn, the scale is smaller and you can see more of your route. As you approach your turn, the scale progressively zooms in to show more detail the closer you get to your turn location. At least, it does this on the perspective setting. I am inclined to believe it wouldn't on the "map north" or "direction of travel" maps, though I haven't checked that out. Although the Mini has a "perspective" setting, its scale doesn't change. Both the Garmin and the factory Mini nav allow you to manually adjust the scale of the maps. However, on the Mini's nav, you set a specific scale (800ft, 1000ft, 1/4 mile, etc. - I assume that's per inch of map), whereas on the Garmin, there's just a + and - button, so it's infinitely variable (but doesn't tell you the actual scale).

 

The Garmin units (and most other brands as well) have "Autozoom" available in all screens, "perspective", "north up", ...

Also, there is usually a scale indicator between the + and - buttons on the bottom. It's a line, with a # under it, the numbers is the distance of that line. So if there is a 5 under the line, that means the line is 5 miles long. But I have seen a few units that don't show thsi scale. I think there is an option to "Display Scale" under settings menu.

 

Very informative. I also have been on the fence about a GPS, even though I've never had one and never used one. My 4 week old MCS was ordered without factory NAV, 'cause the price scared the devil out of me.

I am waiting for the NUVI 850 or 880 price to come down a bit more, as the voice recognition would be cool. I also plan not to mount it, but to leave it in the cupholder for the intermittent use it will be put to.

I appreciate all of the comments here about factory NAV, both pro- and con-. It just reiterates to me how personal the options on a MINI are.

 

Deal:

Navigon 2100 Max 4.3" Portable GPS System $150 at Buy.com
Click Here
Discuss (0) : History : Tell : Posted 11:12 AM PST 12/29/08 by Ben
Buy.com has the Navigon 2100 Max Portable GPS System w/ Preloaded Maps for $150 + $0 shipping = $150 shipped. It sports a large 4.3" Touchscreen display with integrated traffic receiver antenna. Exclusive Reality View provides extra 3D guidance when you need it most. [BizRate]

You won't find a better unit than this one for a better price anywhere.
I don't understand why anyone would pay $400 for a portable GPS anymore when there are comparable units like this for $150 or less. Just my .02 cents.

 

Things I like about the separate GPS:

It's separate, and I can put it in the other car if I want.

I can take it out and change/upgrade things in it.

See, for example, poi-factory for a wonderful community of GPS crazies -- almost as crazy as Mini owners!

I can (and have) loaded in locations for In-N-Out Burger, Lowe's, Trader Joe's, numerous red light cameras, and other sundry locations.

As those lists change (new Trader Joe's in our area), they get updated, and I can update the info in my GPS without going to the BMW/Mini dealership.

When Garmin releases new maps in the Spring, I'll be able to upgrade the maps in the GPS (if I want to) for a reasonable price and without going to the BMW/Mini dealership. The last map upgrade I did without even having to put my pants on (it's a Left Coast thing).

With a separate unit, there are also other customizations available -- from the Mini Cooper S splash screen, to having it say "Have it your way" rather than "Recalculating" when you stray from the route it wants you to take (Does the MiniOEM system shout out "ACHTUNG!" and throw the car into limp mode if you disobey?).

I can upgrade the GPS separately from the car.

...but in the end, it comes back to whatever floats yer boat -- have fun, and do it your own way!

 

That's one nice thing about the OEM Nav compared to my Nuvi 660. It's totally silent when you go off track. It recalcs without the annoying "recalculating" sound byte playing repeatedly.

I use the Nuvi muted now just to get rid of that.

 

I have a 2009 Honda Pilot, and the factory Nav was standard with the touring edition that I purchased. I find that the actual navigation is great, but searching for a location can be annoying. I always try searching by phone number first, and then resign myself to search by city... etc, etc. I like using it on road trips, even if it is only to estimate my ETA. I also find the POI database to be a bit lacking. Or, I have the horrible misfortune of only ever searching for places that aren't in the database.

I have a portable Garmin as well that I keep in my 2009 JCW. I am still considering various mounting options for it. Overall, I prefer using the Garmin to the factory system in the Pilot.

One advantage to portable units that I don't think anyone has mentioned is that you can plug them into your computer to make trip planning easier. You can even add POI's that aren't already in the database. Also, I have heard rumors that it is easy to upgrade the Garmin Maps every year via torrents. ;-) Even still, if you are a heavy GPS user, the $100 (Canadian) price tag for the newest software may not be too steep.

Another advantage... Garmin at least, has a mute button for when the unit gets too chatty, or you are covering a part of your route you already know well. In my Pilot, it's all or nothing.... and the Navi has a horrible habit of interrupting my favorite songs. ;-)

 

I started this thread back when I was undecided. My daughter's Mini is due to arrive at the Port this weekend so her wait is coming to end. Ended up going with the Fac Nav for a couple reasons. One, a portable is a tempting theft item if not put away. And even the exposed bracket can be enough to tempt someone to break in just to get to the NAV or whatever else they think they might find. And second, I liked the look of the large speedometer with the Nav better than without it. Are either of these reasons worth the cost of Fac Nav? Maybe not, but in the end, decided to go Factory.

 

Adressing some of the issue I saw in the thread and my two cents. No wait, that's just value of my 401K right now

The factory setup looks great and has the added features that I wish i had. I test drove on '08 with Nav and that turned me off.

I bought a Nuvi and integrated it into the car with a Kuda mount and hid the wires behine the dash. A very clean set up. I also use it as my music source. i like the mp3 player interface and it is right there at finger reach. Yes. It is a PITA every time but I don;t even think about it now. the Nuvs have a larger screen version [5"] and also new interfaces [Such as the 765]. Check out their site. Steer clear of the dealer installed add on as you can get something much nicer and less expensive.

My advice is take the 2 grand you would spend on a facotry nav and add the Stage 1 JCW instead.