mininsx

Hello all,

Newly registered here, however I've been lurking around for awhile, I have a female friend that is going to be purchasing a new TSX within the next two months, we cannot decide if the navigation is worth the extra $$, we've test driven both models and the non-navi seems to look just fine, IMO the TL w/o navi looks wierd.

So do you guys think that purchasing the navi model will effect resale value in the future enough to justify purchasing the navi now? I, being the stereo guy I am, want it so we can manipulate the screen to watch DVD and play PS2, possibly hook up a back up monitor to it. She would be persuaded to spend the extra $$ if convinced that the car would return more money in a resale situation lets say 5 years down the road.

I did a search and came up with no topic's on this issue, so if someone has a clue, or even just some good points, opinions, anything relating would be helpfull...

Thanks in advance!

ryanc44

Don't weigh the "purchase navigation" argument solely on resale value.

Do you (your friend) really want to spend $2K now so you can get a couple extra hundred bucks in 4-5 years when you sell/trade the car in?

Bottomline: If you think navi is a very useful option that will add value to your driving experience- get it. If not, don't waste your hard earned money...

mininsx

Good points, however I might not have been absolutly clear, the final decision will not solely be based on resale purposes, she would find the navi somewhat usefull on trips, however being that we live in a small town in Oklahoma, and in a county with small population, the navi would not be used as often as others, however if we manipulated the video feed to play movies, it would be used more often in that respect. As far as wasting "hard earned" money, not really a problem in this situation since this car will be purchased with a large settlement from a horrible wreck she was involved in two years ago, so the extra $2g's is really pocket change at this point...

The $2,000 navi is roughly 7.5% of the purchase price of the vehicle (that is if the price can be negotiated at approx. $27,000) so lets say 5 years down the road the car is worth $21-$23g's, would someone looking at the car still pay 7.5% more for a navi model as opposed to a non-navi model?

Just a thought we were contimplating and wondering if anyone would have any thoughts on the same level, I'm sure were not the first one's to think of this. So if someone else had the same thoughts and has allready made that decision, why did you go for it, why did you not?

Thanks again...

bob shiftright

According to Edmunds, the Navigation system adds $918 to the trade-in value of a 2001 TL. Buy it if you want it, but it will depreciate like the rest of the car, if not faster.

darth62

My opinion: If I lived in a small town that I understood well, I probably wouldn't buy the NAV. I live in Los Angeles, and use NAV at least once a week, sometimes more. But, then it is very difficult finding you way around here.

fdl

My get is that the navigation system, like most high tech stuff, will depreciate very quickly (faster than the rest of the car).

ostrich

mininsx, I agree with the others here - I was in the same situation, trying to decide whether to get the Navi or not. Basically, I came to the conclusion that though I would NOT get the money back, but at the same time, it would definitely add more fun and convenience to my driving. Actually, I was surprised by how helpful it was with my two recent trips within the city - I thought that it would be great for long distance trips, in fact, it was even more useful to me in unfamiliar city neighborhoods.

By the way, in 5 years time, you would NOT be selling your TSX for 21-23K as you stated. It probably is closer to 45%, which will be around $13K.

I don't know about other dealerships, but the one that I bought the car from had far more non-Navi TSX's than Navi ones. In case the "rarity" factor will come into play in future resale...

larchmont

I agree with FDL. In fact, there are data on this (e.g. what Bob said), and they generally indicate faster depreciation for Nav than for the rest of the car.

But, a lot of people, in calculating the pros and cons of leases etc., seem to assume that the Nav will have zero value a few years down the road, which is ridiculous. Nobody knows what the future value of any given Nav system will be, but actually you make this easy by how you ask it: Will a Nav car be worth more in 5 years than a non-Nav car? Absolutely, no doubt. The Nav will be worth something to some people, and so they'll be going out looking for it, and they'll pay more for it. How much? If we're talking about a private sale, at least a few hundred dollars. My best guess would be about $700-$800. I don't think it matters all that much that there will then be systems that are more advanced. The thing is, a lot of people will be willing to pay extra to have the Nav in the car.

idx

To add onto Larch's private sale scenario, having the Nav might just be the extra feature that really sells the car to someone. Tech will depreciate faster than you can say wifi, but its a really nice feature to have. So if the 2k isn't a big deal, then definitely go for it. Besides the obvious of being very useful on long trips, the voice features are also great to have. I rarely use the actual navigation features for my daily humdrum drive to work, but I use the voice commands all the time. (...makes you start searching for the voice button when you're driving another car.. doh!)


-r

Crazytree

I think in real life numbers... your Navi is going to depreciate about 70-80% in the next two years. Nobody is going to fork over an extra grand for an outdated Navi in a few years when they're increasingly common and increasingly inexpensive.

larchmont

Crazytree, that's crazy.

If you think 80% is a realistic figure, that means that in 2 years, the Nav will only fetch an extra $400. Anybody who buys one of these cars 2 years from now who's even half interested in a Nav would absolutely jump at the chance to get it for $400, even being 2 years behind the state of the art, and they'd gladly pay more than that. How much more? I don't know. But I know it's more than $400.

(Your Thomas Guide bias is showing!)

Crazytree

According to Edmunds... you can add thousands of dollars of value to your car by having:

-roof rack
-chrome wheels
-rear defroster
-other innane bs

and you LOSE money if your car is the wrong color! I take all online car value quotes with a grain of salt.

Haven't you guys sold a car that had rims, nice head unit and other goodies and not gotten one dollar more than if it did not have them?

larchmont

Probably, sure.

But, like everything else, it's supply and demand. Or, in this case, really just demand. While there won't necessarily be buyers readily available to you who want that other stuff that you mention exactly when you need to sell the car, there will most assuredly be a fair number of people who'll be very glad to get a used TSX with the Nav, and who will pay extra for it.

Lemme get this straight, Craze -- you really doubt this? Even with your "Thomas Guide bias," that's hard for me to imagine. Remember, it's not a question of how YOU feel about the Nav; we know what that is. It's a question of whether there will or won't be a fair amount of people who'll want to have the Nav. There will be.

Whatchamacallit

mininsx,

I understand your friend's concern thinking about the value of the Navigation System when it comes to resale 5 years down the road. Sounds as if she's trying to cover all bases and maximize on her investment when it's time to trade the car in.

However, the approach I recommend is: What is the value of the Navigation System for her now and for the duration of the ownership of the TSX?

Yes, the Navigation System will depreciate big time over the years but also factor in the number of times she won't be late to an appointment because the Navigation System bailed her out of a traffic jam. Or the number of times the she arrived at the destination safely because the Nav guided her through an unfamiliar neighborhood, etc. How much is that worth? That's a question she has to answer.

Personally, I love my Nav. It's not perfect but it has saved my behind several times already out of traffic detours and driving through unfamiliar areas. For me, the investment has already been paid off.

Santa Rosa Steve

I was in an area yesterday which wasn't completely mapped, but still showed me the location of my destination. I could see from the target which way I had to go to get there and my position relative to it. This was in a very remote location on the Northern California coast which wasn't listed as a detailed coverage area.

I'm constantly discovering new uses for the system, and as these become more commonplace in the future I'll bet more and more people will not even consider buying a car without one.

Santa Rosa Steve

bob shiftright

Yeah. Sure...but I think the price guides consider only factory options and the net cost of returning the car back to factory condition no matter how nice the aftermarket wheels and stereo. You might find a buyer who is willing to pay more for a car with the trunk filled with stereo gizmos. Then again, the potential buyer might be a deaf. In which case the stereo would be completely worthless.

And who buys those pink Mary Kay Cadillacs when they're resold? Would YOU pay the same for a pink car as for a black or silver one? (Unless you're color-blind!)

Of course the price guides need to be taken with a grain of salt and a shake of pepper and a twist of lemon and a shot of tobasco but they're sure a lot better than shopping or negotiating barefoot and clueless.

I think the Nav is a nice feature, and you should buy it if you want it. But I'm pretty sure it won't be worth $2000 in 5 years, and it won't be worth $0 either. $600-$1000 is my guess.

Crazytree

so you accept my dollar figure as accurate. np.

larchmont

Well, not really Craze -- His lower limit is your upper limit!

Jason

In three years it'll be worth $1000 more than a non-nav just like it. That's how it was with my CL-S. Get the nav. Soon it will be like buying a used car w/o AC.