Hi i just bought an 2006 acura tsx on balloon (kind of lease to own) non-navi since there was no white available with navi and parchment interior so i chose for non-navi and thought i will put an afer market navi tom-tom or indash custom navi.
Now i have 3 things going in my mind siince
1) Get and after market custom in-dash navi for 2100 - which i can pull out and transfer to another car if i trade in my tsx
2) Get a tom-tom portable one
3) or trade my 06 tsx with 07 with navi and since the 07 has tpms included compared to 06.
So guys pls give ur suggestion and advice what should i do I think the 07 have only tpms upgrade which is a useful upgrade, the o7 will arrive end of this month i guess. Or should i go with the indash custom navi or the tom-tom
I have a request those who have done aftermarket navi indash or tom tom pls if u can post ur pic or pm ur pic and suggest ur experience it will be very helpful.
Thanks waiting for ur replies

 

How long do you intend to keep the car?

 

Just do a nice custom one. It'll be a big blow for you to trade it in man. Unless...of course...you have the money to spend!

 

this is the ans to ur ques mod-way.....see basically i dont know how long i will be keeping the car since in past 2 1/2 yrs i have had camry xle totalled,than camry xle v6, than scion-xb,than mazda-3 and now acura tsx so am not sure how long but i do like it very much but since i am used to navi with the mazda-3 i really miss it specially my wife.
But i dont know how the custom would look like the auto electronic shop gy told will look same as the factory one but am not convinced... hence i thought to ask this on the forum to u guys...

 

tpms is completely useless for me
i aint keeping stock rims no longer than 2 yrs...

 

Since you change cars quite often, I'd buy an aftermarket unit (portable) that you can take it with you to your next car. Custom jobs have no value when reselling the car.

 

trading a 1-year old car for a brand new car is a really bad financial decision, so that's out of the question. A custom in-dash navi will require alot of money, plus it might not help your resale value (like if you give your vin out, potential buyers might think you're lying about having navi.

The best choice in your situation is a portable navi. It's not the best navi, but it'll do it's job. You can always relocate it between your cars, etc. The only annoying thing is that I don't like leaving it in the car (expensive equipment that I don't want to either be visible or in extreme heat), so it's always something that I'd have to carry around with me.

tpms isn't worth throwing away a few thousand dollars. Wait until the next generation TSX

 

actually its not one yr old but 1wk old now and its a lease to own car that the reason i was thinking to trade in...

 

You'll get killed on the trade in so I'd rule that out.

Portable Navi's have come a long way. I'm contemplating getting one myself. The TomTom 910 has bluetooth (which really interest's me) and a 20 gig HD for MP3's and pic viewing. Not bad for about $650 US.

 

My wife has a Garmin 330c in her Accord. Its a nice unit that comes in handy when you need it. I think that would be good enough.

If you didnt want to wait for a Navi to show up, then it probably wasnt that important to you anyway...

 

Check out the Nuvi 660. Brand new wide screen version of the popular Nuvi units.

http://www.garmin.com/products/nuvi660/

You will take a bath on trading in for a new 07, but it seems you are used to it. That is a lot of cars in a short period of time.

 

I second the Nuvi 660. I have one. I would have paid double for it, I find it so useful (but I travel often too)

Lease to own? - does that really make a difference with respect to loss of value in trading in a new car? Does any option exist out there where you would not get hit with the depreciation hit, since that car has to be sold to someone else as a used car anyways?

 

That Nuvi 660 is my first choice, but damn pricey.

 

SO u mean even if i have a balloon lease i will still have a negetive equity???
well anyways seeing all ur advices on this topic today i called the dealer to give me a quote he said as soon as he gets the residual value he will 1st give me the quote...let see what he has to say but what i understand from ur all advice and suggstions is the i should go for portable ones? right

 

so submit ur vote
1) for indash aftermarket custom navi
2) for portable ( pls advice tomtom, nuvi, garmin or else .... so could decide and go for it )
3) trade in for 07

Pls state #'s for ur vote on 1, 2, or 3 which ever u agree upon.
Thanks u all are

 

my vote is #2. Go with a nuvi!
you'll get killed on the trade in, and a custom job is burying money if you intend to sell the car...

 

#2.

 

The Acura OEM navigation has an older technology, by virtue of the year it came out.

e.g. does it picture detail look like this? (http://www.garmin.com/products/nuvi660/#)

However, the OEM has a more "integrated" look, and larger screen you will not get in the portables.

But the depreciation hit you will suffer will be significant, so I say #2 too.