rokmc0785

i was gonna get navi before i got my tl..

but when i went acura dealership, they said if you want navi tl then you have to wait for a couple of days..so i just didn't want to wait..
so i just got non-navi tl...

now looks like almost everyone got navi tl...

i really want to get navi!!!

i'm regretting that i didn't get navi!!!

danno

You couldn`t wait a couple of DAYS? Talk about ,"the gotta have it" syndrome!:banghead:

moreace

Stupid impatience
couple of days is nothing

Navi MAKES the car

mgokool

VERY WELL WORTH THE WAIT AND LITTLE EXTRA $$$...not to mention higher resale if you do decide to get rid of it later on!

Skeedatl

For me I didn't get Navi cause it was WEEKS and $3000 since the wait made no-discounts...

I wanted Navi, but it's not worth not having my int/ext color choice, waiting weeks and shelling out $3000 more.

kadams64

Here's the my tale, which is nominally related to rokmc0785's tale of woe...

I wanted a GPS system in my car when I went shopping a year ago. I was poking around at various models: the G35, the Cadillac CTS (don't laugh), and the Acura TL were on my list. When I went into the Acura dealer, I found out that they didn't offer GPS at all in Canada (where I am). I was about to leave when I saw the new TSX. I fell in love with the styling (I wasn't very excited by the styling of 2003's TL), then took it out for a test drive and fell in love with the ride. It was $15+k cheaper in similar trim to all the other cars I was looking at, and "felt" far better built then the CTS. A week later, I was a proud TSX owner.

Fast forward 9 months to the present. I go into my friendly Acura dealer with my wife who has her 1.7 EL in for regular maintenance. While waiting for her, I go take a look at the 2004 TL. I fall in love again: the styling makes me think of a TSX after a year of hard workouts- the same but more muscular. Then I make the mistake of sitting inside the car...it has the navigation system! It seems that in the intervening year, Acura got the voice system on the navi "Canadianized"- which I was told basically boiled down to getting a French Canadian voice recognition system working. Not speaking french, I was somewhat resentful for this enforced Canada-wide delay in order to appease my fellow Canadians in Quebec, but what can you do? Two days later I had my order in for a 5 speed auto TL with Navi, probable delivery towards the end of March.

So, putting this in slightly different terms: I have "waited" (and am still waiting) a full year for my Navigation system. Mind you, I had nearly a year of driving a TSX (fantastic car, for me at least), so that's not really a hardship And by the way, I've *never* traded in a year old car before- every car I've had previously I've driven at least 5 years. And whats really nuts is I still love my TSX...

blufox

17 yrs old and loud and proud

casooner90

I initially thought about skipping the navi thinking that it was just a toy and a possible distraction. I changed my mind at the last minute and got the navi.

In retrospect, I am glad for having the navi. The navi is no $5 map. It is more, much more. For example, I used to have people give me instructions on how to get to some place (you take a left at the gas station, then a right at the....). Also, my eyes would be looking at street signs and getting distracted from my driving. Now, I just ask for the address and punch it into my navi and I'm there. The navi not only shows me where to go, it also tells me how to get there. The price was $2000, not $3000 (may want to check your dealer on this) and the resale value should make up the difference. I can honestly say that this is a great add on for my TL.

digital_b

only stupid [cheap]people justify not getting nav by equating it with a map. like they wont get the cheapest map and get lost anyway.

Jss1

Love the navi and won't buy another car without it. It knows all the Canadian addresses I have put in, even some places its not supposed to work in, like Pefferlaw. Great for my frequent trips to the States, no more maps.

dcarlinf1

Navi is overrated and is a waste of money IMO. The $3000 comment is correct because dealerships tend to discount the non-Navi more, up to $1000 more. For an extra $1000 I'd get the nav because it is cool. Anymore than that is a waste of good money.

TZVECL

What's my fav NAVI feature?

It's using it as a phone book. If I'm driving home from work, and decide I want a pizza pie, pad thai, etc, I have all those phone numbers at my disposal.

I call when I am like 15 minutes from the place, and it's ready when I get there.

Am I the only one who likes this feature??

Steveb

If navi "makes the car" then I guess all the important stuff (ride, handling, engine, safety, etc.) are mediocre. Unless you think those things are just not important. You make it sound like the TL cannot compete on those merits alone. If you don't have navi then the tl is just another mediocre car. That's rediculous.

Lastdra900n

**** i kinda regret not getting navi.... the thing is im probably never going to use it... but damn i regret not getting it

Steveb

Not true. You are going to get a lower percentage of the original purchase price back on the navi TL compared to the non-nav TL. That is why the residual are lower on Navi TL's if you choose to lease.

Vffr1

I had a 2003 Tl non-navi, I purchased the 2004 TL with navi, and to me "It's the jewel in the crown" of this fine vehicle. I'll never look back...

Mike Smeezy,

ndabunka

tzvecl - From your comments about the pizza pie (not, pizza, but a pizza pie), I take it your a northerner. How are you able to "use it like a phone book" while driving? Voice rec doesn't allow you access to the telephone lookup screen (that I am aware of). Even if it, that's probably the WORST feature of the NAVI. For example, when I key in "Radio Shack", I get like five different entries (i.e. Radio Shack, Radio Shack Stores, Radio Shack, INc, etc). Usually the system takes it a step further and provides me directions to the Radio Shack located 745 miles away! Instead of the closest one (I guess because it was Radio Shack and not Radio Shack, Inc?)...BTW the term "Radio Shack" is not meant to be literal but rather a generic term. I don't remember EXACTLY what it was I was looking for so I simply subsituted "Radio Shack" in this place.

Skeedatl

The option was $2000, but the dealer I bought from didn't give the Navi the $1000 discount that non Navis were getting...thus to get Navi would cost an extra $3000 and I wouldn't have gotten the NBP/Parch combo I wanted. I have Navi in my 3.5RL and after about month, stopped using it, especially since the database was FULL of errors. I simply don't need it. So then it comes down to $3000 for voice command...no thanks. Non-navis still have voice command for the bluetooth which is all I really needed. For me, Navi is a pretty toy, a very expensive pretty toy.

Had I the chance to get Navi for the same discount and in my color choice I probably would have but given the shortages of Navi here in SoCal I wasn't willing to settle.

paddiwakk

No youre not the only one

kadams64

I wouldn't call someone who didn't get the navigation system "wrong" or "cheap" by any means. Some people simply don't care for the computerized gizmos, or see no purpose in having an electronic map. That's fine for them.

But if I had any desire for a navigation system, and bought a TL without that feature, I'd be kicking myself. In terms of cost, on a $40,000 + (Canadian) car, $3000 one way or another really shouldn't be the deciding factor. If you are like me, you are going to live with your car for four or five years at least: over that duration, I'd better be feeling pretty happy about it every time I get behind the wheel. In the same vein, if I liked shiny 19" wheels and low profile tires, I'd be kicking myself for not spending an extra $3k or so for those options. Thankfully, I don't feel the need for that feature I guess the only real difference in this comparison is the fact that its a lot easier to add shiny wheels and tires aftermarket than it is to add a truly integrated navigation system.

If you want a navigation system, or think you might want one, the TL Navi is very nice (from the playing I did with it). Don't scrimp on it, is my advice. If you don't want Navi, don't get it: the 2004 TL is, again in my opinion, a great car either way.

mitchdeerfield

Buy yourself a compass and a map. Net outlay $8.59. Paying $2500 plus for a gizmo is ridiculous.

P.S. If you want to sell me your TL, I will buy it from you at a good discount.

TZVECL

I'm from the home of the pizza pie, Brooklyn!

Anyway, I hear what you are saying. I guess I have had just good luck. I ask, "find nearest italian restuarant" and, with a little scrolling, my places come up, no problem (or just "find nearest restaurant").

04TLmayB

map will suffice and 2500 for a gizmo is ridiculous why bother getting a TL for 33K or so when a Corolla for 15K will get to you the same place. Why throw away 18K. Hey who needs color tv, Timex watches work perfectly, A&P ketchup does the job, etc. etc. Because sometimes people like to treat themselves well and get the niceties of life. If the nav was given to you for free you'd grab it and probably get a kick out of it, maybe even sing its praises. So it really boils down to 2500 over 5 yrs or so or $500 a yr or $40 a month. Why let $40 a month prevent you from getting something that you probably deep down. And if you are paying cash and the $2500 really makes a difference then you probably should not get a TL. Just a different way of looking at things. If getting a nav prevents you from getting the color you really want or prevents you from getting a 6 spd due to scarcity then thats a different story. But to say that an $8 map will suffice is really IMHO short sighted.

x420actionx

I watch DVD movies and television on my Navi-Screen.....adding PS2 next

Almost Jake

If you like the Nav...fine, buy one. But don't criticize people who choose not to buy one.

I plan to buy because I like it’s interior and it’s balance between performance and comfort. I could care less about the Nav, bluetooth, or DVD-A.

pearl04

Hey guys....I couldn't wait for the Nav either....I didn't really care when I saw my car on the showroom floor. When I came to this site, I was just like this guy, I wished I would have got the Nav because everyone was saying how nice it was. However, after a month I really don't care, I just like to drive my baby. We will have alot of aftermarket options for our car in a while. So, I am looking at the new Pioneer flip-up that has everything, Nav, Dvd, etc.

casooner90

Here is how I justify the navi.

My life without navi: Driving down the freeway, we need to find a place. I ask the wife to get the map out and navigate. She can't find where we are. I try desperately to help her by looking over her shoulder while managing the traffic. The map is upside down. I found us. I hit a bump. I lost us. I found us again. Have to look up to see the traffic. Wife moved the map on me. Have to find the street sign. Woops, we passed the exit. Arrrgh!

My life with navi: We're driving down the road and looking for a store. I push a button and ask the navi to find the place. It finds it, calculates route and distance and pops up on the map. The navi tells me when my turn is coming and I'm there. The wife wakes up from her nap. Voila!

Maybe not worth $2000 - $3000, but... Can you see the picture?

BlackShadow

It is so hard to explain to a person that don't have navi how important or easy it makes your life behind the wheel. Us navi owners can talk til we're blue in the face how great the navi is but the non-navi person will never understand. This is something that the person have to use it in order to understand where navi owners are coming from.

Take me for example, I am a gizmo guy. I knew that I wanted a navi no matter what, even though I know most of the places that I go to. Since then the navi have helped me out countless times. I have used it a lot more than I ever thought I would. It is one of those things that once you have it, you can't go without it. That's why every vehicle that I buy from now on MUST have navi.

BTW, that map excuse is getting kinda old. If you can afford the TL, another $2K is not going to break your bank account.

NOX 3.2

I wated 2 months to get my first 1999 TL with NAVI,
the dealer was very nice and gave me a Free loaner for 2 months until my TL arrived!

then I traded it in for another TL w/NAVI (2000) - DVD based
now after 125.000 miles I traded it in for an 04,6MT, NAVI!

can't leave without it.

would you use a typewriter if you have a PC next to it ?
(only when the power goes off, period)

I'm a computer consultant, and every time I get lost trying to find a client, I loose $120/Hr - the NAVI pays for itself very soon, the rest is profit.

what can I say?
It helps me make a lot of money by billing more hours!

I'm pretty sure all pizza delivery guys, and Taxi drivers would use one, if they could afford it...

svtmike

Not everyone's life behind the wheel is the same.

My life behind the wheel without Navi: Go to work in the morning, go home at night. Go to stores in an area that I've lived for almost 30 years. Take kids to grandparents and great grandparents.

My life behind the wheel with Navi: Have $2k less and answer nag screen every time I start car. Go to work in the morning, go home at night. Go to stores in an area that I've lived for almost 30 years.

That's why I don't have Navi; I simply have no use for it. I like gadgets as much as the next guy, but I don't buy gadgets purely for the sake of having them.

Mike

moreace

Totally agree

For you it was probably not worth it and you get the most out of your car already

I am the opposite, I have the worst sense of direction, always get lsot and have no idea where I am going. Over 60% of my job is travel too so it would make no sense for me NOT to get it

All who you are

mitchdeerfield

I used to live in Philadelphia area, and Navi would have been a godsend. .. the roads are so crooked and disjointed there. Well worth the money. Here in Florida the streets are very straight and it is unusual to get lost here.

I do not like the Non-navi display that Acura cheaped out on. Will wait for 2005 to come out when they correct it. I also want an electonic compass on the non navi model . .like the other Acuras seem to have.

jdriver

I chose to not get the navi. Wasn't worth the 2k to me. I don't want a big glowing
square in the middle of the center console. I may be alone in thinking this, but I think it ruins the look of the car.

If it had been some sort of pop-up unit like in the RX-8 I probaby would have sprung for it.

jdriver

I don't think that's necessarily true. $2k wouldn't "break my bank" but i t was more than I wanted to spend. There are lots of people for whom the TL is at the upper end of their spending limits, and adding $2k more can easily be the straw that breaks the deal.

legendguy

I know there are pros and cons to Nav but you just have to check your local dealers inventory to see where the popular apeal lies. In the Libertyville lot about 16 non-Navs to 1 Nav in unsold vehicles.

jtow

Remember that the NAV isn't just Navigation. The system allows you to input your own address book with phone numbers for all your friends and family (and password protect it if you're so inclined), so if you're tired of the voice recognition you can access your PAB and hit send to call them. Also you have the ability to see what CD's are in your 6 disc player, touch screen to access them, all the CD functions as well. I definately use my navigation. I live in Texas so yeh, with 9000+ resturants in Houston alone, it's got it's uses.

ITL

I got the non-navi and just built my own (build a tiny desktop PC into the glovebox)

Now I've got NAVI, 12GB+ games w/ playstation controllers, 500+ albums (mp3s), video, wireless internet, and more...

MichiganRich

Nobody's mentioned the touch screen audio controls and the full XM info on the navi display. Just plain old cool. Anyone who knows cars is impressed by the TL even without it, but anyone who doesn't know cars (i.e., girls) is captivated by the big screen on the dash. The 'just get a map' excuse is retarded! I can see the real-time updating 'map' scroll under me as the miles roll without taking my hands off the wheel. Even little old small-town me has gotten a kick out of all the roads it opens up to you when you have no fear of "getting all-turned-around" or getting lost.

TLover

I don't regret not getting navi at all.

cM3go

oh you will