I'm new to this forum and just thought I'd jump in with a question that I have. I'm looking seriously into getting the '04 TL but I'm on the fence regarding whether or not to include the navigation. I will need it from time to time but is it really worth it? Thanks.

 

its worth every penny

 

We have Nav in our new 04 Sienna. It is now a must have for me. It is not just a map. You can find gas stations, stores and retaurants in unfamiliar places. We use it all the time. The WOW factor is great. As a unexpected surprise the Sienna plays DVD movies on both the front and back displays when in park. The wide angle rear view display while in reverse is neat and help helpful. I would look to mod the TL and add a rear view cam.

It seems the entire dash of the 04 TL was designed both functionally and visually around the nav screen. I do not own a 04 TL yet however I understand Nav offers better integration of XM, Handsfreelink, and modifies air conditioning output based on the direction the car is traveling.

 

As long as I can afford it, I will always have a navigation system.

 

I have it in my 03 MDX, we ordered my wife's 04TL with Navi.

The Honda (Alpine) system is so much more than a mapping system. Acura is forecasting 25% of 04 TL's to have Navi's. With all of the integrated Navi features here and coming, I'll bet everything that calles itself "luxury" will be Navi equipped in the near future.

Go for it, you will be sorry if you don't!!

 

Unfortunately in Canada we must choose between NAVI and 6MT So 6MT it is.

 

I don't have nav now but wish I had put in our Odyssey and will get if I get the TL. Car I test drove had it and it was better than I would have expected: the voice prompts, the precise timing of instructions=I thought I was driving with someone who knew the way! Then later when I was dropping off the kids at friend's houses it was like..."OK, call Mary on my cell phone for directions to her house" ... I will get on next car.

 

definetly get a navigation system (if you can afford it)

I bought my 02' tl without one and i was kicking myself in the butt everyday after that. I even tried to return the car.

it will also make your TL look sleeker :-)

 

Navigation sounds great and looks cool, but I'm thinking if it's worth 2 grand?! Would it hold in resale value?

 

I've got a 2003 TL S w/Nav and I really like it. That said...I wouldn't base getting the Nav on the resale value. My Nav is only a year old and is out of date and does not have voice commands. I don't suspect it will be worth much when I get ready to sell it because they keep making major improvements almost every year. I'm looking at getting a 2004 TL very soon and I am not even considering buying the non-Nav version.

 

Being a gadget fanatic, I spent a lot of time trying to figure out how I could rationalize getting a navigational system. After all one can buy a lot of maps for $2K. If I counted the number of times I would probably use GPS over the time I'd have the car, I couldn't get it to add up to enough times to make a very compelling case for getting one, even though the right side of my brain kept screaming "Get it!"

According to Kelly Blue Book, if you sold a 2000 TL (no Nav) in Excellent condition with low mileage (30,000), the trade in value in my area would be $17,700. If it had a Navigation system the value would be $18,125. From $2000 to $425 in three years. Not very surprising. How much would a 3 year old PC bring in? But this doesn't help make the case any stronger.

Two things changed my mind. First of all, I had been planning on getting the new BMW 530i, but I changed my mind for several reasons and at nearly half the price the TL even with Navi seems like a steal in comparison. Secondly, my girlfriend of many years has a lot of wonderful qualities but map-reading skill is not one of them. Several times we've had heated discussions after she told me to go the wrong direction. Finally she gave me an ultimatum. She didn't care what car I bought but it had to have a Navigation system! I'm sure the additional $2K will more than pay for itself in peace, harmony, lower blood pressure, and increased driver life span.

-David

 

In addition to being relatively easy to use and incredibly handy at finding many points of interest (restaurants, banks, gas stations, police stations, etc.) the NAV equipped TL actually looks better than Non-NAV. Usually Navigation units tend to ruin the ergonomics of cars, the TL being one exception IMHO. The Non-NAV TL almost looks like something is missing to my eye.

 

definitely, get the nav system. Worth every penny. Not only do you get a nav system, but you also get voice recognition which controls your climate, stereo, nav etc. Also, larger screen controls for stereo, DVD A, and xm radio. In my opinion, well worth the 2k. And it looks great.

 

As has been said many times before...just like anything else in a car, do not buy it for resale. Buy it if you like the concept or like toys. Given that you said that you would only need it from time to time, it seems like you need to like toys to get $2K out of it.

I am getting it for sure. It makes the dash look more complete and I use my PocketPC NAV all the time and am looking forward to a bigger screen w/voice commands.

 

Get the navi. It is just too useful.

 

Yeah the navi is good. It can bring you to the new places you never explore, like you don't need to go to the same mall or resturant with you wife again and again, you can now just choose the city or area, then look for resturant type or shopping type, then the navi will lead you there. That's what we did once.

 

Last thing I'll say on this topic. Can you put a price tag on piece of mind. If you are ever lost in an unfamiliar area, do you really want to be forced to stop and ask for directions - Never being lost again, ever - Priceless.

 

Out of all the people that are recommending Navi how many of you live in or near large urban cities?

 

Good point. Probably not a big need for Nav if you live in a remote rural area with few roads or "points of interest" and don't travel much. However, the person who started this thread asking about the value of Nav lives in the NYC area which is not exactly rural.

(I live in the S.F. Bay Area.) - David

 

I'm in Los Angeles, and you guys started to convince me to get Nav!

 

Get the Navi - I swore that I would never get one, UNTIL this car came along, the non-navi unit is just too plain and not fitting of the character of this car.

also, the voice commands are great, no fumbling for knobs or buttons, this is what pushed me over the hump!

Even though it was 2k, I do not regret it one minute (except the length of time it takes to push the OK button, which is too long IMO)

Just get it, the integration is great, and if you know a phone number, just enter that, and it gets the driving directions, much simpler than entering the address!!!!!!!

 

Having driven up to Boston and back, with a stop in Manhattan, I can say that the navigation system is quite handy. I would add a few caveats, however. First, sometimes--just occasionally--the system makes a small error. Driving back down the New Jersey turnpike towards Washington, it told me to take "95 North" even though I clearly wanted 95 South. The exit includes both directions. If you're driving too fast and an exit comes up quickly, you may not have time to get over by the time the system alerts you. Some of the navigation system's decisions do not always make sense. Earlier in the trip it wanted me to get off of the New Jersey turnpike to take 95 early, even though that meant slowing down and cutting over, when NJT would have merged into 95 later on. Again, the system is very useful, but don't surrender your intuition and free will. Keep an open mind.

 

Thanks for all the feedback guys. You changed my mind because I was originally going to exclude the Navi, but as of this upcoming Thursday, I'll be the proud owner of my spankin' new '04 TL in Silver/Ebony with Navi.

 

I went thru the same questions on our TL. Turns out that it has saved my wife so many times from getting lost. Get it, you won't regret it.