E85 satnavs

[springerspan]

I am about to buy a e85 roadster or coupe. Still pondering. But roadster hasnt satnav.
I so font intend to fit the satnav myself. My technological knowhow very limited!
So .
(1) to retrofit a unit is expensive? Was indicated £2000-3000 last year. and even if fitted isnt the satnav very basic? Does it gp to pistcode specifics or be upgraded to such.
Or
(2) have snother satnav fitted which is both pleasing to look at, semi permanent feel to it? Many years sho i saw domeone suggest a bracket over the vents to hold the unit, or even over thd ashtray, or to right hand side of thd steering wheel. Trouble is i csnnog find thd posts. And there maybe s better solution to think sbout now.
I live in souh west london if anyone cam recommend good fitters.

 

[springerspan]

Sorry typos!

 

[HinesBeans]

Just use you're mobile phone for nav.

 

[Taz]

satnav is a nice feature, but its definately not worth fitting, compared to say a tomtom its rubbish

 

[jamie_z4]

I must be one of the few who prefer the e85 / e86s without the nav? It's 15 year old technology which isn't very integrate-able.

 

[ranski]

The dash looks bare and too big without the sat nav popup screen. But as Taz says, its not worth the hassle and cost of retrofitting

 

[HinesBeans]

I must be one of the few who prefer the e85 / e86s without the nav? It's 15 year old technology which isn't very integrate-able.

Take it or leave it for me. But I agree with Jamie, it does look dated. I don't need it as phones are more reliable these days and less stressful to use. But if someone is going to spend 2-3k to fit a nav .. It's definitely money wasted.

 

[NeilP]

I must be one of the few who prefer the e85 / e86s without the nav? It's 15 year old technology which isn't very integrate-able.

You're not on your own there. It was one of the few requirements when I was looking for a coupe that it didn't have nav.

Two and bit years into ownership and there's no regrets for not having it!

 

[buzyg]

The Nav is pretty useless. Certainly would not consider retro fitting it. If I was buying another E85/86 I would find one without Nav. :wink:

 

[srhutch]

The dash looks bare and too big without the sat nav popup screen. But as Taz says, its not worth the hassle and cost of retrofitting

This was the main reason I retrofitted in my last Z4.

Cost was around £600. Issue you will have now though is finding a loom. Other than that it's easy.

Other option is to buy the folding screen, gut it and install an android tablet.

 

[Taz]

Other option is to buy the folding screen, gut it and install an android tablet.

if i was going to attempt anything this would be the way to go

 

[jamie_z4]

It looks like a proper afterthought imo anyway! It's like oh s**t, we haven't a nav option, we'll fit this plasticy looking thing that pops up, not like e90s where it's sculpted into the dash

 

[Taz]

It looks like a proper afterthought imo anyway! It's like oh s**t, we haven't a nav option, we'll fit this plasticy looking thing that pops up, not like e90s where it's sculpted into the dash

can't disagree

 

[bluestreak56]

Its nice to have the screen for the telephone, computer, radio and the sat nav isnt that bad, its better to have it than not ...

 

[srhutch]

It looks like a proper afterthought imo anyway! It's like oh s**t, we haven't a nav option, we'll fit this plasticy looking thing that pops up, not like e90s where it's sculpted into the dash

Looks better than the current 1 and 3 series where it looks like they have just mounted a tablet on the dash though.

 

[jamesbond]

All my E85 zeds had sat nav .... and they never let us down on journeys and always got us to our designation safely
You also get the phone details .. trip computer, radio and CD info etc on the screen .. I really liked it ..

 

[springerspan]

Thanks guys. Lots of food for thought. As regards the folding screen, gutting it, and putting an android ap in, does anyone know who would do that in the london area? Its also finding an old folding unit that would be a bon trivial challenge. Seems the majority consensus is to go with a phone/tomtom and place on a bracket somewhere.

 

[jamie_z4]

thats true, most new stuff (Merc's are the worst!) look like that sadly

 

[domsz4]

All my E85 zeds had sat nav .... and they never let us down on journeys and always got us to our designation safely
You also get the phone details .. trip computer, radio and CD info etc on the screen .. I really liked it ..

for the screen its great but my nav is ALWAYS letting me down. basically it senses when i really need to use it and doesn't read the disc. ...

ok so im being harsh. its a well known issue with that version of the nav and is easy enough to fix just getting the unit out is really tricky. for me if i need to use it i have to wait for the unit to warm up a bit and then put the disc in.

i wouldn't ignore a car that didn't have it and visa versa. its not something i would retrofit. its a bit clunky and old looking the maps are expensive to get a new disc. it does do post code but not the whole thing.

 

[ZedFourM]

If you haven't already bought a car, and you really, really must have the built-in satnav, then I think you would be mad to buy a car without satnav and trying to retrofit it. You'll spend a lot of money and effort without adding any value to the car (and may even devalue it - I, for one, would be very reluctant to buy a car which had a complex electronic unit like a satnav added to it, unless it could be shown that the work had all been performed to main dealer standard).

You would be far better off looking for a car which already has satnav fitted from the factory, and it probably won't cost you any more than a non-satnav car.

As others have said, the electronics in cars look out-of-date much more quickly than the cars themselves, as electronic technology moves much more quickly than automotive technology. The satnavs from the E85/E86 era look very dated and clunky (that little rotary control for selecting each character in the address) compared with more modern systems. BMW have stopped providing any software updates for it (the most recent, V32, was released in June 2008), and a set of updated maps will cost you more than a top-of-the-range TomTom or Garmin PND with a lifetime map subscription. There have also been a number of issues reported with the satnav screen sticking, and the only repair is an expensive one.