Im goin to be ordering a 2008 335i and i was wondering for the 1900 bucks ill be paying is it worthe it to get the navigation or would i be better off getting a portable one? One reason i like the bmw nav is it makes the dash look a lot better and not so plain.

If you think it looks better and you want it, get it. For me I opted not to get it because I know where I live and how to get where I'm going. I had nav on my previous 740 and it really never came up. I programmed my address so that I could have the car tell me how to get home from the dealer and said "this is really cool while driving home". For the next two weeks, my friends played with it and told me it was cool. For the next three years I never touched it again. Just my experience. The one thing that i-drive/nav adds that I think is a huge plus is some minor voice command/ bluetooth functionality. On my car (non-i-drive), you have to teach it the voice command names for the phone book of your cell phone. With i-drive, the car uses the existing voice commands of your phone. This sounds like a small thing, but to me, it is a huge benefit.

I bought the installed unit in my Lexus and hardly ever used it. Then I bought the Garmin Nuvi 360 for my Z and I couldn't believe how great this unit is. Voice prompts, Bluetooth, MP3 (which I don't use) and portability.
I ordered another windshield mounting kit from Garmin and will use it in my 335XI.:alright

I personally don't think it is worth the extra money. I bought my wife a portable Garmin Nuvi 660 which works great. The portable allows you the flexibility of moving it from car to car. If you fly somewhere, you can take it with you. You have more options with a portable unit compared to an installed unit.

But on the other hand. If I were going to spend 40/45K on a new Bimmer, then the $1900 bucks wouldn't be an issue for me.

My personal preference is to buy an independant unit. That way, no matter which car I take, I can take it with me. $1900 for a Nav unit is pricey, imo. Oth, if you like the way the dash looks, the price doesn't bother you, and you don't care about a stand-alone GPS or Nav unit, then go for it.

Gary

My personal preference is to buy an independant unit. That way, no matter which car I take, I can take it with me. $1900 for a Nav unit is pricey, imo. Oth, if you like the way the dash looks, the price doesn't bother you, and you don't care about a stand-alone GPS or Nav unit, then go for it.

Gary

+1

My personal preference is to buy an independant unit. That way, no matter which car I take, I can take it with me. $1900 for a Nav unit is pricey, imo. Oth, if you like the way the dash looks, the price doesn't bother you, and you don't care about a stand-alone GPS or Nav unit, then go for it.

Gary
Well you do get iDrive and the Nav for that price, so it is not all the price of the Nav option, but I agree it is too steep and I believe I would still have skipped it had it been offered on my car. Heck I am still too hesitatnt to shell out 500$ for portable a nav unit since I barely have a need for one.
That being said, if I iDrive without Nav was offered for say 800$ or so, I may opt for it. IMO iDrive should be standard on all cars where people like it or not. In fact BMW sent me a survey a while ago asking that exact question and I gave the exact answer. I like new tech, but not necessarily willing to pay extra for it unless I can make use of it, and iDrive seems to be useful for many functions other the Nav.

I personally don't think it is worth the extra money. I bought my wife a portable Garmin Nuvi 660 which works great. The portable allows you the flexibility of moving it from car to car. If you fly somewhere, you can take it with you. You have more options with a portable unit compared to an installed unit.

But on the other hand. If I were going to spend 40/45K on a new Bimmer, then the $1900 bucks wouldn't be an issue for me.
Unless you have other plans for that 1900 ;).

I have the nav and I like it. Living in So. Cal. I like the traffic update it gives me although there is no way of avoiding traffic, but it gives me the ability to plan my day better.

"Unless you have other plans for that 1900 ;). "

Nope, no plans for that 1900 bucks. In the whole grand scheme of things, its no biggie.

"Unless you have other plans for that 1900 ;). "

Nope, no plans for that 1900 bucks. In the whole grand scheme of things, its no biggie.
It's nice to be you :stickoutt. I can never find enough money to fund all my hobbies and my retirement account :mad (yeah and lets not forget the family too, having a wife and kids is like having a leaky bucket :D).

Well you made the ultimate sacrafice, you had kids. LOL

But in all seriousness. If I bought a new Bimmer, I'd probably finance it for 3 years. Adding the $1900 for the nav would increase my monthly payment by maybe 60 bucks a month. If I can't afford that then I shouldn't be spending 45K on a new car.

Worse comes to worse, I'll just ask the wife to work an extra 2 hours a month to pay for my nav. LOL

She is the bread winner now anyway. I'm 46 and retired...........yippee.