Car stereo and gps

[supton]

Still toying with a new stereo for the new-to-me car. Mostly to gain Bluetooth for the phone, but aux&USB would be nice. CD and mp3 on CD would be nice too. Maybe $100 worth to me to gain all that; best I can tell, I can get around that cost with a decent quality Pioneer. [I looked into XO Vision and Dual, and Boss, but I suspect it's just worth the extra few dollars. Pioneer or similar.]

Question: if I add $100 to this cost, can I get one with navigation? Or would the quality of the unit, and the actual performance, be sub-par compared to a separate Garmin on the windshield?

I have Nuvi 55 (? something like that) which I like in my truck, and can swap between vehicles. But like everything else, if I can "have it it all" ...

Side note: I have a cheapo smartphone with Tracfone, I buy the cheapest / lowest amount per month required for it. I almost never have data turned on, and as such, am not interested in any smartphone app. A few months of data would pay for a GPS; several months would pay for a really quality one. I also don't have data available for several miles around where I live. So not an option! Not interested!

 

[UG_Passat]

in your situation, get an aftermarket stand-alone GPS that has lifetime map upgrades.

Navigation built into the head unit, typically in order to update your maps, you need to pay around $100 (unless you do something illegal).

Form factor for the head unit is important. Are you looking for a single-din or double-din unit?

 

[supton]

I have a double DIN slot in the dash, so size shouldn't be an issue. Single DIN with a cubbyhole for storage might be nice, but then again, I'm not getting any younger--a larger LCD to read off song titles may be nice.

$100 to upgrade maps? Ouch.

 

[UG_Passat]

Originally Posted By: supton
I have a double DIN slot in the dash, so size shouldn't be an issue. Single DIN with a cubbyhole for storage might be nice, but then again, I'm not getting any younger--a larger LCD to read off song titles may be nice.

$100 to upgrade maps? Ouch.


If you have a garmin that doesn't have lifetime map updates, updated maps are around $80 each time.

The lifetime maps don't cost too much.
https://buy.garmin.com/en-US/US/on-the-r...edProducts-desc

Kenwood uses Garmin for its navigation
http://www.kenwood.com/usa/car/navigation_multimedia/dnx573s/features.html

You would have to see if it's possible to buy the lifetime maps feature from Garmin (they have offered that in the past on their older portable units).

 

[Lasthope05]

I see no point in buying a standalone GPS if you have a smart phone. Especially since there are GPS apps that can be use offline with no data....

 

[FordBroncoVWJeta]

TomTom is a pretty good GPS. I know certain models have lifetime maps. TomTom and Garmin is like the old Chevy Vs Ford debate. They are both really good.

 

[Hokiefyd]

If I were doing something like this, I would get a unit that does Apple Car Play or Android Auto or both (depending on your phone of choice). That way, you can connect your phone to the unit and actually see your phone's map on the screen. You don't need any subscriptions or any updates to any map data, and you have 100% free live traffic info. This is a big plus to me, as I use either Google Maps or Waze for my navigating in the DC area when I need to go over the mountain...

 

[Quattro Pete]

Originally Posted By: Lasthope05
Especially since there are GPS apps that can be use offline with no data....

Yup. Even with Google maps, you can download maps in advance when you're at home on WiFi, so you're not using up your mobile data.

 

[supton]

Originally Posted By: Quattro Pete
Originally Posted By: Lasthope05
Especially since there are GPS apps that can be use offline with no data....

Yup. Even with Google maps, you can download maps in advance when you're at home on WiFi, so you're not using up your mobile data.


I guess I could get a new phone... this one is 2 or 3 years old, I forget when I got it. I still get 3-4 days of battery on it; I presume there are better models today, right?

 

[4wd]

I added the Navigation to my Pioneer DD aftermarket ... Like it just fine ...
It has an SD slot where you can get updated maps later on for $69 or so ...
(Added back up camera too) ...

 

[supton]

Originally Posted By: UG_Passat
Originally Posted By: supton
I have a double DIN slot in the dash, so size shouldn't be an issue. Single DIN with a cubbyhole for storage might be nice, but then again, I'm not getting any younger--a larger LCD to read off song titles may be nice.

$100 to upgrade maps? Ouch.


If you have a garmin that doesn't have lifetime map updates, updated maps are around $80 each time.

The lifetime maps don't cost too much.
https://buy.garmin.com/en-US/US/on-the-r...edProducts-desc

Kenwood uses Garmin for its navigation
http://www.kenwood.com/usa/car/navigation_multimedia/dnx573s/features.html

You would have to see if it's possible to buy the lifetime maps feature from Garmin (they have offered that in the past on their older portable units).


I think we have lifetime updates on the models we currently have. So far we just replace the GPS every few years it seems, rather than update maps; but this last batch seem pretty good so I'm guessing we'll update maps, since I'm not sure what "latest and greatest" features would sway us into new ones. Our haunts are pretty tame, so updating maps is not critical to us--I want a gps for the random CL treasure find.

 

[Quattro Pete]

Originally Posted By: supton
I guess I could get a new phone... this one is 2 or 3 years old, I forget when I got it. I still get 3-4 days of battery on it;

A lot of new smartphones have larger screens and battery doesn't necessarily last as long. Also, keep in mind the battery will drain fairly quickly when you're running a Nav app on it and have the screen on constantly. You'd want to invest in a car mount and a charger. Maybe you already have these...

 

[Johnny2Bad]

The trouble with using the maps / GPS on a phone is using your phone while driving ... it's not normally restricted to actually making a call or texting ... is at best a traffic ticket and at worst some serious sanctions.

Using a standalone GPS unit doesn't carry that hazard.

 

[tomcat27]

I have used the navigation on my LG Optimus phone (it looks like yours) quite successfully.
you can (apparently) get a double din head unit with navigation for as low as $150. Obviously you cannot expect support for it. Name brand units are much more. that being said, I frequently use my phone for navigation even though my car has a factory unit. (unless someone can tell me how to hack the "nanny" features - which prevent even a passenger from using it while moving)

 

[Lolvoguy]

Originally Posted By: Lasthope05
I see no point in buying a standalone GPS if you have a smart phone. Especially since there are GPS apps that can be use offline with no data....


I have an old Garmin that works perfectly. I download the torrent and get the new maps for free.

The smartphone GPS really helped us in Europe when travelling. Was great to not have data on, yet be able to use my phone as a GPS for free! (only downside was that it drained the battery REALLY FAST!)

 

[supton]

Originally Posted By: Quattro Pete
Originally Posted By: supton
I guess I could get a new phone... this one is 2 or 3 years old, I forget when I got it. I still get 3-4 days of battery on it;

A lot of new smartphones have larger screens and battery doesn't necessarily last as long. Also, keep in mind the battery will drain fairly quickly when you're running a Nav app on it and have the screen on constantly. You'd want to invest in a car mount and a charger. Maybe you already have these...



My comment was tongue in cheek. While I do have some USB charging cables and chargers for the cars, I don't use them very often. While I'd love to get a nice, fancy smartphone--I know it's just money wasted. For me, I should say. Others I know live (and die?) by their phones, me, not so much. It'd be a toy that I wouldn't care much for in the end, as I'm finding my iPad mini to be a bit too small of late--great for portability, but a bit small at times. I think my phone is about right sized for phone, text and emails (while on vacation).

*

I just realized, when I had typed in "car stereo nav" on Amazon it returned a bunch of units that don't actually have nav in them. So I mistook some of the lower cost results as possibilities. Now that I filter through some of the results it appears to be not even close to what I'd be willing to spend.

 

[4wd]

Mine was "upgradable" to GPS - so I added later when we did the camera - that almost cut the outlay in halves ...

 

[THafeez]

I was stuck in an area with no data and google maps had the wrong address of where I wanted to go. No offline maps on my phone. No rerouting. Probably drove around an extra 45 mins before I remembered that I had a tomtom in the trunk. Lifetime maps and extremely reliable. Got me out quick. Made it worth the cost. Also it has gps guided speed. Found out that the analog speedo in my car was off by 5mph at any speed. Plus it comes with one free speed camera update. While apps like waze have that, the main issue with your area is that there is very little data and you dont want data anyway. So I guess find an aftermarket double din unit that has unlimited maps and maybe speed cameras as a bonus. Might be pricey, but if you intend to keep the car for a while, worth the investment and savings in getting a data plan or paying separately for map updates.

 

[Kawiguy454]

If you value a good sounding stereo having extra features can deter the manufacturer from using quality sound components just to add the feature.

I have 5 garmins for cars, truck and motorcycle/atv and use and a Virb camera for video capture across the board. they cant be beat for accuracy and durability and lifetime maps is a no brainer value. And anyone that has driven cross contry knows that cellphone based GPS is very spotty and I have seen google maps be off on destination address location by many miles.

I got an audiophile grade pioneer DEH-80PRS with Bluetooth and it sounds fantastic with my music player and 24/196 flac files.

 

[Vikas]

When I was researching, I could not find a good enough stereo that could have a GPS for an extra $100 i.e. the premium for GPS on a good stereo is lot higher than $100.

Forget Carplay or Android Auto at this point. They were way too expensive.