akewt Posted July 4, 2012 Share Posted July 4, 2012 Hello all I'm wanting to buy a 350z pretty soon and I have a dilemma. Do I buy a 350Z with the factory fitted sat nav already installed or go for one without (widening buying potential) and fit an after market job. If it would be after market I would want it to be in the same place at the top of the console like the factory fitted one. Any advice appreciated!! Kev Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akewt Posted July 4, 2012 Author Share Posted July 4, 2012 Just answered my own question by phoning Nissan Wilsons in Epsom. Can't get a sat nav at the top without changing the whole dash. I will be buying a 350z with it already installed! Bonjour Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M13KYF Posted July 4, 2012 Share Posted July 4, 2012 the Nissan one is not the greatest. Some nice custom been made by members on here Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rabbitstew Posted July 4, 2012 Share Posted July 4, 2012 Having just part ex`d my 350z which had the optional extra £1400 factory sat nav fitted, I got exactly ZERO more for the car. So, that means that 2nd hand it makes no difference to the cars value at all, so ones with the system fitted should cost you the same. On the other hand, there werent many people who when buying a new zed figured paying that much for a sat nav represented better value than an £80 tomtom, so there are loads more non sat nav cars out there. Functionality and usability wise I found the factory sat nav to be really good. Sure, you cant enter postcodes which is the biggest bug bear. But, the screen is nice and big, it integrates with the radio perfectly fine, the maps (i had the 2011 maps in mine) were more accurate than my tomtom and I never once had a problem where the system hadnt heard of the address I wanted. But, I certainly wouldnt turn down a nice 350z which didnt have the factory sat nav so for me personally it would not be a deal breaker. These days there are a million & one options out there. Ive just bought a new bmw 123d m sport and opted NOT to go for the sat nav. I use a free app on my galaxy s2 called "Waze" which is an awesome sat nav system. And its free. Alternatively you can get garmin & other systems which will fit nicely into the 350z`s cubby hole and look very oem. Im currently considering a 7" android tablet for my beemer now on which to run Waze. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martinmac Posted July 4, 2012 Share Posted July 4, 2012 I had a Nissan Sat Nav retro fitted. Didnt think much of it though and its gone now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gball1973 Posted July 4, 2012 Share Posted July 4, 2012 the Nissan one is not the greatest. Some nice custom been made by members on here +1 Have a look round the member trader threads, there's been a few over the years Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akewt Posted July 4, 2012 Author Share Posted July 4, 2012 Those replies are really helpful especially the one about being a deal breaker. thanks rabbitstew. There is a perfect 350z on pistonheads in surrey, where I am, but without sat nav. Was thinking I wouldn't take it cos of the lack of sat nav but now reconsidering. An android phone with sat nav is prob way easier and better all round. Not sure I like the fact theres no support for postcodes?! Hmmm. feel good knowing I can go for a Z without. opens it up rather more. The main thing for me is how snazzy the screen looks up top like that! Cheers guys. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glrnet Posted July 4, 2012 Share Posted July 4, 2012 I managed to get a Garmin into the the cubby hole, power supply up through the back and the lid closes perfectly, I'll take a couple of pics tomorrow if you like and post them up Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John tarantula Posted July 4, 2012 Share Posted July 4, 2012 Thinking along these lines as well so pics would be great Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smudgedon Posted July 4, 2012 Share Posted July 4, 2012 Are you local to epsom akewt? I'm just over in sutton Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisB Posted July 4, 2012 Share Posted July 4, 2012 I have the same sort of thing - a garmin nuvii 1490T fits perfectly. I mounted mine on a sticky mount (admittedly I imported this $5 part from the states), attached to the cubby back wall on top of 2 circular dash mounts to get the forward dimension fit. I drilled a hole in the cubby to lay the usb power lead through it and laid it behind the stereo and down and along the transmission tunnel (along with the traffic antenna). I then installed a second hidden cigarette lighter socket which draws power from the rear accessories socket (I have a jdm). This means all cables are preserved, and can be deinstalled/re-used if needed. Cubby works fine, garmin comes on and charges with the car running (and automatically goes off at the end of a journey), and I can rotate the nuvii out for updates via usb (or removal for use out of the car). I did ponder a fixed/finished facia in front of the nuvii, but decided I like being able to easily remove it more. Apart from the nuvii, install cost came to about £10. If it helps, getting the dash off is dead easy, as is the gear change finisher and transmission tunnel plastics - or at least moved enough to thread or lay cables. I've been fiddling with my stereo in order to think about increasing the bass (dedicated sub channel ) recently so have become intimate with my car's plastics Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spursmaddave Posted July 5, 2012 Share Posted July 5, 2012 Any 7" screen satnav fits behind the oem satnav cubby but the cubby is £100 unless you find one 2nd hand Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
choptop Posted July 5, 2012 Share Posted July 5, 2012 Aftermarket is the way to go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akewt Posted July 5, 2012 Author Share Posted July 5, 2012 loving the setup spursmaddave. Seems after market could be the way to go then. I like the look of the 7" screen in the cubby space. the attached image is an example currently on PH. looks pretty neat and tidy. with the satnav unit do people get them hooked into and other electrics in the car or does it just need power? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smudgedon Posted July 5, 2012 Share Posted July 5, 2012 Any 7" screen satnav fits behind the oem satnav cubby but the cubby is £100 unless you find one 2nd hand That looks awesome. Do you know the part number Dave? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akewt Posted July 19, 2012 Author Share Posted July 19, 2012 I'm kinda resurrecting this because i'm still not convinced. My issue is this; I will be taking the car abroad on some road trips so need to use the SatNav in Europe (essential) and possibly Canada. All these tablets and the pioneer AppRadio will need the phone service providers GPS connection won't they? That will then be extortionate abroad surely. I really need standalone satnav NOT through the phones service provider. Is this possible with any of the aftermarket solutions without getting a dedicated SatNav worth a bloody fortune!? Cheers for any help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
indy88 Posted July 26, 2012 Share Posted July 26, 2012 I'm kinda resurrecting this because i'm still not convinced. My issue is this; I will be taking the car abroad on some road trips so need to use the SatNav in Europe (essential) and possibly Canada. All these tablets and the pioneer AppRadio will need the phone service providers GPS connection won't they? That will then be extortionate abroad surely. I really need standalone satnav NOT through the phones service provider. Is this possible with any of the aftermarket solutions without getting a dedicated SatNav worth a bloody fortune!? Cheers for any help. I think your understanding of satnavs is rather muddled. Basically if your phone/tablet etc has gps built in and has an app which has the maps for the region your in all installed on your device then you will use NO mobile network connection and therefore will not be charged. This is how standalone GPS units also work. Some sat nav apps however dont have offline maps installed (to save space etc) but then they use 3g/internet connection to download the maps on the fly for the particular region you are in. Example: on my iphone 4 I have tomtom uk installed - it has offline maps installed (around 1.3gb i think) when it runs, nothing on the phone network side is used. When I was in the states I also got tomtom USA (alot bigger around 3/4gb from memory), again data roaming etc was all turned off and I used it no problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tez162003 Posted July 26, 2012 Share Posted July 26, 2012 Having just part ex`d my 350z which had the optional extra £1400 factory sat nav fitted, I got exactly ZERO more for the car. So, that means that 2nd hand it makes no difference to the cars value at all, so ones with the system fitted should cost you the same. On the other hand, there werent many people who when buying a new zed figured paying that much for a sat nav represented better value than an £80 tomtom, so there are loads more non sat nav cars out there. Functionality and usability wise I found the factory sat nav to be really good. Sure, you cant enter postcodes which is the biggest bug bear. But, the screen is nice and big, it integrates with the radio perfectly fine, the maps (i had the 2011 maps in mine) were more accurate than my tomtom and I never once had a problem where the system hadnt heard of the address I wanted. But, I certainly wouldnt turn down a nice 350z which didnt have the factory sat nav so for me personally it would not be a deal breaker. These days there are a million & one options out there. Ive just bought a new bmw 123d m sport and opted NOT to go for the sat nav. I use a free app on my galaxy s2 called "Waze" which is an awesome sat nav system. And its free. Alternatively you can get garmin & other systems which will fit nicely into the 350z`s cubby hole and look very oem. Im currently considering a 7" android tablet for my beemer now on which to run Waze. How did you get 2011 maps on yours? I thought you were stuck with the year you got :o Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akewt Posted July 26, 2012 Author Share Posted July 26, 2012 I think your understanding of satnavs is rather muddled. Basically if your phone/tablet etc has gps built in and has an app which has the maps for the region your in all installed on your device then you will use NO mobile network connection and therefore will not be charged. This is how standalone GPS units also work. Some sat nav apps however dont have offline maps installed (to save space etc) but then they use 3g/internet connection to download the maps on the fly for the particular region you are in. Example: on my iphone 4 I have tomtom uk installed - it has offline maps installed (around 1.3gb i think) when it runs, nothing on the phone network side is used. When I was in the states I also got tomtom USA (alot bigger around 3/4gb from memory), again data roaming etc was all turned off and I used it no problem. That clears it right up for me thanks. Looks like the AppRadio with NavFree could be a good option for me. Cheers indy88 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rabbitstew Posted July 26, 2012 Share Posted July 26, 2012 How did you get 2011 maps on yours? I thought you were stuck with the year you got :o Easy - the maps are stored on a dual layer dvd in the dvd player behind the drivers seat - or at least they were on my 2007 car. Its just a case of buying (or obtaining) a newer map disc. The one which came in my 2007 car was dated 2006, so I just got the latest one I could (Dec 2011 if i remember correct) and used that instead. That clears it right up for me thanks. Looks like the AppRadio with NavFree could be a good option for me. Cheers indy88 Even google maps on tablets / phones has an option now to download maps and store locally, although I havent tried it yet so im not sure how much it stores. There are loads of other satnav apps which do the same. Or, why not just get a tomtom? Ive a tomtom one which I used to use and you can downlaod european maps etc... all stored on the memory card in the device so you never use a 3g connection. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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