I am buying a HCH this week and the only real option seems to be nav. It doesn't seem to be worth a thousand to me and I've never had it in a car before, but can anyone comment on how useful it is and (if you didn't get it) do you wish you had it?

Also, I am in the Washington DC area and I have received several quotes below invoice. Are the HCHs just not selling b/c gas has come down? I am buying it regardless but am curious. I looked at the Camry Hybrid and they wont' budge much below the MSRP. I like the HCH better anyway, although I would prefer a larger back seat.

Mark

 

I just recently bought an HCHII with Navigation. I love it, but I am a technojunkie, so to me it was worth the $1000. You will use it, also the card reader is pretty cool. I also believe that it will help resale value, as more and more cars have navigation.
I know the last 2 cars I purchased, later I had wished that I had gat the navi option.
Hope this helps, good luck.

 

I will never buy a car without nav again! That thing is just wonderful. I used to hate driving in cities... now I'm relaxed. If you use the car for vacations, it's also wonderful... we found restaurants enroute as well as hotels (and their phone numbers) with ease.

I used to live in Maryland... and D.C. was one of those places I refused to drive in (my wife handles the city drives, I handle the long highway drives!). I hate places where you make four right turns and you DON'T end up back at the starting point. D.C. is like that... lots of strange navigation there. I can't count the number of times we accidentally ended up in VA!!

With Navi, I'd even be willing tackle driving in D.C!

 

Get the NAV. I never had one until recently. It looks great mounted in dashboard and serves more than just providing directions.

 

I have it and I love it, however there is a lot of things that it won't do, like play DVD's and bluetooth. I would recomend going to a stereo place and look at the aftermarket ones. I am sure that with installation the price would still remain lower than buying it from the dealer and you will be able to do a lot more... regardless of where you get your navi make sure to get it, it's definately a plus...

 

Bluetooth and NAV were high on my list when I purchased my HCH II. I decided to buy the non-nav HCH and put in a Pinoneer AVIC-Z1. NAV is great cuz you can be out for the night and the NAV will take you home the most efficient routes. I recently wen to a restaurant out of state (~200 miles) and used the NAV to guide us... worked great and arrived on time.

I got Blutooth, NAV, Sirius, iPod control, DVD (don't recommend DVD) and 6yr warrentee for just about the same price as Honda NAV unit. I installed it myself so I was able to save quite a bit.

If your not tight on a budget I would recommend it plus it will add good resale value if you ever decide to sell the car later down the road.

 

Where did you buy your nav. system and approx. for what cost?

 

I bought it at 6th Ave which IS Pioneer authorized dealer. You may have to call them for 'thier' pricing.

http://www.6ave.com/

http://avic411.com/forum

The new D3 is looking pretty sweet.

http://www.engadget.com/2007/01/08/p...tnav-pricetag/

Pioneer is the only mfg, that I'm aware of, which allows you mix Sirius and XM. Meaning you could have Sirus radio and XM NAV Traffic. Some thing which was on my list, but still on the fence.

 

[quote=Mark Jacoby;108088}I looked at the Camry Hybrid and they wont' budge much below the MSRP. Mark[/quote]


There are places in your neck of the woods that are selling the TCH well below MSRP.. You need to check out fitzmall.com. They have a dealership in Chambersburg PA that's selling a fully loaded (Nav, leather, moonroof etc) TCH for 900 hundred over invoice ($2100 below MSRP). They were as low as $300 over invoice. You need to search the inventory for that dealership. The dealership they have in Maryland is way more expensive.

Also go to carmax.com and search their new car inventory. They have a dealership in the Baltimore/DC area and they are selling their TCH fully loaded for $2200 below MSRP.

Both of these companies are no haggle...check it out.

 

Not to rain on the navi craze, but I must admit I don't like them. Nav systems do for navigation what spellcheckers do for writing - create bad drivers and bad writers. They seem like a crutch to me, allowing people to not have to learn to get around (or spell correctly). Sure, spellcheckers help people find mistakes, but they're not a substitute for understanding proper spelling and grammar--there's more to writing than correct spelling. Navi systems help you find your way around, but are not a replacement real navigation skills--there's more to navigating than knowing where you are.

Yeah I like electronics, and I love maps, but the combination of the two does not interest me. Plus, the people I know who use navi systems are constantly being misguided through town, taking the worst possible routes. Not to mention the distraction issue of watching a tv screen instead of your driving.

I suppose it would be useful in another city I don't know my way around in, but because I have an explorer's personality, I enjoy doing it with a plain old map. Call me old fashioned, but I like the old way better.

One point in favor of the navi for the HCH in particular is that I believe you have to get the navi option to get the mp3 memory interface, isn't that correct? Others who have it could confirm this... for some that's enough to justify it right there.

Good luck, and congrats for being willing to do the right thing, even if it won't save as much money as you might have hoped. Remember too that gas prices are fluid, they aren't likely to be this low for the duration of your HCH ownership.

Cheers.