Quote:
Originally Posted by ExitStageLeft
but was told the price was $450. HOLY CRAP!!
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The price is so high because dealer must change the "labor fees" for installing the map for you. According to BMW you are not supposed to do map install by yourself (though you most definitely can do that). Pretty idiotic strategy, considering the fact that, for example, on all current Mercedes models with navigation you can simply order map update disk directly from NAVTEQ (who provides map database for Mercedes) and install it yourself without affecting your car's warranty in any negative way.
Also, yes, TeleAtlas (the company supplying BMW with map database) sux badly for USA coverage - I have latest (2012) map data in all our current BMW cars with CIC harddrive-based navigation and it still, for example, might tell you (using voice guidance) to "turn right" on some random intersection even though the directions on the iDrive's display will actually show that you must continue driving straight
Same goes for absolutely random and very often lagging voice instructions to "keep left" or "keep right". All in all, the $150 portable Garmin unit with free lifetime map updates (at least 4 of such updates released every year by Garmin and you can do updates by yourself, without paying Garmin the "labor fees") is 100x better than the current harddrive-based iDrive navigation system. BMW doesn't know how to implement electronic devices/components in a user-friendly and inexpensive way.