are navigation systems worth it?
 

car is for the wife and i, but she will drive it more.

it's a honda accord and the navigation is 2,000 more which is quite a bit of money for us.

it's controlable by speech and with it you can control the radio and climate control by speech. you can tell it "home" and it guides you home. it also has audio zagat reviews of nearby restaurants and you can tell it to search for the nearest gas station or atm.

does anyone have one and is it worth it?

I have one in my Volvo, and will probably never buy another new car without one. I absolutely love it.

~For Me~ it was worth it!

Mine does not have any fancy zagat survey's or voice activation capabilities built in, and was actually closer to $2500. I don't wish I had went without.

In essense it's just a high fallutin' map...you have to decide if this technology is worth the 2 grand to you?

-bear

They rock. You might consider some of the cheaper aftermarket units. They won't be nearly as nice but:

- 1/4 the price.
- Move between cars.
- On an Accord you won't recoup the $2k at resale time, and can't take it with you.
- You don't have to decide now.

Downside is it might be tough to plunge if you aren't pushed into the decision.

I just bought a new car last week with built-in Navigation -- my first experience with a Nav system.

There is no denying the "cool" factor of having it. My car doesn't have voice controlled climate/radio/nav, but I test drove a car that did, and it was pretty nifty to be able to change the radio by calling out the station, or changing the fan speed, etc. Another factor in favor of getting the system is the residual value of the car is a bit higher with the system, if this is a concern to you.

I like having the system. As j8ear mentioned, its simply a real-time, interactive map system. I suppose if you take the same route to work everyday (hehe), rarely leave the vicinity of your house, aren't a real estate agent, or prefer holding a real map in your hands, maybe it's not for you. If you take the occasional (or more) road trip and need the guidance of a map, along with the ability to map out points of interest (gas, atm, food, etc) I would say it is definitely worth having.

Let's face it: its not an essential driving tool. Whether it is worth spending the extra $2k is in the eye (voice?) of the beholder.

You'll probably get by with or without it. ;)

If navigation systems are anything like mapquest......no. Gives me the wrong directions every time.