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Alternatives to the Mazda 3 OEM navigation system

46686 Views 28 Replies 12 Participants Last post by  mymx6
7
You want navigation in your car and don't mind paying an ear and an eyeball for the stock navigation system (in reality, $2000+), be my guest and ignore this thread! Also, enjoy your stick figured roads!



Benefits:
1) It's already in the car when you bought it, just sign and drive... hehe.
2) The wonderful control stick next to the shifter (I wish I had that :( )
3) If something goes wrong, take it to the dealer and bitch that you sold your ear and need to wear an eyepatch for this and want it fixed!

Bene-nots:
1) Expensive as I already eluded to
2) Some people say it's subpar to Garmins, but that's all opinion.
3) Depending on when you bought the car, an update is probably available these days, and you can't just download it.

So, with the demand high in aftermarket solutions for navigation systems, a lot of us are willing to hold off on the stock navigation (prices usually being the big factor), and wait for another solution that's cheaper. Well, here are some solutions:

OEM-knockoff Navigation popup screen (Motorized) w/ Garmin Unit in Glovebox - Cost: apprx $1000





Links here: OEM Screen, Garmin Unit


Japanparts.com Navigation Mount/Tray (Manual Operation) & Coolnavi 700 (or similar) - Cost: apprx $700





Links here:JapanParts OEM Nav Manual Mount, Coolnavi 700

Double-din navigation solutions with radio and multimedia extras - Cost: approx $1100



Single-din motorized pop out Screen with Navigation features - Cost: varies, but usually $700-1500.

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21 - 29 of 29 Posts
How much is the OEM-knockoff Navigation popup screen (Motorized) w/ Garmin Unit in Glovebox .
Can I get prices just for the Screen and Garmin separately.
welcome to our forums anthony! have a nice stay and introduce yourself in the new members board :beerchug:
Is it true that the performance of the stock nav system is slower than a Garmin or Magellan unit? I've read so many reviews about this sort of thing and most people say you are better off buying separately one of the Garmin or Magellan units and doing it that way. Someone told me most stock Nav's today aren't as efficient and accurate and you have to buy high end cars to get good Nav's. That's all hear say I know, so don't blame me for bad info, I'm just going by what I've read, this could be wrong.
i :wub: my tomtom
I find this to be true Mello. I can't speak for the stock Mazda navi but my stock Infiniti navi took way longer to load and it lacked a lot of features that far less expensive units >$500 offered like bluetooth etc.

I'm going to do a review on my Garmin Nuvi 760 soon so stay tuned!
DeuxEx3 said:
I find this to be true Mello. I can't speak for the stock Mazda navi but my stock Infiniti navi took way longer to load and it lacked a lot of features that far less expensive units >$500 offered like bluetooth etc.

I'm going to do a review on my Garmin Nuvi 760 soon so stay tuned!
Josh's Garmin is amazing!
awesome im lookin to upgrade
I hate revive this since it is over a year old but didnt want to start a new post. For the center retractable navigation piece (japanparts.com) I had a few questions:

Does the color match the rest of the dash?

Is there a swivel inside that allows you to swing the navigation system or do you have to connect it every time?

What did everyone do for power splice into the fuse box or just run a line down to plug into the cig. lighter?

And how much is the CoolNavi 700, I e-mail them but never got a response back?

Sorry if these questions seem dumb but still new.
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