can the BMW nav system be retrofitted to a car that didn't come with one?

specifically a 2001 740i??

any help would be appreciated - thanks.

 

http://e46.mit.edu/BMW_OEM_Widescreen_NAV_Retrofit.htm

 

thanks ray.

holy crap!!!!

i may have to live without nav if i get this 740.....i can't even change a light bulb!!!!

the car in question is a 2001 740i, carbon black on black with grey piping with 100,000km.

it has S, IAP, RS, A, INDIV - BUT NO NAV!

i can get it for $33K (CN) - certified and emissioned at the BMW dealer of my choice.

 

I think those portable NAV systems are the way to go rather than mess around with installing one. Look at Best Buys or some such store. Cheap and portable.

 

As you can see from Steve's link it's a HUGE ordeal. I personally would never retrofit an OEM nav system into a Bimmer that didn't come with it.

That said there is a GREAT system out there that works great with BMWs and is a factory option in Europe.



http://www.hktrafficpro.com

I recently got one through Circuit City who was discontinuing carrying the item and installed it into a MZ3 Coupe. I had the HK harness joined to a BMW harness by Ron Styger (an OEM harness is available for more $$$) and it works flawlessly. Superquick route calculations, nicely integrated, comes in a variety of colors to match your interior lighting, all major languages in male and female, and AUX support for an MP3 player.

I can't say enough good things about this unit, you don't have the big color screen but I haven't found that to be a problem. It performs much much better than the 16x9 OEM NAV unit I had in my e46 M3.

Heck, the HK unit even makes the OEM speaker system sound much better!

 

loki,

where does it fit??

 

My bad,

It looks like the OEM unit in non-NAV vehicles is wider than a normal headunit like the HK TrafficPro. I'm not sure if the height is the same in which case a stereo installer might be able to fashion a mount that will be able to make the HK unit look integrated by fabricating something to fill in the sides.

For $300 the TrafficPro is awesome if you can find a way to install it!

 

loki,

the dash of the car (2001 740i) i'm looking to buy doesn't look like that at all!!!!!!

it has the audiophile option (if that helps)

 

I would stay away from the BMW system. It uses CD's that are very expensive. I just bought a 2002 - 530 and stayed away from nav for that reason. Search E39 for the 5 series and check navigation for more info.

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by FSures
I would stay away from the BMW system. It uses CD's that are very expensive. I just bought a 2002 - 530 and