BB11

I think I will be special ordering a 2016. Never really liked built in Navigation units, don't really like any and only use when I have to. I will get a luxury pkg and all safety items, lane departure, pre collision. No need for an upgraded stereo. So will the lack of GPS be a bad move in a new ES?

By today's prices without Nav and without upgraded stereo the car and extras I want have an MSRP of about $45,000. Not sure how low of a discount I can get. Am I being foolish to leave out Nav if for some reason I want to sell the car?

Thanks.

dchar

I haven't seen a luxury package car without Nav before...even though in-car NAV systems aren't that great anymore (especially compared to our phones), it looks weird when this feature is missing. Not to mention you also lose the Remote Touch controller, which is more intuitive to use than the after-thought **** system. The biggest reason to add Nav though is your resale value. Cars with Nav are in more demand, therefore can fetch a better price when it comes time to sell. It may seem a lot to pay now, but it will be beneficial later. Just go online to see how huge the difference is between a car with Nav and one without it. You're buying a luxury car...what's a couple thousand more.

If you get the 2016 when it is first released, then don't expect too much of a discount, especially if you're special ordering it.

bc6152

Dchar is correct IMO. As the Lexus is a luxury car, without a NAV system the resale will be poor. Not to mention, I don't think you'll find an UL or luxury car without it. I also agree that the Lexus NAV system is poorly designed and lacking as compared to a portable Garmin unit that I have that is 6 years old and cost $150.00. Wife has a new Honda with Nav and it's even worse than Lexus... I would add the NAV.

jollick

The 2015+ navigation is improved and different than my 2013. For one thing it gets free traffic information, no subscription needed, it also has speed limits. Check one out, you might like it. My advise would be to get it.

chrisexv6

While I love my Android phone, I feel like its a lot easier to use the nav integrated into the vehicle.

What does bother me about the Lexus nav (and others) is that you cant use it while moving. Its not ME wanting to use it, its my passenger, so why not allow it.

Im sure they could even integrate it into the passenger sensing system....if there is someone in the passenger seat, allow the nav system to be used without using voice recognition.

But overall, I dont think I would buy any new vehicle without a nav system.

lesz

As the others have said, there is no question that not having a navigation system will have a significant negative affect on re-sale or trade-in value. There are many options that will return very little of their initial cost at trade-in or re-sale time, but a navigation systems is one of the few options that will return a large portion of its initial cost at trade-in or re-sale time . If you look at vehicles on the used car lots of Lexus dealers, you will likely see that an ES without a navigation system is going to sit on the lot for a good amount of time, but an ES with a navigation system is likely to be sold very quickly. Used car managers know that this is the case, and that is why what is offered in trade for a vehicle without a navigation system is so significantly discounted.

While I agree that, often, the directions given by the navigation app on my phone can be better than the ones from the vehicle's navigation system and while I don't often even drive anywhere that requires me to have turn-by-turn guidance, I've come to appreciate and value having an easily readable map continuously available to me in a well-placed location. The navigation system gives me that, and a phone, Garmin, etc. doesn't.

Since about 2000, I've bought about a half dozen new vehicles. All but one of those was equipped with a navigation system, and, almost immediately, I realized that I had made a mistake in buying the one without the navigation system. If I were looking for a used ES now, I would immediately dismiss from consideration any vehicles without a navigation system. Since many feel the same way, that is why non-navigation vehicles don't do very well with regard to their used value.

BB11

Thanks for all of your replies. As much as I dislike Nav it may be prudent to include it.

lamikela1

There are NAV bypass units available that are plug and play. Check the Prestigious Society site. I have one for my 2013 ES and it works fine. Every car that I have had NAV on has been bypassed as it's no good to me if I can't use it while I am driving.

Riles

Just to provide a counterpoint to this discussion, I think it is a total waste of money. If there is one constant in used car values, it's that options do not hold value. Spending money on a nav system will just cause you to lose that amount of money at time of resale.

We are entering an age where very few people use their in-car nav systems. They are much worse than our phones- it takes many times longer to input a destination, and even if you have a traffic subscription, the in-car nav systems are not nearly as good as google or Waze for real-time updates. I have nav in my car because it happened to come with it (purchased used), but even though I use nav every single day for my commute, I've only used the in-car unit once. And in that one time, my commute took 20 minutes longer than usual thanks to the poor traffic data. Simply put, using Waze lets me spend more time with my family and less out on the road.

If you aren't going to use the nav, don't waste your money. Perhaps your resale value will be slightly less in the future, but I will guarantee you that your resale value won't be $1,500 less (or whatever outrageous price they charge for glorified 2004 technology), so you'll come out ahead by not purchasing it.

LexBob2

The simple answer is if you'll use the nav get it. If not don't get it. It varies by person and having the choice is good.

jollick

The Nav in my 2015 ES is just as good as anything on a phone IMHO.

lamikela1

Jollick I agree. I use mine every day and since most of my family lives in other areas of the country it's great for road trips rather than just relying on a smart phone. I do think that most people who have a NAV in their car use it IF they take the time to learn how to use the features. For my daily commute I do use both the NAV and Waze so that I have all the data I need to try to avoid any traffic jams. I have a full featured Pioneer AVIC in my truck and the Lexus NAV works just as good.

SW17LS

Its a non issue, if you're getting a car with the luxury package and pre-collision...it will come with navigation.

You'll find that people that hate OEM nav systems are *very* vocal about phones, etc. I don't want to look at nav on my phone, I don't want to have a garmin on my dash, the built in nav works fine for me.

TechNut

I agree completely. The Factory Nav does everything I need it to do in both my 2013 and 2015. I wouldn't have another car without it (or blind spot monitoring). While it is exasperating that the Nav is locked out if the vehicles are in motion, I would never use a tiny phone nor would I like wires hanging around for a portable unit. In my opinion, the factory Nav does the job and is the best alternative considering all the pros and cons of competing options. Of course it doesn't retain all its value at resale. What does? What's the point, it still makes for a more desirable configuration and some of the other options require it.

With that said, your question was "am I being foolish by not including Nav." I guess some of that depends on how you finance the car. If it is a lease, I can't imagine it would really matter because you don't have to care about the resale - the dealer does. If you are worried about resale, I agree with the previous comment that it would result in a less sought configuration but there are others out there that feel just like you and wouldn't be troubled by its absence or lower overall price. I don't think you are foolish for buying the car in the configuration that you prefer.

SW17LS

When shopping for CPO Lexus vehicles, all I will say is when I click on one that looks to be a very low price...its always missing nav.