Gohawks63

So having a clean dash is not the only benefit?

PitBull

I understand that with the NAV system in the newer Lexus LX and Toyota LC comes the control of the air conditioning and heat. The problem is that if the system shoots craps you have no heat or air and it costs around $5-6K to replace it. I guess it is one of those systems they don't "Fix" they replace.

Gohawks63

True, but this isn't specific to only the LC/LX. The NAV in my TL also has integrated climate controls.

PitBull

I would think this would hurt the resale value?? Not a problem while under warranty but I would not want to buy a used one with 70K+ miles. $5-6K for a broken part that you have too fix, is way out of line (your talkin engine over haul type costs). I know with my wifes old ES300 when the speedo needle went dark it was going to cost $600 for a new "module". Now your talkin a 92 ES 300 with 120K miles on it, bad deal.

nicoff

tigmd99 wrote:
"For example, on a cold morning, the Magellan would take close to 15 minutes to warm up and locate you!! On a regular morning, it would take anywhere from 5-10 minutes. If you shut it off for anything longer than an hour or two, then it would take a few minutes to warm up and locate you. The pinpoint of Magellan was also average...and it has the latest WASP (or whatever it's called) technology. It's also slower in calculations of routes and turns."

Some cars (BMW?) have shielding in their windshields that can interfere with the antenna's ability to receive satellite signals through the windshield. If you had got yourself a $20 external antenna (they can be installed permanently if you wish) you could have had as fast response as the one in your brother's Lexus plus much better accuracy. As far as the cold, I live in Virginia and it should be colder here than in Texas and I do not experience that kind of delayed response at all. In a worse case scenario, you can bring your unit into the house at night and be ready to go the next morning (after all, these are portable units). If you have not sold the Magellan RoadMate 700 try those tips out you will be pleasantly surprised.

Gohawks63 wrote:
"Since the aftermarket NAVS aren't integrated into the car's onboard systems, I believe they begin to develop shortcomings when driving through areas where it is difficult to receive a satellite signal (i.e. tunnels and cities with high rises). At least, that's what I've read."

Driving around a town with high rises and driving through tunnels do present a problem for all types of GPS equipment. OEM navi systems typically are connected to the speedometer which allows them to make certain location computations for short durations while the satellites are out of reach. High-end aftermarket navi systems CAN also be connected to the speedometer and have these capabilities as well.

tigmd99

Nicoff, i forgot to mention that my other brother also has the Magellan Roadmate 700 for his Jeep Wrangler (windshield too upright...so, he had to get external antenna)...we research and then buy in bunches for the family! Anyway, he has the external antenna. Pretty much the same problem with cold starts. The antenna helps but it is still inferior to an integrated system. The calculations on these units fall way short of the newer NAVI systems from Toyota and Honda. It is slower than my brother's '01 Lexus NAVI...you can imagine that the newer systems will simply be much faster than magellan.

As far as my BMW M3 windshield, it's heavily slope...so the integrated antenna has a clear vision of the sky. It can't be the windshield because after it located me, the unit works flawlessly. If it's the windshield, then wouldn't the function be hindered all the time???

My feeling after owning the Magellan 700...if your car did not come with one, then it's a great buy! It's also great when you fly to another town...because it's transportable from car to car. However, when it comes to FUNCTIONALITY, it falls short of the newer NAVI system from Honda & Toyota. There's plus and minus to either system, but i would not call the Lexus system "crap".

Gohawks63

These are my thoughts as well. I've heard positive things about the Magellan, and my old boss bought one and has been pleased. So if you don't have a NAVI, it's a good buy. That said, I would still take an integrated unit before the after market ones.

tigmd99

Damn, i keep on forgetting to finish the topic...anyway, one more thing, when i bought my G500 (with COMMAND), I initially debated about using the Magellan RoadMate 700 instead of Command. However, after learning how to use Command and seeing that it is a decent system, i gave the Magellan to my other brother (yes, i have a lot of brothers!). Simply put, even the Command system is more convienent...no power cord to move around, no vent clips, etc..

Magellan RoadMate 700 is a great unit and i highly recommend it to anyone who's car did not come with the integrated NAVI system.

nicoff

tigmd99 wrote:
"As far as my BMW M3 windshield, it's heavily slope...so the integrated antenna has a clear vision of the sky. It can't be the windshield because after it located me, the unit works flawlessly. If it's the windshield, then wouldn't the function be hindered all the time???"

Actually, the issue is not necessarily the slope of the windshield but the chemical components in the windshield. What happens is that as a result of the interference, the strength/speed of the signal being received is lowered. You may still get a signal, but you are more likely to lose that signal because it may be marginal. Also, the unit would take much longer to find its location. (Here is an analogy: When you receive a DirecTV signal, if your initial signal is very strong you should be able to watch TV in all kinds of weather conditions, but if the signal is weak, as weather conditions deteriorate, you may lose the ability to watch TV because the signal could fall below certain strength threshold).

By the way, my unit is the Garmin 2620 not the Magellan. As compared to the OEM navigation system in my 2004 LC, the Garmin does take a few more seconds (seconds, not minutes!) to compute a route. I do not mind that at all since it actually finds more addresses than the OEM Toyota unit (I have compared them side-by-side). I am a "power user" if there is such a term. I travel a regularly throughout the southeast and I use these navi devices all the time. For me, it is very important to have a unit that has many more addresses in its database to take me where I want to go. In my book, if a) I cannot find 50% (that about my current rate right now) of the places where I need to go, b) consider the problems with voice-recgnition and bluetooth (that have also been already recognized by others) and c) consider that Toyota/Lexus charges $2,000 or more for this option, then it is a crappy system. Yes, it may look pretty, but it is crappy for my needs.

LXBriGuy

Comparing a 2006 LC to my 2007 LX470, here are some of the luxury item differences that i have found the LX has over the LC

1. Rain sensing wipers
2. Retractible mirrors
3. Tilting mirrors when placed in REVERSE
4. quality of leather is higher in LX
5. LX's climate control has AUTO feature on the recycled air/fresh air button
6. Height control, comfort suspension, DVD, wood trim, body color rear spoiler are all premium package options on the 2006 LC
7. LX has projector headlights, under carriage puddle lights, and running board lights

Are there any other differences that have been noticed?

V8_Fan

Side curtain airbags are standard on all lexus vehicles from 2002+. On Toyotas, although available on the LC, it's a $800 option, so many may not have it. The Lexus CPO warranty is superior...3 YEARS/up to 100K mi total on the odo while Toyota's is 3 MONTHS/3000 miles.

When I was in Tucson, the labor at Lexus was cheaper, $100/hr vs. 150/hr at Toyota. The a la carte service was cheaper, but the service packages (15K, 30K, 60K, etc) was a LOT more than Toyota, like 2-3x. Parts are also more, like 50% more than Toyota. That's where the make their $$. If your dealer allows you to bring in your own parts and has good labor rates like I had, it's much cheaper owning the Lexus in the long run. I also have the Lexus credit card..gets you 1.5% back on all purchases (5% on lexus purchases). OTOH, the Toyota card gives you like 0.5% or 1%.

Johnny Rad

The LX is built with higher quality components. In addition to the differences already noted, here's a few more:
Higher quality leather and carpeting
Higher quality sound system
More sound deadening materials

Toys4RJill

Some good observations. We owned a LX470, at the time I test drove and owned my LX, the differences were more noiticable. The later year models seem to get similar options.

One thing I noticed is that the LX offered heads up night vision were the Toyota did not.
Memory seating if recall??? (Someone help me out)

Playdrv4me

Yeah, memory seats and night vision were exclusive to the LX470. At least at the time (a bajillion years ago) this thread was initially posted.

I believe there may have been LX exclusive color choices as well.