My wife is looking for an 07-09 IS250

She wants a backup camera and I see that's obviously only available with navigation

Question is:

If i buy a non-nav is250... is it easy enough to add later (i'm assuming not the cheapest route)

OR, is there another option (aftermarket) that has been completed?

TIA!

 

I have an 06' IS250 and bought it without Nav. The only plug and play unit available that looks OEM is from a company called FLY Audio. It is an AM/FM/CD/DVD/Nav unit with blur tooth It comes with a backup camera as well. price is around $1,500-$1,900. It has had some issues. I purchased mine from Matt from Auto Max. They are a vendor here on Club Lexus. Check the vendor section or look in the classified section sometimes.

 

There is an aftermarket system made by FlyAudio which looks and functions almost identically to the OEM system. Here's a thread on it:

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/is-...250-350-a.html

However, I believe the price is around $2000 and that does not include installation. The thread says it's about 3-4 hours ACTUAL labor, so a shop or dealer (assuming you don't have connections or something) would probably charge 5-6 hours labor. So you're looking at minimum $2500 (if installed not by you).

Another consideration is that installation of this system would either void or at least bring into question all nav-related components of any warranty you'd have on the car. Lexus cannot void a warranty or refuse a warranty claim based simply on the fact that you've modded the car, but if the issue was caused by the aftermarket part or the installation of that part OR if it's questionable as to the cause, then you'd likely be out of luck on warranty claims.

If you want a backup camera, you need nav, and if you want nav, buy a car with nav. The price difference between two absolutely identical IS250s, one with nav and one without, will be far less than $2500. Nav simply doesn't command that high a premium - expect to pay $1000 or so more for nav, but not much more. This statement applies to used cars (as the OP is looking for '07-'09) not new cars of course, where the price difference is the actual price of the nav option. The price premium of nav depreciates along with the value of the rest of the car.

 

you can also install one of these
http://www.amazon.com/Source-VS1-Vis...4432182&sr=8-5
which just requires you to install the camera in the back and run the wires to your new rear mirror and you don't have to take out the dash, if you don't need the navigation.
Doesnt seem that expensive, but if you dont want to deal with the hassle.

 

I had one of those in my Lancer. It wasn't bad but I found it hard to see that small image especially if there was a glare from the sun on it.

 

Is there a way to hack the backup camera so that it always displays... Or do something like this guy did http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mvsM0...eature=related
fast forward to the 30second mark