I have reserved a production slot for a 2016 convertible (laguna blue on black Z51 with 2LT and chrome wheels in case anyone is interested ). Up here in Canada the navigation/performance data recorder is a $2,250 option. I'll never use the navigation and the PDR seems to be a bit of a toy that I'd only use a few times. Is it worth adding to my order?? Thanks in advance for your thoughts!

 

no, unless your going to track the car and yes I have it. I'd sell you mine if I could

 

Nav system and PDR a definite YES if for nothing else -- resale. Is it an expensive toy? Probably, but it's an expensive car (at least in my view) and people who my look at it when you sell it (millennials) will expect at least a NAV system, and the PDR is a neat toy as a bonus to help sell it.

The NAV system works pretty well in my opinion and YES, unless you track the car the PDR is neat, but not used very often. I think I've used it for a couple 0-60 shots and will probably use it once or twice this summer at the 1/4 mile strip.
My car is a 3LT off the lot; so it came with the car, but if I ordered one EXACTLY like I wanted, I'd still get it. Like I said, the nav works reasonably well and the PDR is cool.

 

Thanks - my thoughts exactly. If I ever hit the track it will be a one-time thing only!

 

I hear you for sure - but I wonder just how much resale would be affected?? Won't ever really know I guess!

 

As far as resale how many people sell the car on their own? A dealer might give you an extra $200 when you trade it in. I know I hate selling cars on my own.

 

Don't worry about the resale value, as on a trade in later on it won't change the value of the car much if any. I've found with my trade ins that dealers rarely check the options you've got, they simply want to know the mileage and then they look at the paint, very little else matters to them in determining trade in value.

So if you really feel like it's worth $2000, go for it, in my opinion it's not a big necessity. I'd rather put that $2000 towards gas so I could drive it more often

 

 

Another consideration for adding the PDR is you can use it as a dash cam. Uses include crash information, might help with liability there, or defend yourself against a bogus speeding ticket, speed can be recorded. Or possibly to pin liability on unsafe trucker loosing debris on the road. Also can use it for valet mode. Can make recordings of fun trips on roads like Tail of the Dragon. Yeah, its expensive, came with my 3LT though, but a fun toy to play with. Find out how much it costs per month over the life of the loan and see if you can stand the increase in payments. May not make that big a difference. I often start a recording just in case, never to review it if nothing unusual occurs.

 

You and I are in the same position. I am ordering a 16 and go back and forth on this. I have no need for the navigation as I use my phone and Waze. The PDR looks like it would be fun but I am not planning on many track trips. It seems like an expensive toy for the few trips I would take. On the other hand it would be really cool to have the video from the few times I do track it.

I don't think resale is an issue, I wouldn't get out of it what I paid and Corvettes are moving well no matter how they are optioned.

 

It's really not that hard to sell a Corvette on your own or maybe I have just been lucky.

 

If you can use it like a dash-cam, I would absolutely get it. More and more people are running with dash-cams and it can help prove your case in an accident better than 4 witnesses can (ask my wife how we know).

Insurance scammers are on the rise in a lot of countries (they like to cut in front of you then slam on the brakes causing you to rear-end them). Can also be handy for Road Rage incidents which as we all know are also on the rise. And I would think having the PDR in the vette built in would be a better option than having something extra stuck to your windshield (I would prefer it built in, but that's me).

The only upside to a dashcam is if you need to, you can pop it off the windshield and continue recording an incident if it moves out of the viewing area in front of your car, and as another said, the resolution and picture quality may be better as well.

Uhh, just make sure it is turned off if you plan on going over the speed limit. lol.

As far as the nav systems in cars, I don't like them. They tend to be slow, and updates are expensive. I prefer my phone and Sync Services (Ford's Non-nav screen navigation used in conjunction with the Ford Destinations app or calling services and have them plan out a route and download it to your car) and/or Waze. Sync Services is $60.00 a year (first 3 years are free), and map updates on the phone are free, and they are updated more often.

Also, I'm just weird with in-car nav screens cluttering up the look of the interior. I have never really liked them in any car, so i'm probably in the minority on that one.

 

Cheap dash cams do a much better job of this, the picture quality is far better (really GM the picture sucks), they come on when the car starts (once again GM please make this happen). I hate having to remember to start it all the time, then not even know if it's running when an hour later I think "did I start the PDR?" the downside of the dash cam of course is it's not attractive stuck to your windshield alongside of your radar detector.

 

A tough decision for sure - but I appreciate everyone's thoughts on this - many thanks!

 

I added the option because I wanted factory Nav and for resale, I would think a buyer would want factory NAV in a 70000 dollar car. It's worth it in my opinion.

 

Save your money why spend it on something you will hardly ever use. As for resale value realistically who thinks about what you may or may not get sometime in the unknown future.
Get the options you want and enjoy your Vette.

 

Sound advice

 

I got mine because it was the only way to get nav and I wanted nav. Also someone pointed out above it has some quality uses such as recording a truck throwing/kicking up debris onto your car. You'd have the proof to hold them liable or at least prove to your insurance that the object you hit was thrown onto your car. If it was in the air and not on the ground where you ran it over. It doesn't count as an accident on your insurance thus your rates don't go up.

 

The screen is going to be there whether you have nav or not. Same with most modern cars, what with infotainment systems becoming popular. Wife's Nissan has it. I don't usually display the nav anyway. I prefer to have music titles and such displayed there. I agree with those who prefer a smart phone for nav. Wife and I compared Nissan nav, C7 nav, and Garmin. Garmin won out. We still use phone for most situations.

 

I debated the same option and wound up ordering the NAV/PDR on my 2015 Z51 2LT. After 800 miles:

Pros: Even though Google Maps & Garmin have advantages over the built-in (I use all three at different times), on a $70,000+ car, I expect the aesthetics of a built-in NAV. I like the big screen always there in front of me, I like the NAV integration with the HUD. Although the PDR wasn't built to be a dash-cam, and lacks some of the functionality of a $100 dash-cam, I still prefer the built-in convenience and aesthetics as a dash-cam (I'll never track it). I have a radar-detector on a Blendmount. That's enough near the windshield of a $70,000+ car. In my CTS, I mount radar, Garmin & dash-cam on windshield for a cross-country trip. It's pretty ugly. I don't use those around town--just the built in NAV.

Cons: Overpriced--but on a $70,000 car, what's another $2,000 to have no regrets.

If I think about the cost, I can get annoyed--otherwise, I'm glad I have the NAV/PDR. Even with their faults, I still like having them. Could I live without them--yes. Can I live without a Corvette--yes....