factory nav vs. aftermarket
 

recently purchased my first vette, a 2005 z51 convertible which has the bose premium sound but no navigation. i'm considering adding a nav system and would like input from others on whether to opt for a used OEM nav (new ones are rediculously expensive) or an aftermarket unit such as kenwood or pioneer (which seem to be most popular). would also like to know if the OEM unit has a cd player hiding behind the screen and whether it is bluetooth enabled and capable of pairing with my iphone. since i have the bose system i believe the OEM unit would be an inexpensive plug-in installation versus something a bit more involved for an aftermarket option? i do kind of like the idea of keeping the car as close to factory as possible. any input would be appreciated. thanks....

How much are you looking to spend ?

well, the used OEM unit i saw is about $600. i think an aftermarket unit with what i'd want would be about $800 and the install would likely cost more. but if i'm looking at a difference of maybe just a few hundred dollars i'd just rather have the better of the two for me, and there are a number of things for me to consider in making the decision. i guess what i mean is that the aftermarket nav/stereo would have to be more than a marginally better unit than the OEM. other than some exhaust mods that i'll likely have done i like the idea of keeping the car as close to factory as possible.

OEM Nav has a single CD slot behind the screen. If you get a used oem unit that came out of a car with BT I'm pretty sure you won't be able to use the BT in your car (IIRC the BT connects thru the OnStar box, and you'd have to have it already to use it on a new radio).

I would definitely recommend an aftermarket Nav. You can't go wrong with either Kenwood or Pioneer, but I prefer the user interface on Pioneer. If your budget is that tight, you can find some great deals on used AVIC units on ebay.

I would go aftermarket, and stay away from Pioneer. I've not had good luck with those. Kenwood makes some nice systems. Contact Dennis @ DD with your needs, and he'll fix you right up.

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I was going to recommend you stay away from trying to retrofit the OEM systems. They suck. For aftermarket, years ago I would not have hesitated to recommend Kenwood, but the last three Kenwoods I owned sucked big time - especially the ones that ran their crapulant version of Android. I was going to try Pioneer next, but I have no experience with them myself yet.

I loved Kenwood from the old days because they used Garmin and updates were free (or cheap) and they had the best Nav - back in the day. Now foget about it - Waze beats all. So look for a head unit that you can screen mirror (via Bluethooth). Usually you can use something like the Netgear Push2TV and just connect that to an aux video/audio input. I hear that Android Auto is going to support Waze in the near future, so maybe a head unit that supports that if there is such an animal.

As the others have said, talk to Double-D Mods - he will set you up with the right plug and play package.

Id like to add to what Flame Red had to say about Kenwood. I bought a new DNX690 HD and in the first 14 months it had to be pulled 2 times for repairs and was out of service for 8-9 weeks. I understand things can go bad but, Kenwoods customer service and their. Attitude towards the customer is the worst I have been treated
after several emails and phone calls they had me send in at my cost the unit to their Long Beach facility and they sent me a DNX691HD as a replacement. It also has a couple of glitches in some functions that I really don't use and it's just not worth going through their carp again.
Sorry for the long rant.

I had the OEM nav system in my car for a while and just recently put in a new Kenwood. You should honestly go for the aftermarket system. It is well worth the extra money and well beyond capability of the oem system .