Viper98912

I know that the first answer is no. I have a 2009 widescreen garmin nuvi that works great as well.

My issue is that my C55 has almost every option - diamond black (*cough blue) paint, bi-xenon headlights, rain sensing/rear sunshade (although I think this was standard), HK system (standard), and the beautiful birds eye maple wood trim. I even have a few other OEM options such as AMG chrome wheels, CLK grill + flat badge, 1/8" aux cable, and CLK black/star shift knob. Plus of course that we drive AMG's.

It kinda bugs the hell out of me that when you look at the center stack of my car, you don't see what should be a seamless navigation unit - you see the standard non-navi unit. I sometimes wonder whether it's worth upgrading to the navi unit. I'm guessing that my current garmin is better and easier to use than the stock unit.....but I still wonder if I were able to find one of the latest MB dvds ($), if it would still work relatively well. I hardly use my garmin anyway, but the look of the OEM navi in my birdseye maple would definitely look better than the current unit.........

Looking for opinions

02C32guy

I totally understand your sentiment and I agree the look would be better, but the OEM Nav sucks. IMHO, you'd probably be better off getting an after market head unit with nav to fill that spot.

moosejaw

yeah a kenwood or a pioneer system would be better
the oem nav on the C32 suks even more
it looks like it came right out of the movie "tron"

02C32guy

Sadly, not even an exaggeration.

saer1one

agree..

Viper98912

Except that I'm really going for the OEM look. Plus, I'd want to integrate the stock HK system that's already in there. As tempting as a new system sounds, tearing everything out for new wiring and speakers just isn't something I want to do to this specific car.

ejsheltra

Sounds like you have your answer. OEM sucks but you want stock. So go stock and have a great day. In the end the car is yours so do it the way you like. I also looked into adding it for my 03' then decided against it because money could be better spent elsewhere. I did add the multi-contour heated and ventilated seats though and that made a big difference on long trips. Best wishes and enjoy the ride.

francoisisp

i definetly agree with you on the oem nav suckking duet to the fact that its not as flashy nor have some of the options after market nav do have such as touch screen and hdd storage thats true. well i happen to think just like everybody here 2 years ago. I didnt have stock navy with my first c32 so I bought the pieoneer avic Z3 for around ($1400) then got it installed for $400, i got a call saying that since i had the bose sound they had to rewire the speakers and bypass the factory amp. they i picked up my car from car toyz after they installed everything. at first i was exited about the navigation because it was touch screen and i could store all my cds in it. then then i started playing music the sound was far from being refine and missed the fatory sound.

ok short sweet to the point.

the good with aftermarket:

a bit cheaper, it will most likely be touch screen, bigger screen, plays mp3s, easy to watch dvds,


the bad with aftermarket:

90% of the time it looks like it doesnt belong on the dash , the screen is usually too bright at night, doent usually blend with the lighting accent, the sound tunning is usually ad issue compare to stock, you will have to change your stock speakers to try to make it sound right, you might have to get subs. and the worst of all you will loose steering wheel control ( unless you spend another $200 dollars to get the interface) steering wheel control is a big deal to me.


the good with oem:

it looks like its belowngs everythign is in harmony, you wont have to change your speakers, no extra wires, you keep steering wheel control, you wil get turn by turn instruction on the litle lcd on your instrument cluster ( which is really good thing you wont have to look down to remeber what exit to take or which turn is next while you are using your navy) plus you will have some command perks

the bad:

its expensive to upgrade the maps and POI, its not touch screen, the graphics are not as good as aftermarket, might be a bit pricy to ge your hands on one.


My point is i hated the aftermarket navy so much that I ended up selling the car and buying another one with command.

Dingleberry

aftermarket nav units look tacky, OP thinks the same. why try to convince him otherwise?

francoisisp

+1

Viper98912

I guess the real question is whether its worth the $ and if there have been any issues with your comands

thegreatfnr

The stock navi sucks but does look cool.

As far as issues go, I had to get mine replaced/fixed three times under warranty since I bought the car a little over a year ago. Once for getting a CD stuck in the single disk behind the Command and another time when the motor failed on the screen so that it wouldn't fold back up. Then once it just stopped reading CDs all together and gave error messages. The stock Command has been a PITA since i got the car. As a matter of fact CDC is broke again too now and giving error messages of its own.

I just pulled out my service records and it looks like the time MBUSA replaced it was with a remanned unit and its retail cost was $1200.

OverDrive

Guys take a look at my Sig, I made a whole DIY for the C32's. I updated my C32 to the 2005+ Cluster + the new command for 1000$, Its cheaper if you have a Facelifted w203... (maybe like 400-600 Bucks for one ebay) For me... well worth it, It keeps it classy look

JonMBZ

I have buddy selling the phone kit installed for $600 as well if you are interested.

91RS

I bought my Comand for $500, and it's the G-Class unit so I also added a rear view camera to go with it! Just keep an eye out on here and eBay and you should be able to find a good deal.

The OEM nav setup is not as bad as everyone is saying, its just different from a Garmin or TomTom. You usually can't just enter an address in, you have to start backwards and choose the state, then city, then put in the street, and then the number. The maps are really very good, they just can't be updated like a stand alone nav unit can since the maps are on DVD.

I agree with you that the stock radio is the best for appearance, aftermarket radios look like dog crap in 95% of cars built within the recent years. I have stock radios in both my cars (factory nav in my Trailblazer, too).

Viper98912

For $500, it might be worth the try and if it doesn't work out then maybe I can resell it.

Posts like fnr's make me think about the OEM nav if it breaks.

Posts like 91rs's make me think . So you also didn't have nav? Was there anything special that you had to do (was it VIN locked, did you need any dealer star programming, etc?). Or did you just unplug the old one, put in the new one, and go on your merry way without having to do anything else?

91RS

My car only had the premium package and the sound package. I've added the Xenons and Comand. My Comand was from an 07 G55 that was hopefully low miles so hopefully it doens't have a ton of wear on it. The stock Comand is just like anything else, the more it gets used the faster it will break. It was just plug and play for me, I still need to get the Comand coded in the cluster so the directions will show up there but it still works fine as it is. Oh, and in case you haven't read up yet, don't buy a CLK radio because they do not fit. You need either a W203 radio or a G-Class radio and on the G-Class radio since they all have rear view cameras, the screen will go blank when you go to reverse if there's no camera installed.

I try not to think about crap breaking on this car, because as we all know, no matter what breaks its going to be expensive.

Does anyone know if MB has a repair facility they use for electronics like the radios and clusters that reman the parts or do they just sell you a brand new part?

Viper98912

Hmmm sounds good. Looks like I'm going to have to source me a comand unit, if the install is so simple. I guess a good thing (or bad thing) is that the radios aren't VIN locked. If I ever head to the dealer, I'll have to ask how much they charge (probably a minimum of 1 hr) to activate the nav menu in the cluster. It's not that big of a deal though to me. Now to find one....

Thanks for the opinions guys

SoCalC55

I think that going with the stock nav is a good choice. Graphics are about 5 years behind but ive never had any issues with the GPS itself. Especially with the info screen on the gauge cluster, the navi is really cool.

91RS

Atlanta Classic Cars has charged me $61 each time I needed coding changed and when I took the C55 in they coded a bunch of things for the $61.

Viper98912

Hmm so it looks like I'm going to go ahead and do it. After looking at videos of them on youtube, I'm hooked. I just need to come to grips with the $.

I guess the question now is whether to get the Euro APS model or the US MCSII model (aside from the 203/463 question).

MCSII:
Pro:
- Just pop in the latest nav disc (2007.1 I think) and you're good to go.
- All radio functions work as original
- The flipping screen is cool to show to your friends lol
Con:
- Much harder to find second hand, and when you do it's expensive.
- Can safely buy brand new from mbenznl, but at premium $.

APS:
Pro:
- Easier to find second hand, and cheaper to buy brand new
- Fixed screen has no motor or ribbon cable to break (I've had to replace the ribbon cable twice on my Kenwood radio, but the flipping function is very sweet)
Con:
- Have to use a hybrid maps dvd (which may cause issues)
- Issues with AM reception (but I never listen to AM) and may have issues with FM (this is no good)
- No dual drive - can't listen to CD's while navigating, yet I never use a CD anyway - always use my Ipod with the aux jack. If anything, I still have the CD changer to use for CD's as well

Anybody running an APS in their AMG? I've already read all the threads in this and the 203 forum, I just like to hear if there's anyone else out there that hasn't posted their personal findings......

Thx

OverDrive

I think the MCSII is an older unit, Thats what im running currenly and love it. The APS im pretty sure is newer as it has Bluetooth and the menus are a bit nicer.

91RS

The difference is the MCSII is the American unit and the APS is the European unit.

Tump43

I've been wondering the same thing for years. Finally, I decided to keep my OEM Comand w/ Navi -- it's not the best but works fine for my purposes and is truly integrated. It also looks the best of all the systems i have seen (barring, I believe, TemjinX2's set up -- very involved DYI). The only thing I need to add was fully integrated blue tooth that I did with the iTronic box, bought from a member of this forum. The iTronic installed behind the OE Comand, I can't see it, it works with all phones and is fully integrated into the MB system.
When researching high end sound, most concluded that the weak point in the MB HK system is the Amp. This can replaced with a better amp and clean sweep. New speakers are optional. OE speakers aren't bad, but it does depend on what you like to listen to and how loud.
I have only had to have my HK system repaired once, the Stealer downloaded updated software under warranty and its worked fine ever since.

91RS

But how can you replace the amp? The Clean Sweep doesn't have a hook up for the fiber optic line, is there another device for that?