# Navigation on 99



## BMW 3-SERIES (Jun 8, 2007)

Well,

I'm pretty much convinced that I'm getting a 99 740i over the 00 & 01, because of the price. I wondering is there anyway I can get the navigation in the car, not the garmin type crap but something integrated?

See, I was going to take out a load for a 2001 740i Sport, but than I thought if I wanted something sporty I would just go for a 540i Sport, not a 7. The 7-Series is a big luxury car, its not meant for corners, while its great to have its sporty side also I just rather prefer its luxury...

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## M.Wong (Jan 9, 2003)

1999s are rare because they did not make them a full year/cycle. Few 1999s had factory NAV, though they became standard in 2000 in the US.

Search for "virgin NAV" or "NAV retrofit" on the E38 or E39 boards, you will find plenty of information. It's quite expensive and labor intensive, as the car is not pre-wired for NAV. 

I would only go with the MKIV DVD based map, and the 16:9 wide screen.


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## 04SSHD (May 29, 2006)

http://www.bimmerboard.com/forums/posts/479497

This was my last nav retro on my 1999 740iL


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## M.Wong (Jan 9, 2003)

04SSHD - How much should one budget these days... $3000ish or more? You did MKII or MKIII and a 16:9 wide screen display?


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## Seven11 (Mar 10, 2008)

04SSHD said:


> http://www.bimmerboard.com/forums/posts/479497
> 
> This was my last nav retro on my 1999 740iL


why did it say Land Rover on the Navi?


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## Adi (Jun 3, 2006)

Seven11 said:


> why did it say Land Rover on the Navi?


Check out the history of BMW and Land Rover. Land Rover uses the same tech for their navi as BMW. One minor cosmetic difference is the splash screen, otherwise they're exactly the same units. The splash screen can be changed, so it is not a biggie if it bothers someone too much but it is probably cheaper to pick up a Land Rover MK4 nav than the BMW (splash screen) version on Ebay (at least in Europe) and I guess this is what the guy did.


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## alex740il (Mar 31, 2008)

Adi said:


> Check out the history of BMW and Land Rover. Land Rover uses the same tech for their navi as BMW. One minor cosmetic difference is the splash screen, otherwise they're exactly the same units. The splash screen can be changed, so it is not a biggie if it bothers someone too much but it is probably cheaper to pick up a Land Rover MK4 nav than the BMW (splash screen) version on Ebay (at least in Europe) and I guess this is what the guy did.


How do you change the splash screen? From what I understand you cant flash with BMW firmware thats available for download, even though unit is the same, the loaded software wont let you upgrade with BMW firmware... Unless there is some way that I haven't seen... please share...


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## 04SSHD (May 29, 2006)

alex740il said:


> How do you change the splash screen? From what I understand you cant flash with BMW firmware thats available for download, even though unit is the same, the loaded software wont let you upgrade with BMW firmware... Unless there is some way that I haven't seen... please share...


You are correct, the BMW firmware will not load on the RR nav unit. My nav unit is MK3 but the Range Rover version. You can update the splash screen using nav tweak which is what I plan on doing. Soon I will have a BMW splash screen on my RR unit.


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## 04SSHD (May 29, 2006)

M.Wong said:


> 04SSHD - How much should one budget these days... $3000ish or more? You did MKII or MKIII and a 16:9 wide screen display?


I have done two of these retrofits, one on the 1995 e38, and then again on the 1999 e38. I did some homework and watched alot of the parts on ebay before I bought. I ended up piecing together my nav systems for pretty cheap.

The first one I did was on the 1995

I got the widescreen for $250 shipped
Range Rover MK3 for $220 shipped
Nav harness for $250 shipped
GPS Antenna and brackets for $60 shipped
and dash frame for $50 shipped
BMW CDC PI for $50 shipped
BM54 Business Radio - $150

My 1995 had factory DSP so everything plugged into the new harness. So total was $1030 to get a working nav. I then upgraded to MK4 which cost $600 shipped so if you sub that out with the MK3 so that brings it to $1410 with MK4 and widescreen.

I took my MK3 that way laying around and started the nav retrofit on the 1999 e38. Again I got the parts for pretty cheap shopping around on ebay and looking for deals.

Widescreen (ebay) - $250
MK3 (salvaged from previous nav retrofit) $220
Harness and nav brackets(junk yard) - $200
BM54 Business Radio (junk yard) - $100
Dash bracket - Free (donated from forum member)
GPS antenna (ebay) - $5

So total on the 1999 to have working nav was $775. now these deals are not always out there but occasionally you come across some cheap stuff on ebay and when that happens I am right there to snag it


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## M.Wong (Jan 9, 2003)

04SSHD said:


> I ended up piecing together my nav systems for pretty cheap.
> 
> ...now these deals are not always out there but occasionally you come across some cheap stuff on ebay and when that happens I am right there to snag it


$1030, $1401, and $775?!? WOW! That is great! An MKIV and 16:9 alone can be $1500!


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## BMW 3-SERIES (Jun 8, 2007)

The real question is it worth it?


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## 04SSHD (May 29, 2006)

BMW 3-SERIES said:


> The real question is it worth it?


Worth it for me, completely changes the feel of the car and never getting lost is a big plus! Aftermarket navs can be had for cheaper but they do not look right when installed in the e38's. I love my OEM nav look and function, the only thing I wish it had was touch screen.

I have also modified my nav system to allow for ipod audio, ipod video, DVD video, and backup camera.


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## BMW 3-SERIES (Jun 8, 2007)

I can't wait to get me 99'. I don't care for the sport, like I said before If I wanted a sporty kinda big car It would be the 540i Sport, 7-Series shouldn't be sporty just monster luxury. I've seen them that costs anywhere from $ 5,000 - 9,000 with 70-130K miles. There are so many 7's locally they will never sell.


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