I did not get NAV with my new 550. There are many reasons, in no particular order:

I would not use it for finding locations; I can use mapqwest before leaving office for appointment if necessary; (Obviously I am in the minority on this one).
I didn't like the DVD slot below CD slot, and liked the way the console looked without it;
I didn't like the split screen between NAV and iDrive;
I bought a sports sedan, with 6 speed manual transmission, and wanted to keep it relatively simple knowing if I decide to get rid of it in 4+ years, whatever NAV that is available now will be obsolete (think "touch screen" NAV like Lexus);
Reliability of NAV and updates from BMW seem to be an issue.

From a technical perspective, and the main reason I told myself not to get NAV option: Eventually my Treo, or other handheld device, will have sophisticated and useful NAV options, making NAV in car a bit obsolete.

Bottom line is I live without it, saved some money, and don't miss it. It seems very popular with most on forum, as does HUD. But my opinion for someone looking at e60 options, you can live without it.

Just my two cents. :whistle:

I am a geek. I love technology. I work in the Tech Industry and have written code. But on my past three cars I have specifically not wanted navigation.

This is not to say that I am an avid fan of GPS navigation. I own a Garmin Street Pilot and love it. It is which the pace of technology changes. I hold my cars for a long time and do not want to fiddle with updating the Nav system and worry what it will look like three or six years from now.

Granted having the Garmin on the dash is not as elegant as in the dash but this is something I can live with. I dont always use it or need it.

GPS nav systems have a bit of a way to go before I have one planted in my dash of my car in my opinion.

Yup I am glad I ordered my 530i without the Nav :thumbsup:

idrive is also faster without nav.

i love my nav though.

I know my way around this country.

I simply just do not need the nav.

And if I really need it, I have a program
in my cell that does the job.

I am one of those people who gets lost walking from his bed to the bathroom so I need it. Matter of fact, I told the guy who sold me my M3 that if I absolutely had to choose, I would take nav over a/c. I use it ALL THE TIME. Several times a week in fact. Yesterday I actually used it twice.

I am neutral on the NAV. I used a streetpilot for a few years before I bought this car, and I loved the functionality, but hated the look (suction cup, dash mount, etc.) and hated taking it down and putting it up all the time. I like the look of the NAV in my e60 and the big screen, but hate the functionality. It would seem to be very easy to add functionality to the NAV with software updates, so I hope that fix comes from BMW.

I wouldn't have ordered a NAV system with the car because of the reasons already mentioned by the others above, but as it was part of the co. car leasing "business package", it comes automatically.
Not sure what it's like in the US, but in Germany not having a NAV in a 5 series will typically either make selling the car more difficult or decrease the resale value, which is why a lot of people go for it. It also explains why BMW give you nice discounts if you opt for the "business pack" when leasing, which is nice :)

Initially I was not convinced to take the NAV, but my wife somehow told me to take it as I tend to miss an exit or a left or right turn once in a while and any aftermarket solution would look not so tidy and I would not need to go through the trouble of stowing it away to avoid open invitation for burglers and window smashers. I got convinced on the last argument as my sister had here car broken into just to find that the wires (since she had taken the gps out) were stolen !!!

OK, now that I have it, I would not want to miss it as it gives not only some type of entertainment value in terms of street names but it does also lead you dynamically around traffic jams in places never heard off. Reaction and recalculation is very fast
I only have my car for 5 weeks now, but I must have saved already quite some time and mileage of not sitting in traffic jams. Of course, the regular daily traffic congestion, I know better than the gps, but that is only a small part

Only minus point I find is the price ( and yes, there can never be enough features on gps)

If money were no object I would have had Nav, just 'cos it would be nice to have it integrated.

However, I'm just as happy (and richer) without it.
Mostly - I like the fact that I can easily add speed camera locations to my PDA-based setup.
I know it can be done with the BMW system, but it's either expensive (per update) or hard work.
(Cost's me GBP16/year to keep my PDA upto date.)

You sound like my wife; she'll be getting Nav in her next Volvo for sure. She can get lost on our street!