I just wondered if anyone had gone back and had the SD Sat-Nav upgrade after purchasing the A3? I would have liked to have had it but for £495 I just couldn't justify it. I am also fairly techie and so I know that if they can offer it as an anytime upgrade then it is just a software 'update' and maps on an SD card which is a 5min job and not worth £495. Has anyone gone back to a dealer and and had this done and if so did you manage to push them down on price? Ideally I'm thinking £150!! I might be dreaming but I still reckon that is £150 profit for them.
Audi A3 SD Sat-Nav
- Thread starter glamic26
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I'm pretty sure the ~£500 is mostly the software, license and SD card. Fitting is extra. In most cases so far on this forum people have managed to get it fitted for free labour (as it is a quick job). I can't see Audi shifting much on this price I'm afraid.
Simple supply and demand unfortunately and perceived value to the end user. There's no shortage of takers at £500, so I'm not sure why they'd want to sell it to you at £150. If the production costs, licensing etc. cost only £50, they'd have to sell 4 at £150 to get anywhere near the profit on 1 at £500.
Just think, they've hit you for £25k for an Audi... could have had a Vauxhall Astra for £15k. Production costs are probably very similar but you chose Audi. Lots of people 'can't justify' spending money on an Audi but we do. I guess it depends on how much value you assign to the sat nav.
So to answer your question, you probably are dreaming. That's not a bad thing.... we all need dreams! :icon_thumright:
Just think, they've hit you for £25k for an Audi... could have had a Vauxhall Astra for £15k. Production costs are probably very similar but you chose Audi. Lots of people 'can't justify' spending money on an Audi but we do. I guess it depends on how much value you assign to the sat nav.
So to answer your question, you probably are dreaming. That's not a bad thing.... we all need dreams! :icon_thumright:
The sat nav hardware is subsidised, hence why they charge the larger activation fee later, saves them having to fit many different level systems IMHO, I can see the logic & reason for expense.
Not a great example choosing a Vauxhall Astra they arn't that cheap....I moved from an Astra ecoflex 1.7Tdi to an Audi Sport 1.6Tdi (Company Car) P11D OTR price difference £550 more for the Audi...... think of Virgin and there activation fees
I disagree.
P11D bears no relation to the actual cost of cars. It's just for company car tax purposes. Look at the lease costs of an Astra versus A3. You're fortunate to have the choice of company car, but you can bet it's the lease cost rather than P11D that has any influence over your company's decision to offer it.
My local dealer was punting out Insignias at £14k last year. Try buying an A4 for that. Brokers offer up to a third off many Vauxhalls.
I'm guessing the OP is a private purchaser or the company would probably have bought the nav and this thread wouldn't exist!
I asked my dealer how much to retro fit the SD Nav and he has quoted £550.00 inc' Vat. Seems a lot of money but a shame to have buttons saying Nav when in-fact, they don't do anything.
I will probably retro fit as long as I can privately sell my current car.
I will probably retro fit as long as I can privately sell my current car.
Thanks for the responses. I assume the licensing costs etc would all be soaked up by a bulk order from Audi. ie Audi have already paid for x amount of licenses for their sat navs. Whilst they need to recoup some of this cost when selling it will be nowhere near the £500 quid, probably closer to the £20 as suggested above.
When I said I can't justify the cost it is just because I don't do enough journeys where I require the sat nat. I can fully understand why somebody constantly using a sat nav could justify the £500. But for me you can get a separate top end sat nav device for £250-£300 and so the extra on top is just not worth it (especially as I already have a decent device). Though it would be nice not to have to carry a separate device around, for approx one user per month that is an expensive upgrade.
I think I will give it a few weeks and then go a try my luck with the dealer. In my eyes, other than the 'fitting', the SD card, and the licencing I can't see any other costs for them so at £150 would still be making money off me.
When I said I can't justify the cost it is just because I don't do enough journeys where I require the sat nat. I can fully understand why somebody constantly using a sat nav could justify the £500. But for me you can get a separate top end sat nav device for £250-£300 and so the extra on top is just not worth it (especially as I already have a decent device). Though it would be nice not to have to carry a separate device around, for approx one user per month that is an expensive upgrade.
I think I will give it a few weeks and then go a try my luck with the dealer. In my eyes, other than the 'fitting', the SD card, and the licencing I can't see any other costs for them so at £150 would still be making money off me.
The SD card and license costs £500 as a part from Audi, the activation and fitting can be charged on top (I believe). I seriously doubt you'll get a big enough discount on the SD card and license to bring it down to £150, and then get free fitting on top. There just isn't that much mark up in it for the dealers.
Where are folks getting quotes of £500 - £550 for Sat Nav from? Glasgow and Stirling audi have quoted me 650 and £620 respectively.
Hi guys, Does the sd sat nav link to driver display? Does anyone have a direct comparison between hd and sd images on smaller screen? I. Collecting my new s3 this week not sure whether to get the sd sat nav. Many thanks
RYuill
Registered User
I was quoted £495 from Dundee. But as it says in another thread, if you buy the SD card with 2013 maps from ebay and get audi to activate it, you can get it all for about £260
Got SD dealer fitted pre delivery as part of final deal re delays etc. Technically just a SD requiring audi activation yes and in that respect silly money (as much software) however so glad I got it and would recommend at £500 if deals can't be done. Good nav, brings Dis into play also etc.
MrAudi
Registered User
I have my map info running off a cd as who listens to cd's these days??, you can buy the latest years maps for about £30-40 on eBay
Sat navigation are important and a bonus if selling the car. The whole point is that it's integrated with the car and part of the dash. Not only does the visual display comes up but on the display cluster it has additional information. Yes you can buy a top of the range sat nav for £150 buy you'll have cables trailing, and the hassle of putting it in and out of sight when leaving the car. I don't use the sat nav for all my journeys but it has helped me in the past. It shows what routes are blocked and given alternative layouts.
Bite the bullet and get it. You won't regret it and if you can afford an 18k+ luxury hot hatch then £500 is something to invest in.
Bite the bullet and get it. You won't regret it and if you can afford an 18k+ luxury hot hatch then £500 is something to invest in.
Like most options, it makes the car more 'desirable' to sell or trade-in but does not add anything to it's value. The only 'option' that adds true value is the s-tronic gearbox and that is because cars fitted with it are listed and priced separately in the Audi price lists.
As far as the Audi Sat/Nav is concerned I personally don't like it and would never pay for the option but others do like it. The best thing is to try and drive a car with it fitted as I did, use it and see if you like it.
A lot can depend on the reason you want the Sat/Nav. If it's for warning you about speed cameras, the Audi unit is pretty useless at this as it's difficult to add the necessary POIs and even if you can, the system cannot give any form of audible warning. That's the main reason why I stuck with my small TomTom unit, hard-wired so than on 50mm of wiring is visible from the door surround rubber and the unit itself.
As far as the Audi Sat/Nav is concerned I personally don't like it and would never pay for the option but others do like it. The best thing is to try and drive a car with it fitted as I did, use it and see if you like it.
A lot can depend on the reason you want the Sat/Nav. If it's for warning you about speed cameras, the Audi unit is pretty useless at this as it's difficult to add the necessary POIs and even if you can, the system cannot give any form of audible warning. That's the main reason why I stuck with my small TomTom unit, hard-wired so than on 50mm of wiring is visible from the door surround rubber and the unit itself.
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It may not add value to the car in trade terms, but it does for private sales.
Quoted 600 from dealer, I can't see how it risers from 495 to 600, 495 is dear how it jumps another 105 and I haven't collected the car yet.
RYuill
Registered User
495 is how much it would of cost if you had spect in from build, Dundee would of added it for nothing ready for pick up. Think they are being pretty tight if they are charging you extra for labour costs on top.
Thanks ryuill, they said they will activate it if I buy an sd card elsewhere will it work once system activated?
RYuill
Registered User
Yes, a few people on here have bought the SD card from ebay, then it just needs activated. I'm pretty sure it has to be an official audi SD card. I think you can get the 2013 maps for about £40 and the 2014 for around £100ish.
Got mine supplied and fitted at Audi Salisbury for £515 inc VAT, which I thought was reasonable when the cost is £495 for a factory order.
I must say I'm really pleased with the sat nav option, and the way it interacts with the other MMI functions.
Sorry another noob question if audi activate my nav can I purchase sd card later and just pop it in or is the activation linked to the card?
Interesting that this thread has popped up again as I've been pondering biting the bullet on this again recently. Has anyone bought an SD card off eBay; is there a catch? I don't understand where these are coming from (if they are genuine) as presumably Audi only sell them to dealers?
Also does anyone know if the dealer activation is just turning the function on, or is it card dependent? Where I'm going with this is if I decided I wanted to update in a couple of years time would it just be a matter of buying a new card, or would I need to take the car back to the dealer?
Also does anyone know if the dealer activation is just turning the function on, or is it card dependent? Where I'm going with this is if I decided I wanted to update in a couple of years time would it just be a matter of buying a new card, or would I need to take the car back to the dealer?
If the activation is anything like the activation that was done on my A3 to enable to extra ACC menu then it is a matter of the technician put a dongle into the OBD port of your car. This then communicates with special laptop computer. The technician makes contact via internet with Audi in Germany and once the connection is made, goes through a series on menus. The necessary code change is then downloaded to the laptop and then to your car via the dongle. Job done. It took around 10 minutes in total for my activation to be completed and as it was done at a Aftersales Evening at my dealers it cost me nothing.
The technician did say this is now the way almost all the code changes are handled on the latest models.
Hi all, I'm taking delivery of a new A3 Sport 1.4 this weekend and I didn't go for the sat nav sd card, thinking I'll just buy the SD Card elsewhere at a later date. My dealer quoted £495 but would find out about activating a card if I buy it elsewhere.
Can anyone offer a link to somewhere (ebay for example) of one that would be suitable? I can see a few on ebay right now around £100 but I just want to ensure I get the right one!
Can anyone offer a link to somewhere (ebay for example) of one that would be suitable? I can see a few on ebay right now around £100 but I just want to ensure I get the right one!
A lot depends on the cost Audi will charge to activate the system. As I said in my previous post, the only way to get the system activated is by a dealer connecting you car, via the internet, to Audi's central computer system. You may get an SD card cheap but the dealer will still probably charge you the standard price to get the system activated.
Thanks, my dealer said they wouldn't activate a card if bought elsewhere so I'll contact a few others. I found a link to an SD card on ebay priced around £80 for 2014 maps so even if costs £160 for a dealer to plug in a laptop and activate it, it'll be half the price.
Did you get anywhere with this? I am taking delivery of a new A3 in March and will hopefully try the ebay route....
Thanks
Hi, new to the forum. Just got my 65 plate a3 sline sportback last week. Any developments on the sat nav situation? Can a second hand 2014 maps SD card be enabled to the nav?
People telling me I have an Audi and should be able to afford it. Still think £500 for such a small job is ridiculous. I also think that with the price and spec of the car that sat nav should be standard.
Great car though.
People telling me I have an Audi and should be able to afford it. Still think £500 for such a small job is ridiculous. I also think that with the price and spec of the car that sat nav should be standard.
Great car though.
Gadgeygoo
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I'm in the same boat as Matty8114 - I take delivery of mine on Monday/Tuesday next week, and I am very intrigued as to what my options are. It almost seems there's no definitive answer on price for either option. I definitely prefer it to a TomTom etc., but £500 is a lot of money when you've just shelled out near 25k on the car.
I'm going to email my dealer tomorrow and try to get a price on them fitting it before I collect it. I'll let you guys know.
I'm going to email my dealer tomorrow and try to get a price on them fitting it before I collect it. I'll let you guys know.
Hi gadgeygoo, did you get a price because i am sure that 500 is a pretty standard price from what i gather. Its not the dealer, its audi that charge the dealer. I can get it done for 400, someone i know has the audi license on his machine to do this.
I had an sd card installed by Audi main dealer 2015 A3 sport back 1.4 Tfsi cost £550 my advice to any body considering this upgrade is DONT bother in my opinion sd system is not fit for purpose, big big mistake having it installed.
Hi Michael,
You are definitely not happy with the SD card system, is this because it is generally not as good as you thought it would be or poor compared to other systems or manufacturers? I have the sd system now but had the full 2g in a previous A4. I went for the smaller and cheaper option this time because for me the sd card was a good compromise given the excessive cost of the full system. I am amazed though that Audi don't put the SD card in as standard and let you update for the extra bits you might want. I find the card system meets all my needs and is definitely an improvement over the 2g, hope you find some hidden bits that make it a bit more worthwhile for you.
You are definitely not happy with the SD card system, is this because it is generally not as good as you thought it would be or poor compared to other systems or manufacturers? I have the sd system now but had the full 2g in a previous A4. I went for the smaller and cheaper option this time because for me the sd card was a good compromise given the excessive cost of the full system. I am amazed though that Audi don't put the SD card in as standard and let you update for the extra bits you might want. I find the card system meets all my needs and is definitely an improvement over the 2g, hope you find some hidden bits that make it a bit more worthwhile for you.
