[mogambo]

Hello BHP-ians - a Very Happy Diwali to everyone.
I'm considering buying a Honda City (mid-range) and want to replace the default audio system with full touch-screen AVN (GPS, BlueTooth, Music, Radio, CD, USB, ..).
Each Honda Dealer (I talked to Magnum and Dakshin) have their own brand costing approx Rs.50,000 / -.

They are refusing to provide any discount for returning the audio system that comes with the car.

Should I go with the dealer and get their AVN installed or get my own?

If the recommendation is to get my own - what's a good place to buy it (store/online) and get it fitted?

Thanks for the advice.

[invidious]

I would recommend this -

https://pioneer-india.in/product/avh-x8890bt/

The list price is 40k - so I assuming they will be willing to sell under MRP.

The list of dealers in Karnataka is available


I would personally prefer my own choice than be stuck with what the dealer offers. But do check about warranty and if an outside installation affects it in some manner. It should not but rather be safe than sorry.

[harsh79]

Look for a reputed aftermarket installer and just make sure that there is strictly no wire cutting or splicing involved in the installation to avoid warranty issues. Aftermarket harnesses with OEM compatible couplers are available for most cars and aftermarket head-units. Harnesses with and without a canbus (if required) are available to enable the steering controls too.

Most dealers IMO wouldn't take back the pulled out OEM head unless they already have a buyer looking for that particular one. I've seen boxes full of now unwanted OEM HU's collecting dust with aftermarket dealers.

Check for competent aftermarket dealers that have been reviewed by fellow members in the Team-BHP Directory section for Bangalore.

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/bangalore/

[swiftnfurious]

There is nothing beneficial in buying the unit from the dealer (except them trying to pin you with "losing the warranty" clause which is not correct). Please buy it from some reputed shop; you'll manage the same system at a much lesser price or better systems at the same price (offered at dealer).

You can try selling your OEM unit via classifieds or check with these shops on buy back.

[wrongturn]

My friend lives in Bangkok, he was coming to India and I asked him to get a car AVN system. He brought a Win CE AVN out of innocence if I may say though I had specifically told him to get an Android AVN but he was tricked into buying this so anyways, you have to live with it. It's a 7 inch player but had papago installed as the navigation app, so being a total noob at car GPS systems I had to do my initial research and was able to install mapmyindia on it with q1 2015 maps. It has a kind of emulator that switches from regular os to navigation and entertainment os. It has everything from back cam and front cam support, steering button support, brake beep and what not. Even supports HD video playback and great sound output. All this was for INR 9K and is still going great after 1 year. Also no wires had to be cut or spliced to install it, everything was plug & play.
If you can do some research you can probably get a good android AVN player for under INR 20K with a quad core processor and 2GB RAM /16GB ROM. Also try olx/cars/spares to check local dealers selling such AVNs to get a good deal and warranty on the product as well.

[sanchari]

I don't know if the Jazz VX AVN system is similar to City's or not. But I would recommend against the Jazz AVN system. Its too slow and not too very intuitive. Also makemymaps software which is on the AVN system isn't that good, but I don't know of any alternatives

[GTO]

Buy your own, but get it fitted from a Honda dealer. This way, they won't cry if & when any warranty claims come up.

Whatever the dealer is selling for 50 grand, it'll be heavily marked up (as most dealer accessories are). You'll get something far superior in the after-market for lesser moolah.

Originally Posted by mogambo

They are refusing to provide any discount for returning the audio system that comes with the car.

The stock ICE will get you peanuts, if at all you manage to find a buyer for it. Pack it up and store it in the attic. When it's time to sell the car, fit it back and take your high-end touchscreen with you to the next car.

At the time of my Civic's sale, I reinstalled the OEM head-unit and sold the ICE separately.

[Sree_hari82]

My friend's relative has put this Karmann Technik (HOC-09) 9 inch touch screen OE fit in his Honda City. Purchased from Amazon india and fitted locally at a ICE shop near his house in chennai. Attaching few pics here.

[mogambo]

Thanks a ton everyone - incredibly useful. Here's what I found.

1) I checked one shop - he was pushing Pioneer systems. Costing around 45k. He had Blaupunkt and MapMyIndia around 30k but understandably was discouraging me from going for those
2) Dealer's price seems to be non-negotiable but the shops are providing good discounts on MRP
3) There is no wire cutting as most cars nowadays are coming with a plug for all wires - the store manager showed me how they simply unplug the older system, give it back and install the new one. Zero wire cutting.

I had heard of only Pioneer and Blaupunkt so far - Karmann seems interesting. 9" is the largest screen I have come across (above). Most systems I have come across are 6"-7".

Will keep digging.

Thanks

Did a bit of lookup - none of the stores have 9" models - they have 7" at best. Only 9" model being The Karmann Technik (Windows it looks like) listed above and Breton (Android). No idea about pros and cons.
Only thing is that there is more information on these than the Honda dealers share.

Decision made - not to go with unit installation by Honda dealer.
Decision to be made - Karmann or Breton.

[straight6]

Pioneer India gives a 2 year warranty so keep that in mind before going for others. Besides, they have multiple service centers in most metros.