PCM or not?

My car doesnt have PCM and I was looking at having it installed (you can buy reconditioned/ 2nd hand units), however the unit price starts at around £1000. In addition, I would have to buy the CD as well. This seems quite expensive when Tom Toms are £300! I do still like the idea of PCM because it integrates with the car. Unfortunately, I believe the software isnt up to scratch and not updated. The other option is a non porsche integrated system which would probably carry better technology. The downside to this is that I can see future purchasers wanting original equipment. I bought the car knowing it didnt have sat nav. My previous car was an M3 and when I traded that in (it didnt have sat nav either) the dealer made some negative noises about ow my trade in value would be a couple of grand less. I know Porsche dealers make similar noises. I suppose I'm looking for advice or opinion on what route to take.

I wouldn't bother either - even if you can get one of the last updates of the software and maps, its likely to cost an additional £300 or more, and still won;t be as up to date as a £200 tomtom. It'll also be the last update you'll ever get, as Porsche don't support the older formats. This business of sat nav for resale is complete OPC spin in my opinion - i'd actually look for a car without it, as once the car gets beyond 4 or so years old, the system is out of date and frozen in time. Admittedly this government isn't going all out to add roads in every county, so the degree of 'out of dateness' is perhaps less than you'd think. However a new tomtom for the price of a software update is a no brainer to me, and in total cost terms you could buy four new tomtoms over a 8 year period for the cost of an integrated out of date screen. Oh and one final note - the tomtom user interface is much easier to use

Dealers will say anything to beat the price down. Satnav is all very well on a 1-2 year old car but the fact is PCM on a 98-00 car is next to useless as there are no upgrades! £200-300 gets you a TomTom or a Garmin which is better, has bluetooth, is up to date and can be used in more than one car ....

I agree with both the above, except my vote goes to TomTom. It does have bluetooth, and the user interface is a doddle. You get full postcode search and can also subscribe to the 'safety' camera database, and/or live traffic info, which is more than you'll ever get with PCM.

Sorry I wasn't trying to say Garmin was better than TomTom (although I do have a Garmin) - I was meaning both are better than PCM. Although FYI Garmin also has full postcode and speed camera database. In in many peoples' opinion the Navteq database (which you get with Garmin) is better than the Teleatlas (which you get with TomTom). www.pocketgpsworld.com for anyone who's interested.

Muzzer, it really is a no-brainer. I've got PCM1 and as a Sat Nav system it's very poor - I regularly stick my TomTom in the car instead! PCM looks smart though, and it's useful as a central control system for your DSP, A/C, etc, but that's about it. You'd be better off spending the money on either a portable Sat Nav (ebay - pick up a TomTom 510, with bluetooth, for less than £300) or a sexy motorised head unit (with Nav) such as this: http://www.caraudiodiscount.com/acatalog/motorised_screens_navigation.html or http://www.caraudiodiscount.com/acatalog/alpine_motorised_screens_navigation.html I wish I could! [ ]

Tim - I meant the same as you -forget the PCM and go with a portable which has more features. My brother bought a sexy Alpine system with a flip-up screen about 4 years ago - guess what? You can't get maps for it any more.

Mine has PCM and it's useful for the various integrated aspects, but navigation isn't the deal. I actually use TomTom for navigation, although the PCM does have some use in this quarter because it provides a better map overview: useful when you want to know exactly where you are. Porsche isn't much use when it comes to updates, so the best move is to get in touch with Gerard Mahoney at http://www.satnavshop.com/ . Gerard's done a lot to resolve the problem encountered by Porsche PCM owners (particularly those who have earlier versions) and provides software to enable using maps from other systems.

Whilst I can understand the comment of the PCM being both unsupported and expensive by Porsche I can't really see it was that bad. I have a TT in the work vehicle and I much prefer the PCM system. I had PCM1 in my car and it got me everywhere I ever needed to go both in the UK and with a bit of paper map work and using the main roads routes, it got me around Europe. PCM2 worked out the routes around the Swiss Alpine passes and various other trips to Europe again.. Yes It was missing the newest roads (M6Toll) but the majority were all working. No sat Nav is idiot proof and all need some work, however the speed of the zoom function and easily read maps on the PCM I have found to be much better than my TT. Just me then... garyw

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Porsche-Navigation-PCM-System-Boxster-Carrera-Turbo-911_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ38653QQihZ006QQitemZ160043841124QQrdZ1QQsspagenameZWD2V

Also have a look at the alternatives from Becker (they make the OEM radios and PCM). They have direct replacement units for the standard CDR-22 that have bang up to date Sat-Nav, bluetooth, MP3 etc. etc. in a single DIN unit for half the price of a recon PCM-1 plus disks. Try here for starters: http://www.sempal.co.uk/ Ian W

My 2 pence is....while the early PCM systems don't look that great and you can't get updates anymore they are still ok. My PCM 1 got me from here to Italy and back without any problems. As others have said it does also offer some nice features such as the audio set up and the trip computer. That said I wouldn't pay to have it retro fitted, it would probably cost about 1.5K and wouldn't add anything to resale value. For me there are better ways to spend this much on a 996. Cheers Paul

Interesting thread I had PCM2 in my C2 which I found useful - when I switched to the GT3 I, along with a number of others from the forum, got together and got a group deal on Becker's 7945 trafficpro which is a great unit - however, if you have a later model 996 with the CAN bus and want to use this little gem, then be warned that its not a simple swap for the CDR23 that I thought it was - there are a couple of things you need to mod to prevent it from making your aircon fail! which I found to my cost during the high temps this summer!!!! - I took the car into the OPC believing the aircon needed recharging to find out that it was the radio preventing the on signals to be sent via the CAN bus to the compressor. As a replacement for the CDR23 and providing bluetooth phone support, MP3 and satnav this unit is a very good and discreet alternative to a Tomtom or similar as prying eyes just see a normal radio unit. The navigation screen is of course limited but I've had no problems with the available maps and directions etc it certainly seems to be as effective as the factory system I have in an Audi - and when I get time I'll work out how the voice command system works - I hope it is more responsive than the wife!!!!!

I've just fitted PCM2 and phone module to my 996TT and it was bloody expensive, but it looks great, the Satnav is pretty good (but no postcode search as my Tom Tom has). The handsfree phone module is good and overall I'm pleased with it. Within the next few years PCM2 will of course add some value as people want it.....

Hi My 996 has PCM1 and whilst it is out of date (my own house isn't on it!) I find it gets you generally where you want to go and is a useful backup if you get lost. What I do like is the fact that everything is integrated, phone, sat nav, radio, computer, etc and it is all so easy to use. The sat nav works with the radio and the voice cuts in and out as you drive which is nice. I love the computer as well. I think it looks better than having stuff stuck on the windscreen. BUT would I pay £1,500 to have it retro-fitted probably not... If I get another newer 996 or even a 997 I will definetly look for PCM as being an essential option, once you had it you wouldn't want to go back regards John Stratford 996 924S

I was thinking of replacing my CDR23 with the Becker 7945 Traffic Pro..... what change to the CAN bus needs to be done? I need a trip to the OPC to activate my child seat air bag de-activation unit anyway. P

I found the following article - www.ultima-gtr.org.uk/becker.php that goes through step by step what to do to get it working - hope it helps Dave

Excellent help.... when I've desided which head unit to go for, I'll post fitting help/pictures for anyone else about to do the same. [ ]

I have just purchased 2006/7 maps for my MY2002 C2 PCM1 16bit from Navshop24 they also sent me a software update CD and all work fine, they are very helpful this only cost me £115 inc postage. http://cgi3.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewUserPage&userid=www_navishop24_com