Ok.. spent 2 days calling around to dealerships in the Quad City area here in il/ia. Also calling Navtec and Ford Nav help desk. Here is what i got.

A kind person there emailed me the entire how-to email which was also sent out to FORD shops.

It has links to everything they need to get the job done, including the activation process for the DVD. there should be no reason they cant do this.

Navtec also confirmed the normal rate of charge is ususaly 200.00

However. its not like they are sitting in front of or in the vehicle the entire time. They put DVD 1 in. wait a couple hrs . come back .. insert dvd 2 ( gracenote update ) and 30 mins later. all done. all in all i could see a 1hr charge for the process and a charge for the actual informaiton. i know garmin updates i do for friends are around 60.00. So a 140.00 would seem like a fair price.

If anyone want the documents i was sent . PM me I will be gald to share.

If I had known it was going to be this big of a pain in the ***. I would have stuck with factory whatever in my plat. and installed a pioneer or other system after the fact.

everyone have a great week.

brant b.

 

Who said it " and now , the rest of the story"

So.. went into local dealership, the one that said i could order from navtec saving me money. eventhough i started that was not the case. I admit my bubble got a little off of plumb 3 mins after walking through the door.
After letting them know obtaining this dvd was not that huge of a deal. their customer service was . SO.
they ordered the DVD yesterday using documentation i supplied, which i got from FORD. DVD was there this AM around 11.

I will be setting up an appt with them for next week. They are almost still insisting the dvd is mine to keep. Well if thats the case. ill just sell it to someone else.

I will let everyone know what happens after that.

Everyone have a great weekend.

 

The late great Paul Harvey. It was actually "and now you know the rest of the story."

 

What are they going to charge you? (if you don't mms me asking)

 

i'll be that "someone else"!!!, when i'm driving home, i go over a highway they just completed last year, yet, nothing is there....

 

So the Nav owners should expect $200 yearly update fee? Crazy expensive.

 

there are other ways to get the updates without worrying about the cost.

 

But you still have to go to the dealer to have the update performed. I'd rather have a DVD update sent to me. It still seems like a lot of money for what you're actually getting. And it doesn't mention what it actually updates - I know when I used a Garmin, it would list how many POI's, roads, etc., were in the update. If I could find one on eBay, I'd be all over it!

 

MarKY- thanks for the clairification. Ill be sure to make a note of that.. tool box!

IronMedic If there is an easier way than purchasing the disc's from FORD. not NAVTEC.. becuase you CANT get them yet from NAVTEC, please share. Dont pretend you know.. or just refuse to cooperate to seem cooler than the rest. Being in the computer field, i understand there are 'ways' around things. But id rather pay 200.00 have it work. Than spend nothing, hours and hours hacking or some other means, and have it not work. Be part of the solution , help others on this site. Or dont comment- Please .. I have had a stressful week at work. as im sure there are others here who have not had the easiest week.. then to deal with this crap and 4 different dealerships. I dont need anymore flack.

anyway.. About the other posts.. After i complained about the customer service i was getting ( not just this deal. i take my truck there for the 3yr free maint. and they just act like i am going to throw a wrench in the works when i walk in. hey , free money to you. deal with it. )
they wanted to get the update. and do it for free. Thats not why i complained and came unglued. I am willing to pay them for thier work, i am not the one who complains about their meal each and everytime to just get a discount and still eat it all.!..
So. after they stated they would just do it for 50.00 i explained i figured a normal update for a typical nav system was about 60-80. while we can do these update ourselves, this would save xx.xx money per hour, of actual in front of screen work . So . update for 60 ( low side ) and 80-90 labor. ( no way around that, ) would be fair considering.

I told them i could see a 150 - 200 charge. again , they are still under the impression i get to keep disc(s), per FORD and Navtec, this is not the case im sure..

As for paying this each year. with the limited travel that i do. where i would rely on this 80 percent. im sure i will just wait 2 years. i hear from navtec the exclusive rights to perform these update will be over by the time 2012 come out.? i am hoping?

I also opted to just pay for the update disc(s) -1x update. completing the update onsite myself outside the shop. however if the update does not complete. the unit could be rendered useless. and i dont have contacts to rectify that. took more phone calls and legwork than i would have wanted it to anyhow to get this far.

SO. i will schedule this for the coming week. and go from there. If i do just pay the 320 they stated the disc(s) cost them. well. I was sent the link to get activation code based on a reg number in radio. I will get it done. and then sell the discs. as i will never need them again. and prolly for 60 cheaper than i paid. just so i can say i "paid" for the update. haah..

well . i have had a couple more ask for emails of the communication from FORD. i sent them out. hope that helps .. remember some of the links wont work. or will take you to the B2B section of fords network , no logins for that. but the one to get the key works . should let clueless dealers get started in a general direction. later yall.

update is dated nov 2009, forgot that

 

Have you read this thread?

http://boards.synccommunity.com/n/pf...yncmb&tid=1951

 

Thanks for sharing.. I had not looked at that site in a while. Too many people stating they knew what was going on , but would not share. So i took matters into my own hands.. I explained i realy wanted this update for the Grace note updates.. but obviously want a more up to date nav system , or i would have ordered a truck without one , vs taking one off the lot. my main use of the system is for the interaction aspect with travel link and my music.

I do agree more time and effort should have been put forth for this. after the update i will check places which did not show up before. places i know were there long before i got my truck. noticing the map was outdated- way outdated when i bought it made me think there would be issues.

thanks for sharing. i hope all goes well this week.

they will be using me as a beta, so they can set a price based on how long it should take vs how long it takes them the first couple times. if there are obsitcles.

everyone have a great weekend, its almost over!!

 

to you for being the guinea pig!

Please keep us posted.

 

check your PM and i didnt appreciate your comments. you may have had a stressful week at work but its nothing like i go through on a daily basis. dont take your stress out on forum members. i wasnt trying to come across in a negative way. if someone was interested in what i had to say, they would have PM'ed me about it. if you read my PM, you will see what i mean.

 

These updates are more than a year behind. You may not see that highway on the update either.

The update on my wife's Lexus is $250 a year. I waited three years, then got the two year newer update off of eBay. Neither of us noticed any new roads on the update, even those roads that were a few years old were not showing up on the updates.

I'm convinced these updates are over priced, and under worked, but I'll still get another one. I look for people on ebay who buy the latest version, and then sell their last years version.

 

I PM'd you back..
Think about it however .. if you have information,, let us know what it is.. or no one will know its worth their time to contact you. Many might think its not worth it to contact me. But many have.

I wish FORD or NAVTEC would have a simple , this or that answer.. its getting crazy. maybe someone will come out with a system where we can just run Linux on the system? that would be cool.. maybe ill try to find a nav system online , and work on that. Ill probably goto FORD jail. but it would be nice to have a full operating system in the truck. have it boot out of RAM, and load prefs off of hard drive.? mmm.