Sat Nav SIM Card Help

[Cel469]

Hi

I am looking at buying a 17 plate GLA 200 S D.

The car comes equipped with
Audio 20 CD including preinstallation for Garmin® MAP PILOT.

I understand a Sim card is required to use the Sat Nav, but the dealership is quoting £500+!

This seems quite high, online retailers are selling Sims £40 upwards.

Can these be used, or is it likely these are just updates and I require some installation sim?

The online retailers do look to be reputable.

Also, the car does come with Android Auto, is this a viable/better alternative?

Many thanks ks kn advance, this could sway our decision on the car

 

[Ted]

The cheap online ones are knockoffs and do not come with traffic alerts.
They will work perfectly otherwise but are not legit.
I would double check (by plugging in the phone) that it has AA or Carplay - it might have smartphone integration but that doesn’t mean it has AA
And AA/carplay are great - you really don’t need the inbuilt satnav if you have it.

 

[Delderek]

Traffic alerts on the sd card are no longer available. You now have to subscribe to navigation at, in my case £139.00 per year (C class w205 1966 audio 20) it changed late last year. Not worth it to me, but maybe to some.

 

[markjay]

...I understand a Sim card is required to use the Sat Nav, but the dealership is quoting £500+!

Welcome.

It's actually an SD-Card (not Sim card).

If you buy it for the first time, the dealer will charge you £499 for the Garmin Map Pilot navigation.

If you already have and want a newer version, the dealer will charge you £99 for an upgrade SD-Card.

The thing is that the original 'first time' and the 'upgrade' SD-Card, are in fact identical, apart for the Merchant Benz part number stamped on it....

So you can go back to the dealer and ask the parts department for an upgrade SD-Card. It will work just fine in your car.

Or, buy it on eBay/Amazon.

But make sure that the car does actually have the Audio20 infotainment system - because if it has a different unit (e.g. COMAND) then the SD-Card won't work in it.

Good luck.

 

[markjay]

And, Waze or Google Maps via Android Auto is a better option than the Garmin Map Pilot. It will always be up to date, and it will have live traffic.

But - it uses your phone's mobile data allowance (which can be an issue for some), and you won't be able to see the navigation arrows in the instrument cluster display (or on the HUD, if your car has HUD).

But overall, Waze / Google Maps via Android Auto is the better option.

 

[JHS]

Traffic alerts on the sd card are no longer available. You now have to subscribe to navigation at, in my case £139.00 per year (C class w205 1966 audio 20) it changed late last year. Not worth it to me, but maybe to some.

A 1966 W205 is a VERY rare car indeed!!

 

[Delderek]

Oops, dont know where that error came from it should be 2016

 

[Cel469]

Thanks everyone! Really appreciate the feedback.

Sounds like Android Auto will fulfil our needs, and having confirmed that, we are picking the new car up this weekend

 

[markjay]

Thanks everyone! Really appreciate the feedback.

Sounds like Android Auto will fulfil our needs, and having confirmed that, we are picking the new car up this weekend

Just keep in mind that Android Auto was an option on the car when new. So not all cars have it. Before collecting the car, best to run the VIN in an online VIN decoder and confirm that the first owner actually specified the Android Auto option.