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I'm a new 2009 DB9 owner and decided my first upgrade would be the one thing that bugged me about such a nice car... the Nav/display. I went for the Garmin DriveSmart™ 65 with Amazon Alexa and the 6.95" display size. Fits like a glove. Opens with the ignition key inserted and unit turns off and auto closes with the key removed. Thanks to all the great info on this forum I was able to do everything myself... to include wireless backup camera. $200 USD for the Garmin Unit and $150 for the wireless rear camera.that activates with reverse automatically. Too many Garmin features to mention but it all works perfectly including Bluetooth audio over the factory audio system.. As good as any 2020 factory car infotainment center.... beautiful display.. I've used Android Auto and Apple Play in a new cars and this is WAY better. Only downside is Garmin's backup camera (BC-30) resolution sucks.by 2020 standards... hoping they upgrade soon. Garmin DriveSmart™ 65 with Amazon Alexa...all 6.95” inches of it..
nice upgrade. I have Alexa in my cars... great for streaming music, controlling navigation e.t.c, especially in non tech cars like older astons...I can control garage door and drop in to other devices at home
I'm a novice at posting so hope this makes some sense.
The only parts that I purchased were the Garmin DriveSmart, the Garmin BC-30 Camera, and a cigarette lighter socket to wire into 12v power (the Garmin only has a cigarette lighter power plug). Nothing else needs to be purchased.
I pulled the original Sat Nav unit and removed the display/circuit card assy from the Sat Nav display metal frame using instructions on this forum.
The frame was cut down as shown in the picture so it could not be seen when in the open position. I used the metal cover from the circuit card assy to fab a pseudo clamshell attachment structure by bonding it to the metal frame. I used a Dremel for all the cutting. This provided a fairly strong rigid structure to attach the Garmin clip mount.
I did have to clearance the plastic tray at the inside edges and corners because they had an inside radius and the Garmin just barely fits. You can see in the picture the Garmin lays down nicely in the tray in the closed position. Pic from an old post on this forum... Frame was cut right at the left side jog which left about 2" of height to attach the clam shell.
Close up of how the original spring clip fits Alexa using the Garmin display and car audio system to play Pandora streaming music. Just one example of what can be done with this "Sat Nav" upgrade.
I attached a PDF with the instructions for removing the old Sat Nav Display... it has a couple of links to videos. It is for a Vantage but had the best info I could find.
Pic from install in the Vantage link. The mounting fab in my install was attempting to make the final install look a bit cleaner (no sandwich) and not have the frame visible.
Last edited by rdg; Jun 3, 2020 at 08:35 AM.
Reason: update info
Nice! I would think about it but I have the later Garmin in my 13 and don't use it, mostly because of its location. Having to reach way up there isn't convenient to me so I just attach my phone to one of those magnetic attachments clipped onto a vent above the radio.
bravo! well done.
