Panda 2012+ New Zealand popping in!

[chinagalnz]

Hi. New here, but probably won't be a regular! Not a car fanatic but I do love my 2015 Panda. Owned it a couple of years now but havent checked out all its features yet!
One question - I see there is a place on the dash to install a navigation system - Blue & Me Tomtom? Does anyone know if these are available? Hailing from the bottom of the bottom of the world in NZ & my local Fiat people say they arent made anymore..............
Thanks for any info.

 

[The Pretender]

Welcome to the Forum.

You can use the new Mobile telephone version, instead of the TomTom version.
TomTom versions would be hard to get.

 

[The Pretender]

B.t.w. The TomTom dashboard cradle is available in 2 versions, depending what type TomTom you use/have.

 

[varesecrazy]

Hi. New here, but probably won't be a regular! Not a car fanatic but I do love my 2015 Panda. Owned it a couple of years now but havent checked out all its features yet!
One question - I see there is a place on the dash to install a navigation system - Blue & Me Tomtom? Does anyone know if these are available? Hailing from the bottom of the bottom of the world in NZ & my local Fiat people say they arent made anymore..............
Thanks for any info.

Hi and welcome

Far from my field of expertise..

Yes that sysyem is quite old.. but not completely pointless

Member Farrah got to update a copy they bought I believe


What kind of panda is it.. ( we have 3 option engines in europe.. not sure about NZ )

Charlie

 

[chinagalnz]

Its the Lounge model - dualogic, with Twinnair turbo. 2 cylinder. I will ask further in NZ as well. Thought maybe there might be an aftermarket unit that would fit into the mount. Rather than one that uses suction onto the windscreen.

 

[varesecrazy]

Twinair auto..

 

[Farrah]

Hi there at covid free NZ.....been a long time since I was in Auckland,


The dash mount is known as the 68R fitting and is great for wire free Sat Nav as it supplies the 12v power to the cradle which then transforms it down to the standard I think 5.4v so the cradle is not just a plastic holder.

That said ALL the signals to and from it to the cars Blue Me are done through BlueTooth.

To get the best you need to have BlueMe on the car and the 68R. Some cars had both some cars just BlueMe and some cars no BlueMe and the 68R dash mount so establish what you have.

There are actually 4 different 'active' mounts (lets say an active mount is one that has internal electronics) for the Fiat sat navs so be warned if you are trying to buy things separately as they suit different levels of satnav device and not compatible. As well as the active mounts there is one Fiat approved accessory and a few non Fiat devices that are just a 'plastic' mount holder cradle to take another satnav device or a mobile phone. These have no internal electronics and just a plastic mount that fits into the 68R dash slot. So here usually you will need trailing wires albeit phone batteries do seem to last a long time


Rather than take you through all the Fiat satnav devices from the original 2007 MagnetiMarelliMap to TomTom(one) and then TomTom2 suffice to say at your model year if BlueMe installed then it should be programmed for the latest TomTom2 or at least be able to be updated.

The TomTom2's are still available even from Fiat parts accessories but retail around £250+.

Basically the Fiat TomTom2 is just a TomTomGO Live 1000 with the BlueMe added software in conjunction with Chrysler/TomTom.

These are really good level quality satnavs IMHO with good graphics and lots of features in their own rights however with the interaction of the cars BlueMe all the cars info is graphically/pictorally displayed on the TomTom screen instead of just written on the speedo cluster.

I certainly would recommend one and they can be purchased secondhand from £50 to £100. However if you do not have BlueMe but have the 68R then save your money and just buy a TomTomGo1000Live as you can get these for less than £10 and then a cradle for around £20-25. You will not though get the cars data displayed through the TomTom screen.


There were quite a few new ones being listed on Australian eBay for about $100 but I am not sure how the maps work across countries down under but I would be surprised if you could not find one with NZ maps. I also do not know how the LIVE services work but not something perhaps too much of a necessity anyway.

The LIVE services just reroute journey in the event of accidents and quite frankly I don't really rate it her in UK. It is a yearly contract of around £50 and many times I have ignored it only to find whatever at the start of my journey was trying to change my preferred route had well been sorted by the time I arrived at what was the accident or road closure so I tend to rely on our radio 'traffic' which interupts my radio with local traffic updates.

My daughter loves the TomTom2 we updated in our 2010 S from the MagnetiMarelliMap which the dealer said was not possible BUT DEFINITELY IS. When playing the iPod music from the USB port everything is visual on TomTom2 screen and the TomTom too benefits from voice commands.

To me it was money well spent and we paid around £80 for ours complete with cradle and original TomTom cable which is important to do updates as the MPRoC copies do not work for updates and only provide a power lead for charging off the car.

The only thing I would say don't expect the batteries to last when you see them taking the satnav out the car and using it around the town walking. It may get you to the nearest bar or restaurant but be flat by the time you want to find your car. It is not a battery fault just not sufficient with the graphics on this model. We actually have put a higher amphour battery in ours. Obviously when in car it is constantly being charged when ignition is on.

Hope this helps and if more info needed just ask.

Farrah

 

[varesecrazy]

Thank you Farrah

 

[Farrah]

Hi,

Here is the link to the Australian seller for new ones and generally the prices he gets are way below our UK new ones and more on par with our used sales prices.

https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/BRAND-N...384737?hash=item56df2beaa1:g:AfEAAOSwS8BekUzw


I would expect given this is new you possibly will be able to select maps for NZ as it comes with 3 months free map updates and 12 months LIVE services. This is the best device for your car.


One thing for anyone buying a new one advertised ensure it is a sealed box. Anyone who has opened a box and switched on even just to test or picture will have automatically set the LIVE service contract as this is done via an internal sim card. At the very least if this has been done ask for the LIVE expiry date which can be found in the settings menu.

If it is an ex demo from a main dealer or somewhere like Halfords in UK I have found TomTom very considerate and will reset the contract for 12 months FOC on proof of receipt but only if a genuine dealer.

When buying a secondhand one always worth asking what map version is present as some can be as old as 2011 so you will miss out on a lot of potholes. Even with the latest maps though don't be surprised sometimes to find you have been sent up into someones private drive or is trying to send you across a farmers field:bang:. Also TomTom usually deactivate the internal sim card if LIVE services contract has not been renewed for 3 years, however will reactivate it if contract is wanted to be reinstated..........personally though it is not worth the money IMHO.

Although we were never bothered with the TomTom Blue Me as originally just wanted a better satnav than the MagnetiMarelli MAP which was very basic and poor graphics, since having the TomTom2 BlueMe we have found it is really good especially for total hands free and voice command telephone calls.

Farrah

 

[varesecrazy]

chinagalnz

 

[chinagalnz]

thankyou all for your replies to my query. And especially Farrah, with such information! I'm not at all tech savvy so much of that is out of my depth but will certainly keep it for reference if needed. I DO know my car has BlueMe! I am waiting for a call from the people who do my vehicle services as they are looking into it. I'm not wanting to spend a fortune & its just to easily find my way around unknown towns & cities. At the moment I use my phone propped up but its illegal here to be handling a phone while driving......

 

[Farrah]

Hi Chinagalnz,

Well Fiat even thought of you and in their accessory shop you can buy a holder for a phone that fits into the 68R dash slot. That said they are ridiculously expensive for what they are as it is just a plastic clamp basically and not like the CRATT TomTom cradle which is full of electronics to power smoothly the TomTom device.

What you do have though much cheaper again on eBay are MPRoC or Thailand copies which are cheap and still fit the dash slot insert.

Avoid though those stupid ones that fit through the A/C grille vents as they are not stable and rattle and means you always have to have your vents open.:bang:

Obviously you do not get the continuous power feed to your device which is essential for a TomTom as the batteries do not last long at all when disconnected from power source. Generally phone batteries last much longer so if you have sat nav on the phone this is an option many here in UK prefer too.

Farrrah

 

[chinagalnz]

hello all,
update on Tomtom 2 for my Panda! Very helpful people here once we got started. The device is now neatly installed & working brilliantly! and I was pleasantly surprised at the cost & speed of delivery - basically overnight!
On an unfamiliar route recently it didnt warn me of a road closure & road works so had to resort to phone to extricate myself from that! Fairly common here in the earthquake damaged city of Christchurch - otherwise known as 'cone city', due to the amount of road cones you see!
So thankyou all for your advice.

 

[gar074]

What you do have though much cheaper again on eBay are MPRoC or Thailand copies which are cheap and still fit the dash slot insert

Do you have a link for any of these? I can't find any that use the socket in the dash, only ones that use spring-clips/suction pads/magnets, etc. Very reluctant to pay £45+ for the genuine Fiat part!

 

[Farrah]

Do you have a link for any of these? I can't find any that use the socket in the dash, only ones that use spring-clips/suction pads/magnets, etc. Very reluctant to pay £45+ for the genuine Fiat part!

Hi,
Sorry we only came across one when asked to replace unit with a tomtom2 and the owner could not work out how it fitted. When we looked it was not a powered Cratt cradle and he said it came off ebay believed from China.
I agree the basic Fiat accessory one is grossly overpriced for what it is.
I will see if I can find any info out as the owner might still have it but said he paid £15 for it from ebay.
As I did not look at it that closely realising straight away it was not a tomtom CRATT cradle I suppose it could have been something like this with a stem that just happened to fit down the hole as it does not provide a power source unless the Cratt one

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Motorcyc...a=1&pg=2334524&_trksid=p2334524.c100667.m2042


Farrah