Hi,

I just found and joined this forum as I am about to get either a Z1 or a D2 for my new '06 Explorer. I'm trying to decide if the Z1 is worth the extra money, especially given all the freebies you can get at Crutchfield with the D2 (including a portable GPS).

Do most of you think the Z1 is worth the extra money?

The biggest question is should I have it installed or do it myself? If I install it myself the Z1 can allegedly be had for around $1500 at 6ave or other online dealers, but nobody has definitively answered whether or not Pioneer will honor the warranty if purchased at 6ave. In addition, Circuit City has the unit on sale for $2049 with free installation.

So, Z1 or D2?

Install it myself or let them install?

Thanks in advance for any help. I've already learned a ton from this forum and I only found it a few hours ago.

Well you are in the Z1 section of this forum so you will tend to get a biased opinion to your question. I say stick with the Z1...if you can afford it. In regards to installing it yourself...go for it. It is a very simple install especially if you've installed a car stereo before. One difference you might find somewhat difficult is identifying the VSS wire to tap. If you read enough of the threads in this forum you will find this topic discussed in great detail. Good Luck. Go to the D2 section and see what they recommend. :P

I bought mine from 6ave, and Pioneer definatly will warranty it.
I sent it in to have the reverse camera function fixed (distored images)
Once I said I bought it from 6ave, the pioneer rep immediatly recognized them and assured me it was covered.

I had virtually zero experiance installing anything in a car and I was able to do it quite easily. I say do it yourself and save a bundle.

I say Z1 only if you want the Benefit of having a Hard drive or Bluetooth.
IMO the Voice recognition is too slow; sometimes it’s just faster to do it manually.
Alternate to the Z1's hard drive is just buying the IPOD adapter for the D2.
But the Z1 Nav system is much better plus its HD based and the integrated Bluetooth is great, plus it has a better screen IMO.
I say if money is no issue then it’s the Z1 all the way but to save yourself some money you won’t be disappointed with the D2.
The install is a piece of cake btw so save some money there.

i just installed the Z1 into my 06 explorer Eddie Bauer. if you need any help let me know. it was a pretty fairly easy install. I never installed one before but got it done without any problems. Save yourself the money and do it yourself.

Mine is also an Eddie Bauer. Where did you mount the navigation antenna? I looked in the factory service manual and for the factory nav unit they put the antenna in the dash above the glove box. Looks like a perfect spot except you have to remove the airbag to get in there, and I'm terrified of those things. I can see myself setting off the airbag and killing myself before I ever get to try my Z1 !

Tickbrotha said:

I bought mine from 6ave, and Pioneer definatly will warranty it.
I sent it in to have the reverse camera function fixed (distored images)
Once I said I bought it from 6ave, the pioneer rep immediatly recognized them and assured me it was covered.

Awesome information to know man, thanks for posting up. Obviously i am considering buying from them, for their low prices. My local shop wants 1850 for the unit, but i just dont see giving away 2 or 300 dollars no matter how much money one has or can afford to pay.

especially since the 6ave purchase is covered by the mfg warranty.

thanks again.

btw

a friend at a local dealer today told me that the book price (cost) on the z1 unit for them is like 1575.00 not sure whether i believe it or not but he had no reason to lie to me i had already told him i was buying elsewhere.

lcstyle said:

btw

a friend at a local dealer today told me that the book price (cost) on the z1 unit for them is like 1575.00 not sure whether i believe it or not but he had no reason to lie to me i had already told him i was buying elsewhere.

That quoted price could be correct. The difference you will see is in sellers that deal with a high volume of sales (think WalMart). These sellers keep the profit margin low hoping for a high sales volume. Also, many of these sellers leave much to be desired in the customer support department. I'm sure you have heard of the saying, "You get what you pay for." Cavet Emptor. Just my 2¢

I got my install done locally and also purchased the Z1 from the installer.

I like to give local shops business, helps keep the community alive but on the other hand I do need to watch out for myself in regards to costs.
So what I did was approach my local installer and let them know what I could get the Z1 for online. I straight up told them that I know its without warranty etc and that if they could offer a price that was not too much higher I would get it from them, simply to give them business, even if they did not sell it for the regular $2000+ like they normally would they could get a sale, make a small profit and make somebody like me happy.

Well, they gave it to me for $1700.00 + tax. Its a great deal especially because they were familiar with installing the unit and the Ducati Flasher already and even had a bunch of the flashers in stock which they gave to me for cost. I did get a bunch of other things done at the shop and also got other units such as the iPod, XM and Bluetooth adapter installed, also very good prices.

My point with saying all this is that sometimes it does pay to go to your local installer, talk with them, try and work something out, let them know what you can get it for, offer to pay a bit more for peace of mind that if something goes wrong you can go back to them, who knows, you may be pleasantly surprised.