Garmin Nuvi "semi-permanent" install in our 98 Toy

The total cost of buying and installing this Garmin Nuvi 260W in our 98 Camry in Spring 2009 was about $180 unless you count the extra cradle and power cord purchased so that the Nuvi could be removed and used in rental cars.

Rather than use a separate bracket to attach the Nuvi to the center stack, I attached it to the existing phone cradle bracket by using two AMPS extention brackets from Pro.Fit ( http://www.pro-fit-intl.com/ ) (part number EX-13-70). I mounted one of the extension brackets to the existing AMPS bracket and attached a second extension bracket to the first one so that the Nuvi would clear the phone cradle.

A Panavise "AMPS to Garmin Ball Adapter" (part number 767-GR2) is attached to the second extention bracket.

The Nuvi's power cord is routed into the center stack with the cables from the phone cradle. For now, I routed the Nuvi power cable out the bottom of the center stack and plugged it into the accessory port. Eventually, I will plug the Nuvi power cord into a $5 DC extension cable and attach the extension cable to the underdash fuse box. Using an extension cable removes the need to chop the plug from the Garmin power cable and ensures that the Garmin will draw no more than the correct amperage.

Mounted above the phone, the Nuvi is particularly easy to reach and is not particularly noticeable to passersby when the car is parked.