New 430W vs old 430 upgrade to WAAS

[jnmeade]

What, if anything would you pay over the $3000 needed to upgrade the 430 to a 430W? Labor and incidentals are extra, of course.

In lieu of upgrade, one can sell the old 430 and buy a new 430W. Along with some old GPS, rebates and other issues, the cost of the new 430W can come down considerably.

Is the new one worth $3500 if an upgrade costs $3000? Is the better warranty and totally new parts worth $4000 vs $3000? $3700 vs $3000?

What value does one get for any extra money one spends on the new 430W versus upgrading the old?

 

[poadeleted20]

What, if anything would you pay over the $3000 needed to upgrade the 430 to a 430W? Labor and incidentals are extra, of course.

Since the $3000 covers all parts, that's all you pay besides the labor and maybe some coax for the antenna line. The labor will depend on whether your original 430 installation used the high-grade coax necessary for the WAAS unit, and how much ripping and replacing they have to do to replace the antenna and (if necessary) to replace the coax cable -- probably $500-1000.

In lieu of upgrade, one can sell the old 430 and buy a new 430W. Along with some old GPS, rebates and other issues, the cost of the new 430W can come down considerably.

You'll still need the new antenna, and a used 430 won't bring within $3K of a new 430W, so I don't see any possible cost savings from that route.

Best bet is to get an estimate from your avionics shop, but I'll bet it's in the range of $500-1000 over the $3K hardware update cost.

 

[wabower]

Upgrade quotes I've heard are more than 4k, less than 5k. But those may be big-town prices.

Since the $3000 covers all parts, that's all you pay besides the labor and maybe some coax for the antenna line. The labor will depend on whether your original 430 installation used the high-grade coax necessary for the WAAS unit, and how much ripping and replacing they have to do to replace the antenna and (if necessary) to replace the coax cable -- probably $500-1000.
You'll still need the new antenna, and a used 430 won't bring within $3K of a new 430W, so I don't see any possible cost savings from that route.

Best bet is to get an estimate from your avionics shop, but I'll bet it's in the range of $500-1000 over the $3K hardware update cost.

 

[jlwilson]

I'd have to go back and look at exactly what my upgrade costs were earlier this year. I had a bunch of other stuff done at the same time. But, I should have seriously considered just getting a new unit. My 'upgraded' 430W has been back to Garmin twice and I still keep getting a 'backlight display failure' that is intermittent. Not that it can't happen with a new unit, but I can't say that I've been 100% pleased with the 'upgrade'. I know they are supposed to go over them with a finetooth comb, but my 430 was working fine before I had it upgraded. I haven't talked with anyone who has had the same problems, so mine might just be a fluke. Like Wayne said, I'm pretty sure my upgrade costs were over 4k.

 

[jnmeade]

I made this too hard.

The estimate to upgrade the old 430 is $3000 for the upgrade and about $1500 for the labor and incidentals. The incidentals include new coax and antenna if the old ones are not correct for WAAS.

I have a chance to do some swaps and take advantage of Garmin's rebates and replace the old 430 with a brand new 430W. I'm trying to see if the deal will work. If it comes about, I'll get a GX60 for the $2000 rebate, the $500 Garmin rebate and whatever I can sell the old 430 and antenna for. I'll still have to check the coax but can use the old tray. Whoever buys the old 430 will get the new tray and the old antenna.

The question is, what NET price over an upgrade can I pay and make this work. The upgraded 430 gets some new boards but keeps some old parts. Only the new parts are warrantied. A new 430W warranties everything for 2 years.

What are the new parts and warranty worth over and above the price I'll have to pay for the upgrade? $500? $1000? More?

 

[SCCutler]

My upgrade cost right at $4,600.00, including the (then) $1,500.00 to Garmin. The rest included installation of new coax to replace the non-compliant coax the original installation was made with, and purchase and installation of the remote annunciator which was required, as the 430 was too far from my field of view for its annunciation to count.

Like Wayne says, probably big-city pricing, but avionics shops don't work for free.

 

[John Collins]

The cost for labor and any annunciator will be the same $1500 or so either way. If you do a good negotiating job you might get as much as 30 percent off the new 430W. If you get the 430W for a net price of $7,525 before any promotions, you can probably sell your 430 on EBay for $4000 to $4500, or a net price for a new unit of 3,500. If you keep your 430 and upgrade it, it will cost you $3,000. If it were me, I would buy new and sell the 430.