Your numbers seem right. IMHO, the Garmin 430 is the better value. At an
approximately $9,300 install price, you get an ILS and save space on the
annunciators (they are included within the unit itself). You will also see a
better addition to the aircraft's resale value compared to a GNC300XL but
don't expect a $9,300 increase. Oh, and you will be able to get a terrain
database for an extra $500 available in a few months.

All that being said, it will only make fiscal sense if you plan on keeping
the plane a while.

Marco Leon
N36616

"nobody" wrote in message
om...
I guess I've been living under a rock. I wanted to update the VFR GPS in
the panel to an IFR model. I started getting quotes on recon GNC 300XLs.
The units themselves were about 2,500-3,000. I was shocked to find out
that
I had to install an annunciator, a new indicator and approx 30 hrs labor
bringing the total cost to around 8,000. I checked several shops and got
the same story. Is it typical to spend 25% of the value of the aircraft
on
just the IFR GPS? If I installed a 530, the receiver and install would
probably cost close to 80% of the value of the aircraft.

Eddie