So I bought a cheapo E36 M3 phone mount from the retail chain auto parts store I work at because it was 30% off weekend. Turns out my suspicions were all true and I wasted my 12-ish Amerian currency units.
Anybody have any know of a decent one for a reasonable price? Something that works sticking to something that isn't the windshield would be preferred.
I like this so well that after buying one, I then bought another to have one in another vehicle and have bought yet another as a gift for someone else.
The "sticky pad" is super duper sticky yet amazingly non marring and has not ruined surfaces.
Spectacular adjustability.
This does a great job of holding my phone but just to be sure, I don't think this would be the number one choice as a "camera mount". Given that this can be used with the arm extended quite long, it then does develop some flex to the arm that would make for some potentially shakey video.
If use for video is really your desire then keeping this in its non extended, more compact configuration, would probably yield excellent quality video.
Though, when extended, it does however do a great job of just putting my phone screen in a good , readable distance for easy viewing and even use without having to remove it from the holder.
I use this with a 2015 Moto X Pure which is a large handset with a 5.7" screen wearing a bulky aftermarket case. The holder has great adjustability to be able to grip large and smaller handsets.
I don't have a genine picture of mine handy but in general, my use is more like this example shown on their website.
The biggest "negative" to the model I listed above that the suction cup is both a combination suction and sticky gel. Boy, does that gel stick and though removable , it is not so easily removed.
What I'm trying to say, is you would not want to consider this to be "highly portable". This is the reason that I own two of these models. This is not the kind of thing where as you're leaving the house at 6 am for your morning commute, you just swap from one vehicle to the other. You could but you'd be fighting the sticky gel every morning.
This is more of a set it and forget it type of item. There is tons of adjustability but I tend to get the item fine tuned to be just right for me in that vehicle and then leave it always in that vehicle.
I got one from Radio Shack that clips onto the vent. It works really well, the only downsides being it's slightly down & out of your peripheral vision, and it does block airflow from the vent somewhat...and the fact Radio Shack is just about done. But it does a damn good job holding the phone. 
I have a RAM X grip in one of the cars, repurposed from my moto with a sticky mount. It holds very well, but is a bit of a pain to get a phone in/out, and my wife's ginormous tablet-sized phone maxes it out.
After seeing John's mount, I just ordered one.
I found a mount that slides in the CD player slot or other gap and then expands a bit. Doesn't block your view and doesn't mar the dash. It stays solidly attached and i couldn't tell you the last time I wanted to play a CD.
In reply to John Welsh :
I believe that may be the ticket. What I mostly have in mind for it is being able to use my phone for navigation in my dad's truck on my upcoming Kentucky-New York Free-DSM retrieval mission (That math doesn't add up to free at all, but I'm still looking forward to both the car and the trip). After that it'll find a home in the beater.
I found out the one I bought actively refuses to stick to a GMT900 dashboard, and on the other end is a magnetic mount, which my theory on is that if the magnet is strong enough to hold the phone, it would be strong enough to damage the phone. Either way, the magnet doesn't hold when placed between my phone and case as described, and if you put it on the outside of the case, it still can be shook loose easy.
I too think magnet and phone are a bad combination. I can't say I have ever ruined some electronics via magnet but it just seems like a bad idea.
$75 from proclip gets you a solid mount designed for your car and a holder for your device to attach to it. It's tough to beat.
That said, I prefer the ram x-grip immensely. So I get the dash specific part from proclip for $35 and attach a $12 Chinese x-grip copy of eBay to it in every car I drive.
I used to use a magnet-based holder. It's great if you have a small phone, and put the phone plate on the outside. It's great if you have a small phone and put the tablet plate inside the case. It's nice if you put tablet-rated plates on the outside of your device.
The compass is a little off because of it - when you're driving down the road, some apps show you pointing a few degrees to one side. NFC can be blocked by the plates, which is bad news for reading tags, tapping to share info phone to phone, or making mobile payments with Android Pay or Apply Pay.
I still use it with my 7" tablet.
I like CD-slot holders, but since the magnet mount, I haven't found a really good one. CD slot holder have a two-part blade that fits in the slot. A set screw spreads the blades, fixing the mount in place. The problem is that most use a single piece blade that has molded-in grooves to allow it to act like a two-part blade. This requires more force from the set screw. Cheap plastic, summertime dashboard heat, and tension have warped all of the holders I've found since the magnetic one.
If you want to try a magnetic mount cd-slot holder, this one is very good:
I use a RAM X-Grip mount for universal mounting, also have an iPhone-specific mount but that requires the phone to come out of its case every time.
IME phone weight really has a big impact on the usability of a mount with phones getting bigger and heavier.
I've just started using a magnetic stick-on (the Mini has a mercifully texture-free ring around the center screen thing), with the metal plate just tucked inside my phone case. So far so good, though I haven't used it a ton, and haven't done an autocross with it yet, which apart from making nav easier to see when I use it (infrequent)(EDIT: failed to finish my sentence: autocross data, syncing with GoPro is the reason I got the mount), so I feel like its ability to hang onto the phone isn't well tested. I think the one I got was this Scosche
I nearly got a ProClip setup, but the two of us would've used different sized phone holders, and their holders seem to be for really narrow size ranges. The magnet avoids that issue, in addition to being super easy to use if it proves to hold well enough.
EDIT: This also seems like a reasonable point to add that I'm incredibly frustrated that for as universal a thing as sticking a phone in a usable spot for nav that we still are trying to either stick to textured faux leather or grab vent clips or other stupid stuff. Cars and phones should either have a standardized mechanical interface, or we should just be mirroring the phone onto the near-universal screens cars now have. (Why doesn't my Mini have Android Auto?)
I'm my case the phone is going into what i'm pretty sure was a fleet truck in it's past life, and then a '99 Malibu. The phone is also a cheapo so proclip doesn't seem to acknowledge it's existance.
Mike wrote: I used to use a magnet-based holder. It's great if you have a small phone, and put the phone plate on the outside. It's great if you have a small phone and put the tablet plate inside the case. It's nice if you put tablet-rated plates on the outside of your device. The compass is a little off because of it - when you're driving down the road, some apps show you pointing a few degrees to one side. NFC can be blocked by the plates, which is bad news for reading tags, tapping to share info phone to phone, or making mobile payments with Android Pay or Apply Pay. I still use it with my 7" tablet. I like CD-slot holders, but since the magnet mount, I haven't found a really good one. CD slot holder have a two-part blade that fits in the slot. A set screw spreads the blades, fixing the mount in place. The problem is that most use a single piece blade that has molded-in grooves to allow it to act like a two-part blade. This requires more force from the set screw. Cheap plastic, summertime dashboard heat, and tension have warped all of the holders I've found since the magnetic one. If you want to try a magnetic mount cd-slot holder, this one is very good:Mountek nGroove Magnetic CD Slot Car Mount
I have this one, I like it. Holds my iphone 6s plus strong despite hooning constantly. I use the bigger steel piece, the smaller one didn't hold well enough for my taste.
I use the magnetic goxt mount from oriellys in all my cars. With an otterbox, i use both the metal plates. I also skip the adhesive, and drill a hole through the mount so i can retain it with a svrew if i csnt get it friction fit behind some dash trim.
I had one similar to what John showed in the 2nd post. I like it but... after a couple of years, the suction cup was no longer reliable and would release after a couple of hours.
I'd love to find a similar one that just mounts to 1/4-20 threaded post. I'll pop off the dash cover, install a plate with a stud, and have a rock solid phone mount.
Not sure what to do with the wifecar though... and that's where it matters a lot more. Don't think she would appreciate me putting a hole in the dash of the odyssey. Also, taking that dash cover off is infinitely more difficult.
Related note:
How in the hell has the industry not made a standard for this yet? I'd have thought by like 2010 at the latest, cars would have some spec socket on the dash near the driver for connecting various phone/tablet/etc. mounts to.
ProDarwin wrote: Related note: How in the hell has the industry not made a standard for this yet? I'd have thought by like 2010 at the latest, cars would have some spec socket on the dash near the driver for connecting various phone/tablet/etc. mounts to.
There is a standard of sorts. I'd love to have it as a factory option.
But there are plenty of ways to mount something without suction cups or magnets. My favorites are ProClips. They can get pricey, but they are pretty solid, they look nice, and are custom-designed for each car. I have used them in my last few cars. The first thing I do when I get a new car is order one.
Hmm, I like this ProClips concept, although they need a name that isn't also the name of a hair salon. I'm a little concerned that after the dash-adapter mount then the phone mount on top of that this thing is going to stick 2 feet off the dashboard.
I do wish instead of them creatively tucking into the crevices formed by the oem dash that you could pull off a piece and pick up on a few pieces of actual bolted hardware, then replace the stock piece.
Like this image I just came across on Amazon: 
Edit:
http://www.pro-fit-intl.com/shopvsm.htm
Odyssey mount I like, but its pricey, and likely so far away that I wouldn't be able to reach it easily.
ProDarwin wrote: Like this image I just came across on Amazon:
Yes, that one is custom-designed for the S197 Mustang, I used one on mine. You remove the bezel around the radio and HVAC controls, remove one screw, put the bracket on, and hold it in place with the screw. Then the bezel is supposed to snap back into place. Problem was, with mine at least, it wouldn't stay snapped. The bracket was a touch too thick, and the bezel was always coming loose. Also, it vibrated a lot, enough that it would sometimes make my phone flip between portrait and landscape. Seems like a good idea in principle, but in practice it didn't work that well for me.
I just bought a Natomount. So far it works well in my bouncy truck. I have tried suction cups and vent mounts. I hate them. I also don't like the adjustable carriages to fit any phone. They never seem to work right and they're bulky. The Nato mount is very small and mostly disappears when the phone isn't on it.
My only problem is that my case has a tripod kickstand on it and there isn't enough real estate to mount the metal pad for the magnet.
$40 bought me 5 mount kits so I can put it in multiple vehicles.
John Welsh wrote: I too think magnet and phone are a bad combination. I can't say I have ever ruined some electronics via magnet but it just seems like a bad idea.
Unless your phone has a CRT display or a floppy drive, it's not going to care. :)
I have a few of these from Walmart. They work surprisingly well for the price. They're cheap enough that I just buy one for each car.
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