Posted by Joan_OH on 7/8/08 7:17am
Msg #254404

My Garmin has bit the dust. Any suggestions?

After 3-4 years, I think it's done & I need to replace it. I like Garmin's menus and would like to stick with them. Anyone have any Garmin suggestions? Last one cost me $900. I see they are MUCH cheaper now - almost disposable.

Joan-OH

Reply by Hugh Nations Signing Agents of Austin on 7/8/08 7:38am
Msg #254405

Whatever you do, avoid a Pharos. The Platinum Blonde gave me a Pharos for my birthday after my Garmin bought the farm, and it is the most user-unfriendly piece of electronic gear I've ever owned. It may have fabulous capabilities, for all I know, but accessing them is well-nigh impossible for someone who was 33 years old before he learned how properly to flush a toilet. I loved the simplicity of the Garmin.

The best advice I can give is just invest $60,000 in a Beamer with a built-in GPS. That way you know you're getting a quality unit.

Reply by MW/VA on 7/8/08 7:42am
Msg #254407

Now that's the best suggestion I've heard of! It's tax deductible, after all.

Reply by MW/VA on 7/8/08 7:40am
Msg #254406

There are a lot of good ones in the marketplace--prices have come down a lot. I like my Magellan. They are a hot item for theft in my area, so I no longer mount mine on the dash. GPS is also available now on a lot of cell phones, if that is an option for you.

Reply by Mia on 7/8/08 8:00am
Msg #254409

Ratings on GPS

Here is a site that has ratings on GPS --- you will not see anything lower
than 4 star ratings.

http://www.rated4stars.com/html/session-start.php?source=rated4stars1101-20&dest=gpsreviews&gclid=CLiow6-qsJQCFQOuFQodSXJ5tQ

Reply by Ilene C. Seidel on 7/8/08 9:50am
Msg #254416

Re: Ratings on GPS

I just got rid of a Magellan, their tech service is the pitts. Just bought a Garman 660 it has a lot of features that I don't use but gets me where I want to go. Got it thru Amazon.com for around $340.00. Good luck

Reply by Kathy Fletcher on 7/8/08 8:18am
Msg #254412

Verizon has an option.

My cell phone from Verizon has a navigator and it only costs around $9 each month! Never, never have to pay large fees to update and it finds more addresses than my new Toyota Camry Hybrid navagitation system as it is updated all of the time.

Reply by Becca_FL on 7/8/08 8:48am
Msg #254413

We just got a Garmin Nuvi 200 for the Harley. We paid $139 at Sam's, but a friend picked one up yesterday at Best Buy for $119 less $20 with a coupon from the Sunday paper. It's amazing how affordable they are now. My SO bought me a Garmin last Xmas and paid $300, now they are smaller, do more things and cost less. Think we'll ever see $200 laptops?

Reply by Gary_CA on 7/8/08 9:54am
Msg #254418

I've had a couple garmins I loved, they're now spares. If I were to buy another they'd be on the top of my list.

I now have an Eclipse stereo with a Tom-Tom built in. It's about the same as the Garmin overall. Some features better some not so good. I like the directions coming through the stereo speakers and I like having it not up in the sunlight on the dash.

I need it to sort stops in a route for me which my new Tom Tom doesn't do, sure wish it did. Lots of the new Garmins don't either but the old ones did.

Buy it somewhere that will take a return, Costco is the best, and don't be shy about trading it in if you hate it after a few weeks.

Reply by Gary_CA on 7/8/08 9:56am
Msg #254419

By the way, when did $200 become "disposable"???

Oh, I know, the same week that $3.99 a gallon became "cheap"

@#$%^%$#!!!!!!!

Reply by CF on 7/8/08 10:07am
Msg #254420

Bought my Street Pilot Garmin on ebay for $169.00.

Used one of the "buy it now" stores. I love it!

Reply by ZeeCA on 7/8/08 10:12am
Msg #254421

LOVE my garmin... and the support is AWESOME n/m

Reply by ZeeCA on 7/8/08 10:54am
Msg #254422

I heard that if you have it built into your vehicle it is a

major PITA as you cannot change or touch anything while the car is moving? I love my garmin as it is slim and pocket sized unlike my friend's big fat one.

here the thiefs look for the telltale ring from the suction cups on the window and then break in looking for the GPS... so I never use that

Reply by Bob_Chicago on 7/8/08 11:05am
Msg #254423

A lot of the "Smart Phones" now have built in GPS. My

Sprint gives me unlimited cell phone, unlimited internet access
and unlimited GPS , with traffic. for $99/Mo
Only one piece of equipment to keep track up and eliminates
the theft from car issue.

Reply by CF on 7/8/08 11:33am
Msg #254426

Bob Chicago- what happens with the GPS

when a call comes in? Just curious...I can use that on my phone too and just have not figured it out. Thanks!!!!

Reply by Bob_Chicago on 7/8/08 11:56am
Msg #254429

Call comes right through. GPS pauses and resumes after call n/m

Reply by SharonMN on 7/8/08 1:39pm
Msg #254435

Get one with text to speech so it says street names. Otherwise, just hearing "turn left and then turn right" can be confusing if there are a lot of streets close to each other. I have the Garmin 260 and like it pretty well, although it would be nice if it had the feature to plot a route involving several stops like you can on Mapquest.