what GPS to buy

2231 Views 22 Replies 20 Participants Last post by Lurchdubious, Dec 31, 2007

stosh

Discussion Starter · Dec 21, 2007

I'm going to Florida and borrowing a friend’s garmin nuv1 350. I will be buying one soon and just wondering what you guys use and why. Thanks

1 - 20 of 23 Posts

gksmith

· #2 · Dec 21, 2007

It's an individual choice. GPS.com has some good reviews.

I was going to get a Nuvi 660 or 770. I then looked into the Navigon 5100/7100 and ended up with the 5100 due to $99 pricing I ended up with.

I don't need bluetooth in the GPS because the truck has it.

I've read reviews about staying away from the Magellans - however, I'm sure the Magellan owners will tell you stay away from Garmin, and so on and so forth.

Personally, I'd go with whatever I could get for the smallest $$$ + 3.5+" screen and a traffic receiver (don't need it, just wanted it).

bbomar

· #3 · Dec 21, 2007

Bought a Garmin Nuvi 200W, and love it!!!

4.3in widescreen!!

Works great!!

bbomar

· #4 · Dec 21, 2007

Cheapest you'll find the 200W..............

http://www.amazon.com/Garmin-200W-4...1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1198252027&sr=1-1

Yeti77

· #5 · Dec 21, 2007

I have a garmin streetpilot c340 on the way. Went with that for the text to speech function. Didnt need all the bells and whistles. gpstn.net had decent prices.

FLA-Titan

· #6 · Dec 21, 2007

I got a Lowrance XOG, because I can use it in my boat as well and it accepts other types of topo charts as well. The price is great at $300.

Clint

· #7 · Dec 21, 2007

gksmith said:
It's an individual choice. GPS.com has some good reviews.

I was going to get a Nuvi 660 or 770. I then looked into the Navigon 5100/7100 and ended up with the 5100 due to $99 pricing I ended up with.

I don't need bluetooth in the GPS because the truck has it.

I've read reviews about staying away from the Magellans - however, I'm sure the Magellan owners will tell you stay away from Garmin, and so on and so forth.

Personally, I'd go with whatever I could get for the smallest $$$ + 3.5+" screen and a traffic receiver (don't need it, just wanted it).

I own both brands and prefer the Garmin. As far as models go buy what you need not necessary to get all the bells and whistles. I have a nuvi 660 and my sister bought the 200w which is way cheaper and still a great unit to own.

Clint

asahi1234

· #8 · Dec 21, 2007

I have a garmin nuvi 660. It works great because I travel alot. It is amazing how much things it can find. It will also tell what ever you are looking for is on the rght or left. Any nuvi would be a good choice.

roy365

· #9 · Dec 21, 2007

asahi1234 said:
I have a garmin nuvi 660. It works great because I travel alot. It is amazing how much things it can find. It will also tell what ever you are looking for is on the rght or left. Any nuvi would be a good choice.

+1 ........my first GPS and i like mine. :cheers:

guls

· #10 · Dec 21, 2007

I've TomTom 920 and Mio 520. Both are great and do the same. Blue tooth on Mio is better then TomTom. But TomTom catches GPS more quicker on initial Power On. Mio- doesn't have much available yet as they are new, but it is very thin.

DRKSDE

· #11 · Dec 21, 2007

I have the Garmin Nuvi 760 and love it: http://www.circuitcity.com/ccd/Sear...rmin+nuvi+760&searchSection=All&go.x=0&go.y=0

Whatever you decide make sure you get one that tells you what street/road to turn onto instead of how far b/4 your next turn; I found this feature to be very beneficial.

As for brands I prefer Garmin but www.cnet.com rates several others high also.

Good Luck,

sandpond

· #12 · Dec 22, 2007

Between Magellan and Garmin go Garmin, I work part time at an outdoor store (mostly for the discount and I get to teach kayak lessons all summer on the ocean) and we sell hand helds as well as auto units. Our experience with Magellans tech support is the least desired of the two.
The Nuvi series is selling like mad, if you want to use this thing in Canada the 200 does not unclude it. The Nuvi three series and up talks the street you are turning onto, the 200 (unsure of the 250 and 250W) just tell you that you have to turn but the street is printed at the top of the screen. The new Maestro 4250 from Magellan is voice activated, haven't heard any feed back yet...
My advice is to decide how much you want to spend then look acroos the board. Pay attention to where you buy and what the gaurantee is, most of the manufacturers warranty for two years, some retailers offer a satisfaction guarantee.
I could go on and on but one last thing, if the price is low make sure it's not refurbed and make sure it has enough memory to downlaod future map updates.

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BuckyBadger

· #13 · Dec 22, 2007

You may find this site helpful http://www.gpsmagazine.com/buyers_guide.php
Click on the GPS's for more info

Johnny08

· #14 · Dec 22, 2007

I'm a huge TomTom fan, been using them for many years, I'm on my 3rd and never had an issue, only thing I had break was a mount on the 910 BUT it was my fault I had it fully locked and tried to adjust it - DOH !! no biggie 40 bucks and i'm back in business

never happened again

Clancy

· #15 · Dec 22, 2007

Costco has the nuvi 650 for $299 if you can do without the bluetooth. You just can't go wrong with garmin...

BoilerUp

· #16 · Dec 22, 2007

Geta Geta Geta Geta Geta Garmin! Ding dong Ding dong. :jester:

Johnny08

· #17 · Dec 22, 2007

BoilerUp said:
Geta Geta Geta Geta Geta Garmin! Ding dong Ding dong. :jester:

Thats just mean !!!! :jester: :jester: :jester:

mneal

· #18 · Dec 22, 2007

FYI, I found it cheaper, WestMarine.com has them for $240, and my local Bestbuy price matched it, I bought one yesterday for a X-Mas gift.

bbomar said:
Cheapest you'll find the 200W..............

http://www.amazon.com/Garmin-200W-4...1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1198252027&sr=1-1

Kitts

· #19 · Dec 22, 2007

I was given the garmin 200 from work and i love it. It has every feature i could possibly use and the good thing is it was easy for an idiot like me to figure out how to use.

HudsonValleyTitan

· #20 · Dec 22, 2007

I don't know about others but, if you tow, the TomTom doesn't offer truck routes..although they claim that there will be some sort of update soon. The TomTom also doesn't know what a straight line is! Rather than the most obvious and quick way, it tends to want to zig-zag you to your destination to try making it the shortest route regardless of whether you tell it FASTEST way or SHORTEST.

1 - 20 of 23 Posts

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