Auto GPSs - What Works For You?

[Haoleguy]

I'm considering a portable GPS(Garmin, TomTom, Magellan) for my F150 truck which I can take with me when I travel in a car rental. The sales pitch around these is amazing. It's difficult to know how well they work and are they easy to use. I noticed some are now adding social media functions...don't need that. I'm interested in accuracy and speed of calculating position as you move, clarity on small screen, day/night screen function, ease of adding destination, etc. My reference point is the nice Acura navigation on my spouse's MDX. It makes sense for me to have a portable unit as I will be moving to a newer truck this coming year and I don't see paying the premium for OEM navigation. Please share your experience and pros and cons with your units.....Thank you, Gary

 

[phiferpharm]

I have portable, Marine, and now in my new truck a Alpine sound system that are all Garmin - based. No system is infallible, but I have had the best luck with this company. My last truck and my wifes Tahoe have the Onstar and GM system. It was not vey good and at times would basically tell me it was lost.

 

[thatguy]

I got a Garmin Nuvi 1300LM (lifetime maps) for christmas and like it so far.. they higher model numbers have a few extras that I dont think would be necessary..

Brian

 

[Samandothers]

Like Thatguy we have the 1300 with life time free map which I would get. We have an older unit and to upgrade the map would be $60. The accuracy has been good. My truck speedometer does not match the actual speed, I believe it is as we have added larger tires that OEM, and I use the Garmin it works good. It is the 4th one we bought. We bought ones in the past for our kids and we have not heard of any issues with any of them. I would get another Garmin if I needed one.

 

[Redneck in training]

If you plan traveling in remote areas on unmarked roads get one that traces the route. I use my Blackberry for navigation but for travel in places without mobile signal I use handheld Garmin Etrex. It is old but still work.

 

[Haoleguy]

If you plan traveling in remote areas on unmarked roads get one that traces the route. I use my Blackberry for navigation but for travel in places without mobile signal I use handheld Garmin Etrex. It is old but still work.

I thought these units are primarily satellite positioning units and not based on cell towers....Gary

 

[Diamondpilot]

I have a Garmin Nuvi in my F350, a Nissan factory unit in my Titan, and a BMW factory unit in the 335I. All are good units but my cell phone, Samsung Galaxy SII from Sprint is also amazing when I travel.

Chris

 

[Grateful11]

I have an iPhone but we prefer a Garmin for navigation, we have 255W, works great and they're pretty cheap if they still make that model.

 

[Travelover]

I've got a Garmin 255W that does everything I've ever asked of it. Very intuitive touch screen, easy to read, pretty fast start up, spoken street names and all for $100.

You can pay more for traffic updates, free maps, etc. I figure that for this price if it gets stolen or fails, I'll replace it with a better one for less in the future.



Garmin Nuvi 255W - Automotive GPS Navigation System

This looks good, too:
http://g.factoryoutletstore.com/details/18932-36614/Nuvi-1300LM.html

 

[Dmace]

I use every type of GPS from a handheld unit in the woods to millimeter accuracy survey GPS units ranging from $300 - $30,000. Garmin is top of the line for mobile GPS units and very easy to use. I had a Tom Tom for a little while because I liked the ability to add roads not on the map and share with other people online but it rarely worked and was a pain to navigate. If I had a power point charger and windshield mount, I would use my Droid X2 with Google Maps as it's a great system but then I can't use my phone while navigating.

If the GPS is not the same as your speedometer, trust the GPS. Most vehicle speedometers are set to read high just to keep your driving speed down.

 

[Haoleguy]

Thank you for the suggestions. When I look up specifications I do not see where one can switch from daytime to night time running mode on any of these models. Is that a function on these units? The Acura navi my spouse has allows one to use a black background on map for night use. How do the Garmins work for night?....Thank you, Gary

 

[Dmace]

Thank you for the suggestions. When I look up specifications I do not see where one can switch from daytime to night time running mode on any of these models. Is that a function on these units? The Acura navi my spouse has allows one to use a black background on map for night use. How do the Garmins work for night?....Thank you, Gary

The Garmins automatically switch from daytime to night time background with the sunrise and sunset times it gets from the satellites. Also, you can change the background manually in the display settings.

 

[Haoleguy]

Thank you DMace. When I looked through Garmin's website they do not mention it. They must assume that everyone knows that. The reason I asked is that when driving on the highway at night I do see folks with their GPS's on daytime mode....Gary

 

[JB4310]

Garmin Garmin Garmin, NOT TOM TOM!

I have 2 garmins and 1 tom tom

Though the Tom Tom has some nice graphic features, the garmin is so much easier/ more intuitive to use. I literally almost threw the Tom Tom out the window more than once.

One of the things I don't like about the tom tom I have is, it doesn't leave the blue bread crumb trail where you have been, that is a great feature.
That's just one thing among many though, I will never get another tom tom, only bought this one cause they had a super special at best buy on them.

All my gps units automatically go to night screen when it gets dark, don't know if it's due to sat signal or simply a sensor on the unit, I thought it was just built in the unit.

I have the garmin you can just talk to, no typing in, cost close to a grand 4-5 years ago but is still going strong. Have it in my service truck, it's great never having to input addresses or even look at the screen.
No regrets, even on the price being so high compared to today's prices. I never see anyone with this type of voice recognition GPS unit.

JB

 

[JakeBrake]

Be sure to get free lifetime map updates. My Magellan Maesto 3250 works great. But map updates cost almost as much as a new GPS. I have used my GPS all over the USA and Canada.

Also, I suppose the traffic updates are nice, but not available where I live. Occasionally, when I'm driving in an area where traffic updates are available, the GPS will ask if I want to buy a short term subscription.

 

[Diamondpilot]

Free updates are a good point. My Nissan Titan has the 2007 data. Truck is a 2008. I have seen the data update for $75 but its something that will always need done. Same is true for the BMW. The Garmin 260 Nuvi I have can be updated on line pretty cheap. Same is true for the Garmin Navigators in my boats.

Chris

 

[RobertN]

Out in the sticks roads may be unmarked or not on the maps. By using "tracks" you will be able to see where you have been, and follow that route back out if necessary.

I know around here, some places the GPS will take you is the shortest route, which may be gravel road ect that you do not want to pass. Friends of ours have a small local winery; on their website, they are specific to follow their direction, not GPS. GPS takes you on a gravel road the goes thru a creek. It is the shortest route, but not one you want to take a car on.

I thought these units are primarily satellite positioning units and not based on cell towers....Gary

 

[timswi]

My Garmin a far superior to On-Star...

 

[silvertramp]

I use every type of GPS from a handheld unit in the woods to millimeter accuracy survey GPS units ranging from $300 - $30,000. Garmin is top of the line for mobile GPS units and very easy to use. I had a Tom Tom for a little while because I liked the ability to add roads not on the map and share with other people online but it rarely worked and was a pain to navigate. If I had a power point charger and windshield mount, I would use my Droid X2 with Google Maps as it's a great system but then I can't use my phone while navigating.

If the GPS is not the same as your speedometer, trust the GPS. Most vehicle speedometers are set to read high just to keep your driving speed down.

I had my Droid II patched into my radio via a Radio Shack cord. I was listening to internet radio when a call came in. I manually answered it, and the entire conversation was carried on using the radio speakers. Slick. I had no idea.

 

[JimRB]

Some of our friends in Colorado have 4,000 acre ranch. They have a sign that says "I don't care what your GPS says, there is no road." or something like that. There are lots of maps that show wagon train roads that have been abandoned. Even where I live in Georgia there are roads the county has abandoned or bridges that have washed out 20 years ago that are still on maps including lots of GPS maps. Those washed out bridges are usually a mile downhill which means a mile uphill to backtrack on the bicycle. The bread crumbs feature could be handy if you are off the beaten path.