Can anyone recommend a GPS?

[Sabine]

DH and I are looking to get a GPS for ourselves as our Christmas gift to each other this year. We''re hoping to find deals on Black Friday, but we wanted to do our research first so that we''d know what we''re looking for. So far, we''ve decided that we want a Garmin, but that''s as far as we''ve gotten. Their prices range from $150-$800, and I really can''t tell the difference online!

Can anyone tell me why there is such a range of prices for these things or what the difference is between the cheap ones and the expensive ones?

Does anyone have one that they love and care to share why?
Thanks!

 

[Harriet]

We rented a TomTom in Italy and it served us well. The two times we used a Garmin, it let us down.

 

[Haven]

I have a Garmin Nuvi 200 and I love it! The Garmin website says it is $200.

I love it because it is easy to use, and it tells me how to get everywhere I want to go. It''s really accurate, even with the ETA. I''m horrible with directions, so my best friend gave it to me for our wedding, and it has been great to own. I have no idea what the nicer models offer that mine does not have, but I can tell you that my little Garmin works every time. You can even search for business in a particular area, which is great, too.

 

[Deelight]

I have a Tom Tom One I got one for Christmas last year as I literally get lost in the carpark

, and I love it is easy to use and accurate .

 

[April20]

I have a very basic Tom Tom and it''s been great and I have tested it to the limits - ie, very remote rural traveling to get to job sites. I have also rented a Garmin with rental cars and it''s been okay too. My only complaint with the Garmin was that it once took me to a job site (about 15 miles off the freeway), arriving perfectly, but when I went to return, tried to send me another route, which was 33 miles to the freeway. I had a flight to catch with a very tight timeline and didn''t have time for 33 miles of two lane roads. I went back the same way that I arrived and it eventually figured out what I was doing.

 

[Allison D.]

I have the Nuvi 660 and it''s fantastic. It''s been incredibly accurate, and I like that it gives the cross street names instead of just saying "turn right in 500 feet".

I chose this one because it came with features that would be useful if they worked better. It has ability to pair with Bluetooth for hands-free phone, it plays MP3s, and it''s capable of receiving traffic alerts if you subscribe for a nominal fee.

Having said that, both of these features don''t really work well enough for my liking. The phone pairing works well sometimes and others not so much. The MP3 player is transmitting through the wireless antenna, but as you travel from town to town, the station gets quite a bit of static. The traffic alert can be on-target sometimes, but how robust that is depends entirely on the local info feeds it gets.

Knowing this, if I had to buy again, I''d buy the 650. It''s less money (only $199 on Amazon) to get all the great nav capabilities but doesn''t pay for the bells and whistles that don''t function well enough anyway.

 

[beau13]

GARMIN..awesome little gadget!!

 

[pinkstars]

I don''t have a GPS and don''t have one to recommend, but I have been vigilant with Black Friday ads and thought this might help unless you''ve already looked up this stuff yourself.
Black Friday

 

[AprilBaby]

QVC had a Garmin on sale plus easy pay for $100 less than Best Buy. SOn got it and LOVES it. Can''t remember the model number.

 

[oobiecoo]

I have a basic TomTom and love it. He gets confused sometimes if there are new roads or buildings, but I think all of the GPS systems are like that. I like that there are different optiosn for his voice. I have mine set to this sexy Australian guy''s voice lol. I got mine for $120 on Black Friday I believe.

 

[Tacori E-ring]

DH says Garmin is the best.

 

[asscher_girl]

Hubby and I have Garmin Nuvi''s and love them. I think we have the 350 and 660. The 350 is now a back up to my DH''s built in nav (bought the new car after the GPS) and I have the 660. I pay the additional $ for traffic and love it. I don''t use the bluetooth since that''s built into my car. We''ve used it local (Nor Cal), Hawaii - both Maui and Kauai and in the midwest when we''ve visited DH''s fam and it''s worked great everywhere.

 

[PrincessDijon]

I personally hate my Garmin Nuvi (260)... My FI's Magellan navigates much better...just my .02....

 

[basil]

I have a Garmin that I got for Christmas last year and it is the most very basic (cheapest) model. It has a pretty small screen and a suction cup to stick it to your dashboard.

I like it because I don''t use it every day...just for long trips or getting places I''ve never been before, so I mostly keep it in my glove compartment, but I think it prevents my window from being broken sometimes...

Sometimes it takes a few minutes to get a signal but it''s really very accurate for the price and it has always got me where I was going.

 

[Haven]

Hubby says he read a ton of reviews on all of the GPS systems and it seems like people are happiest with Garmin. I''m not just saying that because I have a Garmin, I didn''t pick it out anyway. DH is just an over-researcher, and that''s what he found.

Did you check out e-pinions and forums on GPS systems? People often use multiple items and then rate them against each other. It''s helpful.

 

[redfaerythinker]

I have a Garmin Nuvi, the 4.3 inch screen. It''s AWESOME! So easy to use and I really like how it says how far away the street is and what the street name is that you''re turning on. One thing, pay the 80 or so bucks for instalation. They''ll run the cord under your dash which makes it SO much neater, it doesn''t clutter up your windshield (mine is on the left side of the window), and it doesn''t take up a cigarette lighter.

Oh and also, my friend has a tomtom and likes my garmin better.

 

[Dancing Fire]

we have two older model Garmins. a Nuvi 350 and a 340c, be sure to buy one that speaks the street names.

 

[Dancing Fire]

Date: 11/23/2008 10:46:50 PM
Author: redfaerythinker
I have a Garmin Nuvi, the 4.3 inch screen. It''s AWESOME! So easy to use and I really like how it says how far away the street is and what the street name is that you''re turning on. One thing, pay the 80 or so bucks for instalation. They''ll run the cord under your dash which makes it SO much neater, it doesn''t clutter up your windshield (mine is on the left side of the window), and it doesn''t take up a cigarette lighter.

Oh and also, my friend has a tomtom and likes my garmin better.

that''s illegal here in Ca.

 

[joflier]

I have a Tomtom and I really like it. Its been very reliable for me.