Shopping for a Garmin
 

I don't get out of the county much but I am going to take off for a few days and be going through heavy traffic places. Normally I'd use the wife's but she's splitting too.

So I decided to break down and get a new Garmin.

I don't been anything really expensive, but something comprehensive for road travel. I have one that's about 7 years old and probably worthless by now unless I but the updates and I'm sure the internal battery is shot too.

Basically I'm asking what model is the best bang for the buck? Or should I just go to Walmart and get one?

Shopping for a Garmin
 

On Wednesday, July 1, 2015 at 10:09:31 AM UTC-4, Tim wrote:
I don't get out of the county much but I am going to take off for a few days and be going through heavy traffic places. Normally I'd use the wife's but she's splitting too.

So I decided to break down and get a new Garmin.

I don't been anything really expensive, but something comprehensive for road travel. I have one that's about 7 years old and probably worthless by now unless I but the updates and I'm sure the internal battery is shot too.

Basically I'm asking what model is the best bang for the buck? Or should I just go to Walmart and get one?

No recommendation for a specific model, but don't buy a TomTom, stick with Garmin. I had a bad experience with TomTom's warranty and customer support, and well as the inability to repair a unit that was only 1.5 years old.

Shopping for a Garmin
 

I've heard not so good reports on Toms too.

Shopping for a Garmin
 

On Wed, 1 Jul 2015 07:09:30 -0700 (PDT), Tim wrote:

I don't get out of the county much but I am going to take off for a few days and be going through heavy traffic places. Normally I'd use the wife's but she's splitting too.

So I decided to break down and get a new Garmin.

I don't been anything really expensive, but something comprehensive for road travel. I have one that's about 7 years old and probably worthless by now unless I but the updates and I'm sure the internal battery is shot too.

Basically I'm asking what model is the best bang for the buck? Or should I just go to Walmart and get one?

Tim, my wife got me this one for my birthday, and I love it. It's a 7", so fits
nicely on the pickup dash. Plus it's got free lifetime map updates.

http://www.amazon.com/Garmin-2797LMT...s=nuvi+2789lmt

--

Guns don't cause problems.
Gun owner behavior causes problems.

Shopping for a Garmin
 

On Wed, 1 Jul 2015 07:09:30 -0700 (PDT), Tim
wrote:

I don't get out of the county much but I am going to take off for a few days and be going through heavy traffic places. Normally I'd use the wife's but she's splitting too.

So I decided to break down and get a new Garmin.

I don't been anything really expensive, but something comprehensive for road travel. I have one that's about 7 years old and probably worthless by now unless I but the updates and I'm sure the internal battery is shot too.

Basically I'm asking what model is the best bang for the buck? Or should I just go to Walmart and get one?

===

Do you already have an Android or Apple smart phone? If so you may
find that mapping app to be as good as a Garmin. My Android phone
even has pretty good speech recognition for destination searching. I
think the key is to use a phone with a large, brightly lit screen.
Mine came from Amazon at a very reasonable price and with a very nice
screen:

http://www.amazon.com/Studio-5-5S-Quad-Unlocked-White/dp/B00IWCCYY8

Shopping for a Garmin
 

On Wed, 01 Jul 2015 13:02:09 -0400, wrote:

On Wed, 01 Jul 2015 12:36:39 -0400, Wayne.B
wrote:

On Wed, 1 Jul 2015 07:09:30 -0700 (PDT), Tim
wrote:

I don't get out of the county much but I am going to take off for a few days and be going through heavy traffic places. Normally I'd use the wife's but she's splitting too.

So I decided to break down and get a new Garmin.

I don't been anything really expensive, but something comprehensive for road travel. I have one that's about 7 years old and probably worthless by now unless I but the updates and I'm sure the internal battery is shot too.

Basically I'm asking what model is the best bang for the buck? Or should I just go to Walmart and get one?

===

Do you already have an Android or Apple smart phone? If so you may
find that mapping app to be as good as a Garmin. My Android phone
even has pretty good speech recognition for destination searching. I
think the key is to use a phone with a large, brightly lit screen.
Mine came from Amazon at a very reasonable price and with a very nice
screen:

http://www.amazon.com/Studio-5-5S-Quad-Unlocked-White/dp/B00IWCCYY8


I find it strange that everyone seems to think talking on a cell phone
is a huge danger but screwing with a GPS or any of that other dash
mounted computer hardware is just fine.


I might hit the 'Go Home' button while driving, but seldom do anything else with it
while driving. If putting in an address, I'll have wife do it or do it before taking
off. Works fine for me.
--

Guns don't cause problems.
Gun owner behavior causes problems.

Shopping for a Garmin
 

On Wed, 01 Jul 2015 13:02:09 -0400, wrote:

===

Do you already have an Android or Apple smart phone? If so you may
find that mapping app to be as good as a Garmin. My Android phone
even has pretty good speech recognition for destination searching. I
think the key is to use a phone with a large, brightly lit screen.
Mine came from Amazon at a very reasonable price and with a very nice
screen:

http://www.amazon.com/Studio-5-5S-Quad-Unlocked-White/dp/B00IWCCYY8


I find it strange that everyone seems to think talking on a cell phone
is a huge danger but screwing with a GPS or any of that other dash
mounted computer hardware is just fine.


===

Of course the safe thing to do is to pull over while you set the
destination and check the route. After that the phone just talks to
you without any intervention.

Shopping for a Garmin
 

Wayne.B wrote:
On Wed, 01 Jul 2015 13:02:09 -0400, wrote:

===

Do you already have an Android or Apple smart phone? If so you may
find that mapping app to be as good as a Garmin. My Android phone
even has pretty good speech recognition for destination searching. I
think the key is to use a phone with a large, brightly lit screen.
Mine came from Amazon at a very reasonable price and with a very nice
screen:

http://www.amazon.com/Studio-5-5S-Quad-Unlocked-White/dp/B00IWCCYY8


I find it strange that everyone seems to think talking on a cell phone
is a huge danger but screwing with a GPS or any of that other dash
mounted computer hardware is just fine.


===

Of course the safe thing to do is to pull over while you set the
destination and check the route. After that the phone just talks to
you without any intervention.

My wife's Toyota GPS is voice controlled

Shopping for a Garmin
 

On 7/1/2015 12:12 PM, Tim wrote:
I've heard not so good reports on Toms too.



Garmin used to have a stellar reputation for service and standing behind
their products. Not so much anymore.

People here have commented on bad experiences with Tom-Tom. I guess
mine is an exception. I have a Tom-Tom that I bought about 12 years ago
and it still works just fine. Mine has an SD card with the maps which
I updated once a few years back. I don't use it often anymore but
do use it occasionally when driving to an address or location I am not
familiar with. Works fine, lasts a long time.

Shopping for a Garmin
 

On 7/1/2015 1:02 PM, wrote:
On Wed, 01 Jul 2015 12:36:39 -0400, Wayne.B
wrote:

On Wed, 1 Jul 2015 07:09:30 -0700 (PDT), Tim
wrote:

I don't get out of the county much but I am going to take off for a few days and be going through heavy traffic places. Normally I'd use the wife's but she's splitting too.

So I decided to break down and get a new Garmin.

I don't been anything really expensive, but something comprehensive for road travel. I have one that's about 7 years old and probably worthless by now unless I but the updates and I'm sure the internal battery is shot too.

Basically I'm asking what model is the best bang for the buck? Or should I just go to Walmart and get one?

===

Do you already have an Android or Apple smart phone? If so you may
find that mapping app to be as good as a Garmin. My Android phone
even has pretty good speech recognition for destination searching. I
think the key is to use a phone with a large, brightly lit screen.
Mine came from Amazon at a very reasonable price and with a very nice
screen:

http://www.amazon.com/Studio-5-5S-Quad-Unlocked-White/dp/B00IWCCYY8


I find it strange that everyone seems to think talking on a cell phone
is a huge danger but screwing with a GPS or any of that other dash
mounted computer hardware is just fine.




Thing is, you can set your destination on a dash mounted GPS before you
start driving and after that it's pretty much hands free. Cell phones
are a whole different story.