3rd Party GPS / Navigation Suggestions
05-10-2007, 07:54 PM
#1
Luvs his Max
Thread Starter
Join Date: Oct 2002
Posts: 117
3rd Party GPS / Navigation Suggestions
I have an 03 SE/TE 6Spd and the bay where the clock resides is just asking for a NAV to be slapped in. That and my boss doesn't want to pay for me to get lost anymore..heh.
I've been looking at TomTom Go300 or Go510 but was wondering if anyone had any suggestions? I don't want cheap and I don't need all the bells. I'm looking for the best Bang for my Buck....
(PS - I searched a good while on the boards for some advice and found only OEM Nav threads)
Thanks!
I've been looking at TomTom Go300 or Go510 but was wondering if anyone had any suggestions? I don't want cheap and I don't need all the bells. I'm looking for the best Bang for my Buck....
(PS - I searched a good while on the boards for some advice and found only OEM Nav threads)
Thanks!
05-10-2007, 08:43 PM
#2
Cheesing away...
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Dallas, Tx
Posts: 1,613
get a garmin nuvi, you will thank me later. It has the best review of any gps out there at the moment. It's a lot better than any TomTom. I have one and love it. It's gotten me all over the country within the past 4 months.
05-11-2007, 04:08 AM
#4
I used my friendsTOM TOM in a trip though the east coast and I loved and I decided to buy my GPS.
But I wanted one for the motorcycle and for the car. I read reviews for a week, and Garmin had the BEST reviews and Tom Tom second.
I bought myself an older dual use Garmin (4150? I dont remeber the model, it was the best bike GPS on the market few years ago, now Garmin has 2 releases on the bike scene) and I LOVE IT. Garmin does have the best feature, and even an older model without battery or 3D view had better functions than a brand new Tom Tom.
I cant even imagine what kinda features the new Garmins offer...
I'd go for Gamin then Tom Tom. Either way u'd be getting a great product.
Later
But I wanted one for the motorcycle and for the car. I read reviews for a week, and Garmin had the BEST reviews and Tom Tom second.
I bought myself an older dual use Garmin (4150? I dont remeber the model, it was the best bike GPS on the market few years ago, now Garmin has 2 releases on the bike scene) and I LOVE IT. Garmin does have the best feature, and even an older model without battery or 3D view had better functions than a brand new Tom Tom.
I cant even imagine what kinda features the new Garmins offer...
I'd go for Gamin then Tom Tom. Either way u'd be getting a great product.
Later
05-11-2007, 04:32 AM
#5
Don't you know who I am?
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: East Granby, Connecticut
Posts: 945
http://www.amazon.com/Garmin-Vehicle...8883036&sr=8-1
This is the Navigator I have. I have nothing but great things to say about it. It works extremely well, voice prompts are loud and clear. Also, it's now about 100 bucks cheaper than when I bought it. Don't mess around, this is the only way to go.
This is the Navigator I have. I have nothing but great things to say about it. It works extremely well, voice prompts are loud and clear. Also, it's now about 100 bucks cheaper than when I bought it. Don't mess around, this is the only way to go.
05-11-2007, 06:12 AM
#6
Senior Member
Join Date: Mar 2006
Posts: 116
(Long!)
I've owned a TomTom GO910 for nearly a year. It's very easy to use. Even my technically challenged father can figure it out. The feature I find most useful is that it will automatically re-route on the fly when you deviate from the route it calculates - no user interaction required. This is nice when travelling across country and you come upon an accident and are forced off at an exit and routed down some country road. No problem, just keep driving, TomTom will figure out where you are at, and recalculate the route and give you new directions to get you to your destination.
I like the GO910 as it has a built in MP3 Player - it has 20gb of storage that is shared with maps, mp3's, and pictures. I have over 11gb of maps loaded on my, so that leaves 9gb of space for MP3's and pictures. Or you can use it to control your IPOD - it has built in IPOD support.
It also supports Hands-Free Bluetooth phones (check the supported phone list though!), so you can take and place calls via TomTom.
One of the cute features is the ability to buy alternate voices (I have the John Cleese voice - "bear right, beaver left").
Having spent years as a rally navigator, it has many useful navigation features: count up and count down mileage, an indicator to show which way you are turning next, the name of the upcoming road sign, with the built-in voices it will read the upcoming street names if you desire, current speed, compass direction, latitude & longitude. You can preview your route as written directions, or view the route as a map.
The built in speaker is adequate for the voice directions, but is basically unusable for music - hence the audio output jack on the mount.
It has a remote control - why I have no idea, but it has one (I find remote controls in the car rather silly).
TomTom offers new maps at least annually. There are basically 2 levels of GPS maps for all GPS units sold. TomTom uses the more detailed of the 2.
You can build an "itinerary" with multiple destinations in sequence. There is a docking station that connects to your PC so you can build you itinerary on your PC with the included TomTom software and download it to your TomTom. You can charge the battery in your TomTom with the docking station or charge it on the windsheild mount.
It doesn't seem to pickup the GPS satellites inside my house but take it outside and it works fine - so you can walk around with it if you want.
The GPS accuracy seems to be quite good.
The screen is bright enough, although in extraordinarily bright light, the screen can be a bit washed out.
Early TomTom's supposedly had problems with the windsheild mount, but TomTom ponied up and offered free replacement windshield mounts. My GO910 was one of those early units, however, I never had a problem with the mount, yet I received a new & improved windsheild mount for free. I didn't even have to return the old one, so now I have 2 mounts. To me that shows that TomTom stands behind their product.
There is tremendous amount of ability to customize what you see, including customizing the menus. You can change the color schemes, including have different color schemes for day and night.
It usually takes a couple of minutes for it to sync with the GPS satellites, however, I don't use mine on a daily basis, so it might sync faster if I used it frequently.
Their webiste isn't too bad, however, I find the support section a bit weak...I work in IT, so I have definite opinions about what constitutes a good support website.
TomTom has the ability to download Points Of Interest (POI) databases in addition to the ones that comes with it - for example, I downloaded the Baskin Robbins POI database - great if you have kids and your travelling across country. The POI databases a fairly extensive, however these tend to go out of date, as business open and close much faster than the POI databases are updated....but you'll have the with any GPS.
I could go on, but as you can gather, I highly recommend the TomTom.
I've owned a TomTom GO910 for nearly a year. It's very easy to use. Even my technically challenged father can figure it out. The feature I find most useful is that it will automatically re-route on the fly when you deviate from the route it calculates - no user interaction required. This is nice when travelling across country and you come upon an accident and are forced off at an exit and routed down some country road. No problem, just keep driving, TomTom will figure out where you are at, and recalculate the route and give you new directions to get you to your destination.
I like the GO910 as it has a built in MP3 Player - it has 20gb of storage that is shared with maps, mp3's, and pictures. I have over 11gb of maps loaded on my, so that leaves 9gb of space for MP3's and pictures. Or you can use it to control your IPOD - it has built in IPOD support.
It also supports Hands-Free Bluetooth phones (check the supported phone list though!), so you can take and place calls via TomTom.
One of the cute features is the ability to buy alternate voices (I have the John Cleese voice - "bear right, beaver left").
Having spent years as a rally navigator, it has many useful navigation features: count up and count down mileage, an indicator to show which way you are turning next, the name of the upcoming road sign, with the built-in voices it will read the upcoming street names if you desire, current speed, compass direction, latitude & longitude. You can preview your route as written directions, or view the route as a map.
The built in speaker is adequate for the voice directions, but is basically unusable for music - hence the audio output jack on the mount.
It has a remote control - why I have no idea, but it has one (I find remote controls in the car rather silly).
TomTom offers new maps at least annually. There are basically 2 levels of GPS maps for all GPS units sold. TomTom uses the more detailed of the 2.
You can build an "itinerary" with multiple destinations in sequence. There is a docking station that connects to your PC so you can build you itinerary on your PC with the included TomTom software and download it to your TomTom. You can charge the battery in your TomTom with the docking station or charge it on the windsheild mount.
It doesn't seem to pickup the GPS satellites inside my house but take it outside and it works fine - so you can walk around with it if you want.
The GPS accuracy seems to be quite good.
The screen is bright enough, although in extraordinarily bright light, the screen can be a bit washed out.
Early TomTom's supposedly had problems with the windsheild mount, but TomTom ponied up and offered free replacement windshield mounts. My GO910 was one of those early units, however, I never had a problem with the mount, yet I received a new & improved windsheild mount for free. I didn't even have to return the old one, so now I have 2 mounts. To me that shows that TomTom stands behind their product.
There is tremendous amount of ability to customize what you see, including customizing the menus. You can change the color schemes, including have different color schemes for day and night.
It usually takes a couple of minutes for it to sync with the GPS satellites, however, I don't use mine on a daily basis, so it might sync faster if I used it frequently.
Their webiste isn't too bad, however, I find the support section a bit weak...I work in IT, so I have definite opinions about what constitutes a good support website.
TomTom has the ability to download Points Of Interest (POI) databases in addition to the ones that comes with it - for example, I downloaded the Baskin Robbins POI database - great if you have kids and your travelling across country. The POI databases a fairly extensive, however these tend to go out of date, as business open and close much faster than the POI databases are updated....but you'll have the with any GPS.
I could go on, but as you can gather, I highly recommend the TomTom.
05-11-2007, 04:13 PM
#7
Just my $.02, but I use a Garmin hand-held, a 76CS. I have mounted the "permanent" mount on the little plateau above the radio. I have an external antenna ($25) that I use when I'm traveling a lot (gets better reception then the built in antenna). The benefit of this is that I can use this GPS anywhere. I can use it in any of my cars, on boats, in trains, airplanes, and I can use it while hiking or walking. The downside is that its more difficult to use then the touch screen models for cars. It does not talk obviously so you have to listen for beeps and read the screen instructions. It does all the auto-routing, etc. that the in-car systems use. But I don't have to worry about someone trying to break into my car to steal it either. The newest models take SD cards and can hold all of the US.
I've heard the Nuvi is very good as well. Hope this helps.
I've heard the Nuvi is very good as well. Hope this helps.
05-12-2007, 03:39 PM
#10
I have a garmin nuvi 6900. I love it. Hands down. I just drove from florida to the hamptons and I have never been to the hamptons in new york, hotels food address's parks musuems china different languages its got it all. I just use the options it gives me to go wherever and find whatever. It's very handy and would suggest to anyone period
Tippy Toes
Tippy Toes
05-12-2007, 06:10 PM
#11
uhh match what your boss is willing to give you and buy a BNIB Eclipse AVN on ebay aroudn $850 shipped. 24bit dac, dvd player, seperate cd/dvd player, mp3, gps, HD radio, etc.
you'll be happy with it...
you'll be happy with it...
05-14-2007, 03:25 PM
#12
Senior Member
Join Date: Apr 2006
Posts: 104
Garmin Nuvi 350
Just got the Nuvi 350 about a month ago and I love it. Went from NoVA to AC with no problems using the Garmin Nuvi 350. On the way back the Nuvi battery died, so we relied on a 2006 civic coupe OEM GPS, and that thing took us the long way to get back to the NJ Turnpike 
. A few times the Civic GPS got confused.
This past weekend I went to VA Tech for the first time and had no problems getting there with the Nuvi 350 (It's a pretty straight shot). I had to stay in Roanoke which is about 45 mins away and had no problem getting there either.
A few months back Costco had the Nuvi 350 for $350, they sold out in like a week and have not carried them since. Fortunately, I was able to get Sears to Price Match Guarantee Costco and got an additional 10% off.
I did some research online before I bought the GPS. The people I know with the Nuvi 350 love it. Check CNET.com, CircuitCity.com and Amazon.com for ratings.
The only downside I have seen so far is the battery life. The box says up to 8 hours of battery life, but it only last 4-5 hours for me. Of course I always carrye the car charger now.
. A few times the Civic GPS got confused. This past weekend I went to VA Tech for the first time and had no problems getting there with the Nuvi 350 (It's a pretty straight shot). I had to stay in Roanoke which is about 45 mins away and had no problem getting there either.
A few months back Costco had the Nuvi 350 for $350, they sold out in like a week and have not carried them since. Fortunately, I was able to get Sears to Price Match Guarantee Costco and got an additional 10% off.
I did some research online before I bought the GPS. The people I know with the Nuvi 350 love it. Check CNET.com, CircuitCity.com and Amazon.com for ratings.
The only downside I have seen so far is the battery life. The box says up to 8 hours of battery life, but it only last 4-5 hours for me. Of course I always carrye the car charger now.
05-15-2007, 05:48 PM
#13
I have an 00 and just added a Kenwood double DIN in this past weekend. The NAV unit part is coming sometime this week. The NAV unit is by Garmin. I have another one in another car and the Garmin unit is pretty IMO. The portable units on this side of town have become VERY POPULAR. There's been reports of people getting their units ripped off because they leave it connected on the windshield. Here's a picture of what it looks like in the dash. I used the Scosche NN1494 kit for the installation
05-16-2007, 04:55 AM
#14
Originally Posted by KsuMax
get a garmin nuvi, you will thank me later. It has the best review of any gps out there at the moment. It's a lot better than any TomTom. I have one and love it. It's gotten me all over the country within the past 4 months.
http://www.gpslodge.com/
05-16-2007, 07:41 AM
#15
Don't you know who I am?
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: East Granby, Connecticut
Posts: 945
Originally Posted by 98maxi
The portable units on this side of town have become VERY POPULAR. There's been reports of people getting their units ripped off because they leave it connected on the windshield.
At least I know the Garmin Nuvi 350 has an 800 number you call if the Nuvi is stolen, you give them your PIN and they track the unit for you...
05-16-2007, 08:52 AM
#16
Garmin all the way. When I was thinking about buying one I look into both the Garmin and TomTom and decided on the Garmin because of the better reviews.
I was torn between the Nuvi 350 and the C340. I went with the C340 because of battery life. Any one you choose though would be a great addition. I don't think twice about going anywhere. I just grab my Garmin and go. I even bought the Caribbean maps and will take with me to the Caribbean when I visit this summer.
I was torn between the Nuvi 350 and the C340. I went with the C340 because of battery life. Any one you choose though would be a great addition. I don't think twice about going anywhere. I just grab my Garmin and go. I even bought the Caribbean maps and will take with me to the Caribbean when I visit this summer.
05-16-2007, 09:22 AM
#17
I have a Garmin Nuvi 360 and I like it. The navigation has been excellent for the most part, except for one occurrence where it messed up finding an address that was in a strip mall. I don't use it locally because the routes given are sometimes different from what I'm used to.
The Bluetooth in the unit works fine with my LG phone although I think the pickup could be better, at least that's what I've heard from a few people who've called me.
For more research/info/comments, the Amazon reviews for most units are pretty helpful, and I'm sure you could find some navi forums out there with reviews from the hardcore "enthusiasts".
The Bluetooth in the unit works fine with my LG phone although I think the pickup could be better, at least that's what I've heard from a few people who've called me.
For more research/info/comments, the Amazon reviews for most units are pretty helpful, and I'm sure you could find some navi forums out there with reviews from the hardcore "enthusiasts".
05-16-2007, 10:13 AM
#18
Luvs his Max
Thread Starter
Join Date: Oct 2002
Posts: 117
Wow, thanks everyone. There's been some really great reviews here so I hope a lot of people benefitted. As of right now i'm leaning towards the Nuvi 350 due to all the raving reviews, but i'm also considering the TomTom Go510. They both seem relatively about the same price w/ the TomTom a bit cheaper. THe Go510 has a larger screen 4" vs 3". TomTom has all those crazy downloadable voices and it just seems like it's easier to manage w/ your computer and all that. I'm sure the battery life suffers a bit w/ the larger screen but I wouldn't mind plugging it in.
The one thing i'm not sure about w/ any GPS is how the mapping software/firmware works. Do you just BUY the map and then you have to buy the updates as they come out? Or do they come preloaded and the updates are free? What about Firmware/Software and things like that. Are these free as well? It looks like TomTom just fixed one of their major problems w/ the unit shutting off while driving w/ a small software upgrade. This, and other reviews from people about TomTom, lead me to beleive that they are really striving to back their product with superior support and constant updates/upgrades to their product to satisfy customer issues/needs. Garmin just seems like the Sony of GPS, just touting their unit as the best and charging 2x as much as justification. And we're just supposed to accept it.
I'm ***ering... stillll ***ering. I've seen some good eBay deals but am a little skeptical w/ things like warranty and all that.
I'll let you know how I get a long but all these reviews pouring in are fantastic. Thanks everyone!
The one thing i'm not sure about w/ any GPS is how the mapping software/firmware works. Do you just BUY the map and then you have to buy the updates as they come out? Or do they come preloaded and the updates are free? What about Firmware/Software and things like that. Are these free as well? It looks like TomTom just fixed one of their major problems w/ the unit shutting off while driving w/ a small software upgrade. This, and other reviews from people about TomTom, lead me to beleive that they are really striving to back their product with superior support and constant updates/upgrades to their product to satisfy customer issues/needs. Garmin just seems like the Sony of GPS, just touting their unit as the best and charging 2x as much as justification. And we're just supposed to accept it.
I'm ***ering... stillll ***ering. I've seen some good eBay deals but am a little skeptical w/ things like warranty and all that.
I'll let you know how I get a long but all these reviews pouring in are fantastic. Thanks everyone!
05-16-2007, 02:08 PM
#19
This is with Garmin only. I have no idea about Tom Tom.
The Garmin I purchased came with the Maps of the US and Canada Pre-Loaded. You get a 1 year protection on the maps. Meaning at close to the end of the year you should check and make sure you have the latest and greatest.
As far as software and firmware. That is free. I check mine for updates every few months.
Good Luck with whichever you decide on.
The Garmin I purchased came with the Maps of the US and Canada Pre-Loaded. You get a 1 year protection on the maps. Meaning at close to the end of the year you should check and make sure you have the latest and greatest.
As far as software and firmware. That is free. I check mine for updates every few months.
Good Luck with whichever you decide on.
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