duetto owner Posted December 14, 2009 Share Posted December 14, 2009 we have a tomtom 700 several years old got it when they first came out, anyone one had one breakdown? we were wondering how long they last especially the internal hard drive. with new europeanmap tomtoms being so cheap not sure if its worth replacing the old maps on the 700 or getting a new tomtom whats your opinion Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KeithR Posted December 14, 2009 Share Posted December 14, 2009 do tomtom not have a deal like garmin, where for £100 you get up to 2 new map downloads a year, for the life of the machine? at that, having the latest maps, there seems to be no reason to buy a new sat nav, unless there are other facilities that are important to you. mine has all sorts of extra's, but the truth is i really only use it for map reading. £100 sounds a lot at first thought, but if the machine dont break, its a bargain. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mirage Posted December 14, 2009 Share Posted December 14, 2009 Only thing is a new Sat Nav is so becoming so cheap, especially right now it might be cheaper overall just to buy a new one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KeithR Posted December 14, 2009 Share Posted December 14, 2009 but you still have the problem of maps going out of date, and probably out of date by the time you get your new sat nav. i think half the worlds population are permanently on road building (lol) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fred22 Posted December 14, 2009 Share Posted December 14, 2009 I have a Tom Tom 710, a brilliant bit of kit but I have never managed to connect it to the docking station to update it despite Tom Tom providing a replacement. It will not lock on ,Anyone else had this problem? The point is I will have to replace it to update the maps, or, could I purchase them pre installed on a new card?? In Scotland this year we were often driving on roads that the Tom Tom did not know existed. Not a big problem in itself but this will get worse with time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mel B Posted December 14, 2009 Share Posted December 14, 2009 If you're happy with your unit and just want newer maps then you could just buy the maps, if you unit does die, you can pick up a replacement off ebay but they do tend to go around the £50-£60 mark. Alternatively you could buy an up-to-date unit off ebay - we got two Tom Tom XL units, one was opened but unused (for the brother in law), we then got one for ourselves which was new and sealed in its box (unwanted gift), from memory I think one was around £130, the other £120. If you're not desparate to get one now, I'd wait until after Christmas and see what people are selling or see what is being offered in the sales. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
breakaleg Posted December 15, 2009 Share Posted December 15, 2009 My 700 is about 4 years old now, had to do a few soft resets and people can't hear me talking via blue tooth, don't know if its the mike or the phone connection, plenty of room on the hard drive for more poi's. I know the mapping is out of date, but it gets me to where i want to go, so probably just buy a new one when this packs up. could buy three units for the price i paid for this one. Price dropped by £100 the week after i bought it. Pete :-( :-o Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hazy Baby Posted December 15, 2009 Share Posted December 15, 2009 Not wanting to sound like a luddite (which I most certainly am not!) if you always travel with a passenger (me) who can read maps (me - a woman, well I never!) why not buy a good atlas once or twice a year for the countries you are travelling through. Even on the most protracted European tour you would only be spending say £20 purchasing from one of the discount bookshops such as The Works. We have always found sites this way and have never been lost - well this year we did go around a traffic island three times on the Toulouse ring road! But that aside half the fun of travelling for me is map reading and the other half says he would rather listen to me than some electronic female. Aah!!! Anyway just a thought. But I can see the attraction of Sat Navs and as said I'm not a luddite - just find the whole set up very pricey! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
euroserv Posted December 15, 2009 Share Posted December 15, 2009 I too bought a 700 about 6 years ago when it came out and it has been faultless. I have paid for updated maps twice at about £60 and speed camera data as well. It only gets used 6 or so times a year and just quietly gets on with the job when asked. I expect it will continue to do a good job for many years and have my suspicions that newer, cheaper sat navs will not. Incidentally, my used Alfa came with the factory sat nav fitted which some daft git paid £1850 for! It's completely rubbish and tells lies! Would be better off with the girlfriend and a map! Ahh... maps. Nick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike88 Posted December 15, 2009 Share Posted December 15, 2009 I've got a Tom Tom XL Europe. Its never worked properly as the maps keep switching off leaving me with only the sound instructions and is unresponsive to the touch screen. Its been back to Tom Tom but they claim there is nothing wrong. Its now out of warranty and useless so I'm now using my 6 years old Navman which, though antiquated, at least works. I'll not buy Tom Tom again even though its easy to use and has excellent features. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hazy Baby Posted December 15, 2009 Share Posted December 15, 2009 There you go, Mike. As said in my previous posting I give sound instructions for free and am certainly responsive to touch i.e a swift jab and "which way do we go now?" when I have been day dreaming. :-S Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EJB Posted December 15, 2009 Share Posted December 15, 2009 Hazy, I was a Land Surveyor for many of my years. I loved maps, and still do! My last job was averaging 50,000 miles a year (5 years). When I retired a Tom Tom 1 came my way and I realised what an idiot I had been for all those years. Each to his/her own B-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Tracker Posted December 15, 2009 Share Posted December 15, 2009 There is no doubt that a Sat Nav makes life easier if only in that it allows the passenger / navigating officer time to see the countryside rather than have her / his head buried in an atlas! Nevertheless an atlas open on the right page just in case in busy areas is not a bad idea! Until this year we were using a 6 year old Navman unit with 8 year old mapping and it was cantankerous in the extreme at times but it still beat using an atlas - even when new roads had been built - and our route wandered off into open countryside as it always returned sooner or later - and even the revised French road numbering system - if there is a system to it - failed to get us lost - usually! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hazy Baby Posted December 16, 2009 Share Posted December 16, 2009 Ok, I surrender! Perhaps one day if Santa/the birthday fairy is kind I may get one of these toys. It could change my life................. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Tracker Posted December 16, 2009 Share Posted December 16, 2009 Hazy Baby - 2009-12-16 8:18 AM Ok, I surrender! Perhaps one day if Santa/the birthday fairy is kind I may get one of these toys. It could change my life................. I doubt it will change the driver's life too much - except for the peace of mind that comes with better accuracy of being on the right road - but it will certainly makes the navigator's life a lot easier! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rayjsj Posted December 16, 2009 Share Posted December 16, 2009 Have just 'extended' the life of my 3 year old Tom Tom One 'new' edition , the mapping was getting seriously out of date, and I often found myself on new bits of tarmac with the Sat nav showing me in the middle of a field and Frantically telling me to 'turn around when possible'. Upgraded to the latest UK & Ireland map with £8 off as a Christmas offer, so, £31, cheaper than a new one AND I keep all of my downloaded POI's. Tip; I always drive with the sound switched off, so it doesn't wake up the Missus, and I get a peaceful drive. ;-) Ray Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randonneur Posted December 16, 2009 Share Posted December 16, 2009 Mike88 - 2009-12-15 4:00 PM I've got a Tom Tom XL Europe. Its never worked properly as the maps keep switching off leaving me with only the sound instructions and is unresponsive to the touch screen. Its been back to Tom Tom but they claim there is nothing wrong. Its now out of warranty and useless so I'm now using my 6 years old Navman which, though antiquated, at least works. I'll not buy Tom Tom again even though its easy to use and has excellent features. We have a TomTom One Europe that we bought 2 years ago and have never had a problem with it and it is used regularly. You may have had a "Friday Afternoon" one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coachman Posted December 16, 2009 Share Posted December 16, 2009 I also bought my 700 when they first came out and about 2 months ago it went dead on me so contaced TT and they sent a prepaid box to send it back , i think it took about four day' when it got returned back with no charge and its fine again . Well done TT. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fred22 Posted December 16, 2009 Share Posted December 16, 2009 Coachman - 2009-12-16 5:42 PM I also bought my 700 when they first came out and about 2 months ago it went dead on me so contaced TT and they sent a prepaid box to send it back , i think it took about four day' when it got returned back with no charge and its fine again . Well done TT. I have contacted TT before about not being able to lock on to the Home Dock and didn't get very far. They certainly didn't suggest sending the unit back. I'll try them again, you never know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mel B Posted December 16, 2009 Share Posted December 16, 2009 Hazy Baby - 2009-12-16 8:18 AM Ok, I surrender! Perhaps one day if Santa/the birthday fairy is kind I may get one of these toys. It could change my life................. Other benefits of a sat nav system other than just as a means to get you from A to B on your route: 1) You can use POIs (points of interest) such as campsites, aires (very useful a some can be very tricky to find from the book alone!), petrol stations, supermarkets etc, as well as other things that may interest you. Sat navs are very good to let you see what's nearby as you travel along roads too. 2) When visiting a strange town, you can set it to take you to the centre and, conversely, it can get you out of the town centre when you want to leave and going in the right direction (not that easy to find the right route out). 3) When driving along you can see the road ahead which is especially useful if you're on a windy road as you can see what's coming up, is it a very sharp bend, or a nice gentle one. When approaching a junction, you get a view of it so you can ensure that you have placed your vehicle in the correct lane to make it much safer and easier to cross etc. This is especially useful when in a foreign country and travelling on the 'opposite' side of the road to that which you are used to. At night, a sat nav comes into it's own as it lets you see the layout of the road ahead. Obviously, you don't look at the sat nav constantly, but a quick glance is all you usually need. One hilarious use is to change the 'language' to that of the country you are visiting, eg French in France - it helps you learn the language - but only if you already have some knowledge of the basics otherwise you'll get totally lost! I still remember James May going on a wine tour programme with Oz Clark in the UK where they changed the langauge to some weird one and were absolutely helpless with laughter from what came out of the machine! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colin Posted December 16, 2009 Share Posted December 16, 2009 Mel B - 2009-12-16 7:19 PM One hilarious use is to change the 'language' to that of the country you are visiting, eg French in France - it helps you learn the language - but only if you already have some knowledge of the basics otherwise you'll get totally lost! I still remember James May going on a wine tour programme with Oz Clark in the UK where they changed the langauge to some weird one and were absolutely helpless with laughter from what came out of the machine! Work colegue drove to Wales in his disco with sat nav, once over the bridge, apart from Cardif and Swansea it gave up trying to pronouce names Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hazy Baby Posted December 17, 2009 Share Posted December 17, 2009 Ooh Mel. Now I am getting really interested in having one. Never knew they can do so much. Pity I have already sent my letter to Santa or else I now think a Sat Nav may be on the list! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catinou Posted December 17, 2009 Share Posted December 17, 2009 We have the 920T and are very pleased with it BUT Santa came early this year - we called in at a service station last week and saw the new Tom Tom Truck model (released in October and apparently selling like hot cakes....) We took the plunge when we saw you can put in vehicle measurements - height, max weight, width, ind. axle max loadings and favoured speed (in our case 60 mph on motorways - most economical). Not cheap but last weekend it worked brilliantly on our trip to Aachen for the Xmas market. We used the 920T as a backup and to see the difference in "estimated time of arrival" and routes to take - and it works! :-D Slight differences, especially in routes, made for more relaxed driving as we were not told to go down any narrow unsuitable roads (so far). Obviously you have to keep your eyes open, but the new device soon tells us what the speed limit for our size vehicle is too (4025K). Not always what is shown on the signs *-) We would highly recommend this model to anybody with a motorhome - long awaited but worth waiiting for. The 920T was used as a "hand held" device to walk from the aire to the market the first time - brilliant piece of kit we only got "lost " once - when hubbie thought he new better...... *-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.