Poppy Posted March 17, 2013 Share Posted March 17, 2013 Thinking of buying anew Garmin Nuvi with lifetime maps and traffic alerts.Around 160 in Halfords.Any comments? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted March 17, 2013 Share Posted March 17, 2013 I'm guessing that you have in mind a Nuvi 2445LMT (as that's currently advertised as being £159.99 at Halfords with free lifetime maps and alerts), but there are other Garmin sat-navs at Halfords with a price around £160. Which model do you want comments on? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sambukashot Posted March 17, 2013 Share Posted March 17, 2013 Had a Garmin Nuvi for some time now and now problems apart from the time it takes to update the maps! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JudgeMental Posted March 17, 2013 Share Posted March 17, 2013 Have just returned new 2495LMT . I like to plan routes on PC but garmin have now discontinued map source and introduced basecamp. Wasted a week trying to write routes and transfer to nuvi. Garmin have now admitted here are bugs that prevent this. So I am back with my trusty old 775 that is like a comfortable pair of slipper after wearing a pair of new shoes all day..it works moreor less perfectly with PC mapping . I think garmin have lost the plot to be honest..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rayjsj Posted March 17, 2013 Share Posted March 17, 2013 I feel exactly the same about the latest Tom Tom Sat navs, They have disgarded lots of very useful features and introduced useless and very 'Vexing' ones. I like my old Tom Tom One, better than my new Go 1005 'Camper' , a few steps 'back' in my opinion. Ray Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Poppy Posted March 17, 2013 Author Share Posted March 17, 2013 Not sure of the Exact model.Have old garmin which has served us well but desperately needs a map update.A one off is about 49 pounds, lifetime ABOUT 80 pounds. New Garmin with lifetime maps but no traffic rerouting between 9 and 100 pounds and the one with the traffic updates about 159.Just looked in our local Halfords. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lennyhb Posted March 17, 2013 Share Posted March 17, 2013 JudgeMental - 2013-03-17 11:08 AM Have just returned new 2495LMT . I like to plan routes on PC but garmin have now discontinued map source and introduced basecamp. Wasted a week trying to write routes and transfer to nuvi. Garmin have now admitted here are bugs that prevent this. So I am back with my trusty old 775 that is like a comfortable pair of slipper after wearing a pair of new shoes all day..it works moreor less perfectly with PC mapping . I think garmin have lost the plot to be honest..... Did you try plotting routes in Tyre to Travel to plot routes an download to Garmin I find it works fine on my 1490. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frankkia Posted March 17, 2013 Share Posted March 17, 2013 I have been a Garmin fan for years but as my old Garmin is now getting well old (like me) I decided to get a back up for it in case it failed whilst we are abroad. Last year it did have a bit of a fritz which I managed to recover as I had all the gubbins on my laptop) I also wanted a back up for my Kindle which also threw a wobbly whilst we were away (again managed to recover it). After seeing a recommendation by D0nna I purchased one of these ( http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/7-Car-GPS-SAT-NAV-128M-Bluetooth-Wireless-Reverse-Camera-UK-Seller-L21-/260959257593?pt=UK_In_Car_Technology&hash=item3cc26243f9 ) - I thought the reversing camera might be a bit poor but for £20 extra over the standard model I thought I would give it a go. 1) Reversing camera - excellent - manages to transmit right through our 8.5 meter Frankia with a good clear picture and a usefull distance grid superimposed on the picture. 2) Sat nav - excellent - at least as good as the Garmin for finding routes very quickly. It uses Igo software which is used in many in built sat nav built in to high end cars. Good clear mapping with 2D and 3D. We have had it running alongside the Garmin and found it faultless. I haven't tried to download additional POIs to it yet but it does come with quite a lot of POIs built in. It has updateable mapping which I haven't tried yet. 3) Book reader - It is not a Kindle but it works well. The sat nav is available in different options - Basic - with just sat nav and book reader. Truck - with the ability to set up avoidance of areas where trucks would not be able to go. Revering - with the camera - note - the camera is automatic - It is wired to the reversing lights and when reverse gear is selected the picture is transmitted to the sat nav which senses the transmission and switches to the picture from the camera. So no additional wiring through the 'van. I am well pleased with the kit and for the price I can't see me bothering with either Garmin or TTs over priced offerings again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted March 18, 2013 Share Posted March 18, 2013 Poppy - 2013-03-17 11:28 AM Not sure of the Exact model.Have old garmin which has served us well but desperately needs a map update.A one off is about 49 pounds, lifetime ABOUT 80 pounds. New Garmin with lifetime maps but no traffic rerouting between 9 and 100 pounds and the one with the traffic updates about 159.Just looked in our local Halfords. As your present sat-nav is old and outdated map-wise, replacing it with a new device makes sense. And, as you are 'Garmin famiiar', another Garmin should simplify the transition. Garmin sat-navs available from Halfords are listed here: http://tinyurl.com/co552cb The more expensive devices are on Page 2 and four are in the £155-£165 price-range. Each model has customer reviews that can be used to obtain some idea of the device's pros and cons. Once you've identified which sat-nav should best suit your requirements, you can use GOOGLE to look on other websites at reviews of that particular device. It does need saying that you need to be sure of your requirements as, if they are specific (like JudgeMental's) and are met by your your old device, there's the chance that a current sat-nav model won't have an equivalent capability. Generally, the 2nd digit of the Garmin model-number indicates the screen-size - eg. 2455 = a 4.3" screen, while 2595 indicates a 5" screen. It would also be wise to shop around. For example, a Garmin Nuvi 2445LMT, offered on the Halfords website at £159.99, is advertised on Amazon at £89.99. What I'd do is study the Garmin shop https://buy.garmin.com/shop/shop.do?cID=401 to establish what Garmin is currently offering (in order to avoid the possibility of buying a superseded model); check the specification/capabilities of devices (there's a useful FEATURE filter); check reviews from buyers; look for the most competitive pricing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JudgeMental Posted March 18, 2013 Share Posted March 18, 2013 The new garmin units work differently, best be prepared for this. not a step forward in my opinion, certainly not more intuitive or user friendly, maybe this is because we are used to working in a certain way with older units, but just look on the garmin forum snd it's pretty clear things are not right... I think they are cut down and worse for it so important to choose model carefully. The 2595 I just returned was so slow .....and after purchasing a 16 gb micro SD I discovered I could not listen to my own audio books. But main thing for me was difficulty transferring routes.....hate to recommend amazon but return policy good and prices competitive anf better then most.... Roads don't change that much,, i have 2011 maps, so will give it another year and see what's available then. I have always championed garmin those days well and truly over.....because they are releasing product full of bugs and developing in the field with us the consumer as guinea pigs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JudgeMental Posted March 18, 2013 Share Posted March 18, 2013 Frankkia - 2013-03-17 12:12 PM I am well pleased with the kit and for the price I can't see me bothering with either Garmin or TTs over priced offerings again. If I could still plan routes on PC and transfer to unit one of these genric sat navs would be fine. great value and to be honest would do for the wife as a simple A to B device. Lenny, did not understand what you meant by "Did you try plotting routes in Tyre to Travel to plot routes" found it *-) http://www.tyretotravel.com/ wonder if it would work with a chinese unit.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lennyhb Posted March 18, 2013 Share Posted March 18, 2013 Only downloads to Garmin & TomTom. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ips Posted March 18, 2013 Share Posted March 18, 2013 Poppy - 2013-03-17 9:24 AM Thinking of buying anew Garmin Nuvi with lifetime maps and traffic alerts.Around 160 in Halfords.Any comments? I have a comment, buy a good map and dont bother. I have tryed two different ones but ended up throwing last one out of the window when even though it was set to "wagon" it sent us down a VERY narow road (again) and a virtually un passable Ford (river not car) with no option but too risk it as no way and no were to turn round. I would never ever ever have another sat nav in the van. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laimeduck Posted March 18, 2013 Share Posted March 18, 2013 I have a really old Garmin Nuvi 200 with lifetime Europe maps & I can't fault it AS LONG AS you use it in combination with a paper map. It's simple, no frills, buts gets me from A to B with ease. As with so many electronic devices the newer models have so many functions that you need a masters degree to know how to operate them. KISS! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted March 18, 2013 Share Posted March 18, 2013 JudgeMental - 2013-03-17 11:08 AM................. I like to plan routes on PC but garmin have now discontinued map source and introduced basecamp. ............. I agree about BaseCamp, but MapSource is still downloadable from Garmin website. However, it is still version 6.16.3 from October 2010, so no development taking place. Also, I have never been able to transfer routes from MapSource to Nuvi with success. I now create waypoints as POIs in MapSource along the routes I want to take, transfer those to the Nuvi, and then use the Nuvi Trip Planner to re-construct the route. Bit untidy because it is a double hit process but, as a work-around, it does work. This is with a Nuvi 2495LMT, on which I find the routing logic much subtler than on my older 760 - it even uses by-passes now! Worked very well in France/Italy/Germany last year. MapSource won't run on Macs, but BaseCamp will. Didn't you say someone at Garmin told you that was the reason they were now promoting BaseCamp instead? Maybe it works better on a Mac than it does on a PC? Maybe Derek should download it and give it a try. It's free, so nothing (except time and patience :-)) to lose. As an afterthought for Poppy. Do make sure the one you buy has the mapping you want, especially for Europe. There are several versions of "Europe", most commonly what they call Western Europe, which broadly leaves out Europe east of Germany, and "Europe" which includes Europe pretty much as far east as the Urals. If getting the LMT models the whole of Europe is the way to go, as trying to add eastern Europe later will cost around £65, but will not entitle you to lifetime updates. It seems you would now have to pay £75 to get the full Europe set with lifetime updates, which would be annoying if all you wanted was the eastern Europe set. Also, don't be surprised if you find that after a couple of updates, the map files are too big to fit the Nuvi's memory. So, make sure you get one that takes SD or micro SD cards, because the maps will then happily install part to the Nuvi and part to the card. It needs a bit of care during the download to get it to work right, but the Nuvi will then run the maps seamlessly whether on SD or resident memory. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rupert123 Posted March 18, 2013 Share Posted March 18, 2013 I have just bought a Tomtom Start 60, well about three months ago, which I have no complaints about yet. Second trip to europe with it, car not van, and it all works fine, much better than my last Garmin. It is being sold with lifetime updates at the moment and has a 6" screen, all good so far. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spadge Posted March 18, 2013 Share Posted March 18, 2013 I've purcased one of the 7"Sat Navs Frankkia has spoken about and for £45 it is excellent value..UK & European mapping etc. Does what it says on the box........However I always take a map.Just in case !! Must add to that it's facility to switch from Car mode to Truck mode, very useful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robinhood Posted March 19, 2013 Share Posted March 19, 2013 Frankkia - 2013-03-17 12:12 PM I haven't tried to download additional POIs to it yet but it does come with quite a lot of POIs built in. It has updateable mapping which I haven't tried yet. .....I've just updated my POIs for my IGO8-based (not IGO primo) Satnav with the latest available downloads from: Camping EU (Bordatlas, Campingcar-infos (all that show overnighting only), Archies Camping). Camping UK (CC sites and CSs, C&CC sites and CLs, Camping in the Forest and Listed Sites), with the ability to search at headline or subset level. Whilst not rigorously tested yet (last-year's were) they work well with a quick test (and of course can be used in Google Earth). IGO8 function tends to be version-dependent, but in conjunction with my instructions on this thread: http://www.outandaboutlive.co.uk/forums/Motorhomes/Hints-and-Tips/How-to-use-IGO8-and-POIs/28149/?posts=1 ....it should be possible to install and use them relatively easily. I can make the file available for download in response to a PM. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrianBW Posted April 4, 2013 Share Posted April 4, 2013 Just replaced my Tomtom with an iGo8, all singing and dancing. Trouble is when the sun shines the screen can't be seen. Bought a sun screen, stlll no use. Never needed a sun screen with the Tomtom, could be seen what ever sun threw at me. My new mobile is the same, have to slide the screen to answer a call' in sunlight can't see to slide' so many missed calls. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barryd999 Posted April 4, 2013 Share Posted April 4, 2013 I got a new TomTom Start full Europe last year for less than £100 from Tescos Amazon. At first I thought my old Tom Tom one was better until I worked out how to make Jane (the voice) talk dirty. All summer when a particular POI was coming up she would say something rude. When I first discovered this on the M1 when bored one day I kept having to pull over as I couldn't see for crying and nearly wetting myself. I had found my level. I am not sure if this is useful information in your decision as to which sat nav to go but I bet some of you try it. (lol) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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