Adding a GPS navigation system — yea or nay?
May 5th, 2007 | by mbhunter |If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!
Everybody Loves Your Money posed an interesting question about buying a GPS unit for his vehicle. From what I’ve seen of them they’re amazing for what they do, and for a few hundred bucks it can save a lot of frustration. I certainly could have used one when I was trying to read my internet directions to the DC blogger meetup a while back; I got lost several times. (At least I beat Jim there.)
A friend of mine works out of his house and bought a high-end unit a few months ago for about $1k. But because it’s for his job, he got direct reimbursement through his mileage and “paid for it” that way. The places he was going to made that kind of unit a necessity.
I don’t drive a whole lot. My new used car is bare-bones (because I’m a bare-bones kind of guy) — power nothing but will probably last me another 200k miles. I did buy mats for the car, but that’s about all. If I were driving around a lot more and spending more time in the car than I do, I’d probably set my price point for a GPS nav system a little higher than I do. I don’t think I’d consider buying one for more than $100. In a couple of years it’s likely that the $300 models will be under $200, and I might be able to pick up a closeout on eBay for close to $100 if I really want one.
I’m sure for some jobs it’s just about a necessity to have one of these things, but it’s just bling if you take the same route to work every day.
So if you’re like me and don’t really need the real deal, you might consider trying this alternative to GPS.
8 Responses to “Adding a GPS navigation system — yea or nay?”
By Jon on May 5, 2007 | Reply
I had wanted a GPS unit for a long, long time. I don’t know what it was about them but something really intrigued me. I tried a $40 GPS receiver from eBay attached to my laptop, but it wasn’t exactly convenient.
So I Black Friday I bought a Mio c310x from Circuit City for $150. And I love it! I recently moved to north of Boston, and with its maze of streets it a complete lifesaver. I’d say it works close to perfect for everything except complicated freeway interchanges. The massive database of points of interest helps a lot, as I never have to look up where I’m going again.
Best of all you can get some great deals on these, including the Mio which I bought. The Fatwallet forums are a pretty good resource for this.
By Nuvi? on May 5, 2007 | Reply
We had been wanting to get a GPS unit since Oct 2006. We researched many products and just fell in love with Nuvi 350. http://amimu.blogspot.com/2006/03/review-of-garmin-nuvi-350-gps.html
But the price was more than $400 at that time. So we waited and waited since we knew that Nuvi 360 (Nuvi 350 + bluetooh capability which we don’t need) is slated to replace Nuvi 350. At one point in March 2007, the price for Nuvi 350 dropped to $350. We bought it.
I have no regret buying the unit. It’s as good as the review said. The only problem is the map for my area is slightly outdated since I live in a fast growing area (28 and 7 in NOVA).
By iportion on May 5, 2007 | Reply
We loved our GPS in our old place to live but here we don’t need it. I think GPS can be worth it.
By Clever Dude on May 6, 2007 | Reply
Gotta love Red Green (well, my wife doesn’t). And remember, Jim was late because “his server was being attacked”. Personally, I think he got lost too.
Every time we consider buying a GPS unit, we just tell ourselves that our $10-15 maps do just fine. They’re not fancy and don’t talk back to you, but you can plan ahead (mapquest, google maps) or if you get lost while driving, you can pull aside and look at a map.
When units come down to $100 across the board, then we’ll reconsider. Until then, we’ll use the paper option.
By Chris on May 6, 2007 | Reply
I purchased the factory GPS option in my vehicle (it was built about 3 years before they even released my model but since there were no major changes for about 6 years it was backwards compatible)…so I do not have experience with the handhelds or portables.
Remember when buying the unit that you will also have to pay for new maps every few years to keep it up to date. Maps can be expensive (my update DVDs cost around $200).
Is it worth it? I don’t use my GPS often, but I LOVE it. The most useful feature is the ETA clock, if I’m driving across the city or on a long trip I know exactly when I’ll get there.
If you get one compatible with XM radio, they also stream traffic updates as well. I’m certain GPS will become pretty standard in a decade.
By Anitra on May 7, 2007 | Reply
My husband got me a Mio “handheld” GPS (around $200) for my birthday, and I love it! Maps just aren’t sufficient for me, because usually my problem is that I don’t know where I am. The handheld, car-compatible versions are nice, because they’re cheaper and you can also unplug them and use them for a walk or bike ride in an unfamiliar area.
By flifla on May 14, 2007 | Reply
GPS, schmee-PS. I got a Mio Canada version C310. It was not purchased at 150.00 like “Jon” got. Mine cost much, much more. GPS is not worth the money you want to spend for a new thing. Mapquest, “1-800 TELL ME” (1 800 555 8355..and FREE!!!) work just fine. On my way to a new interview I turned off the power to my new MIO and threw it in the back seat, even when I was lost. It does give you turn by turn directions, and has the option to Avoid Highways but when it does, it gives you not a straight directions but a diagonal and zig zag turn by turn direction. There is not an “Easiest” direction and address finder. This is what people want. I had to avoid highways on one trip, and I was instructed to take a plethora of perilous left and right turns on side streets that would have added hours on to my 1 hour trip! The only thing the darn thing was good for was to alert me to POI “Points of Interest” closest range to my LAT and LON by mileage. It does not specify if you have to back track or not, just area within RANGE. Let’s say you are in a strange town, and you are looking for the nearest “Country Kettle” or “Howard Johnson Express”. You missed the mile marker but MIO tells you it is within 9.3 miles. You can turn back, and listen and follow the voice prompts, OR you can use your best judgment and go to the next highway stop off that has a lot of inviting and glittery lights
and take your chances.
Personally, I found the GPS locators more trouble than they were worth (more so than the worth!) unless you are on a time line and wondering if you can make it to the next fuel stop in time… hey guess what. Truckers used to use channel 40 or 19 on CB for free fuel stop and “smokey bear” :cops). What happened to that deal?
Meanwhile, the lil’ MIO is tucked away in my over door shoe box organiser. Ho Hum.
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