SatNavs

[Mower Man]

Hi and I have looked at various threads about which SatNav is best etc and obviously some say TomTom and some say Garmin or others but my question is if I bought a second hand one say 6-12months old, will I still be able to get the FREE map updates etc for life or is this only available when you buy a new unit?

Many thanks

Paul

Sorry forgot to say, contacted TomTom but their IBot says it does not understand the question Damn AI

 

[Sidney]

I've had both, but neither inspires great confidence, especially the Garmin Camper. That was a lot of money and I sold it at a significant loss as I couldn't stand being reminded of how much money I wasted buying it. These days I use Waze, check the route on a map and look closely before taking any turnings.

 

[royandsharont]

I suspect the free updates relate to your account and the sat nav is linked to your account. I’ve never bought second hand so don’t really know. If you go onto Tom Tom website outside of normal office hours I think the online bot is enabled to let you email them, but I know I’ve struggled to get to that point so it can’t be obvious. I seem to recall I’ve used the word contact in the text box. Hope this helps.

 

[Gellyneck]

I've had both, but neither inspires great confidence, especially the Garmin Camper. That was a lot of money and I sold it at a significant loss as I couldn't stand being reminded of how much money I wasted buying it. These days I use Waze, check the route on a map and look closely before taking any turnings.

Conversely, we've had Garmin for many years for car and motorhome with negligible issues. All of them still work (well I think our original B765 does but map updates finished!) and all still update including one bought in 2013.

Currently using a Camper 780 with a Camper 760 as "back-up".

We also use Garmin BaseCamp on laptop / desktop to pre-plan and load routes.

You can transfer ownership of a Garmin by registering it on your account and, I believe, this includes map updating but better check directly with Garmin. The seller can deregister the unit on their Garmin account online if they want.

EDIT: this is the weblink for transfer - https://support.garmin.com/en-US/?faq=qNp86op6VD72slwYrvlSo8

 

[Mower Man]

I've had both, but neither inspires great confidence, especially the Garmin Camper. That was a lot of money and I sold it at a significant loss as I couldn't stand being reminded of how much money I wasted buying it. These days I use Waze, check the route on a map and look closely before taking any turnings.

That’s what I do at the moment plan my route out on a map and my common sense just my co-driver said there is NO way she is map reading

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[Mower Man]

Yes and I shall try that later this eve

 

[Brains]

Keep in mind there are basically two main 'base maps' used by the majority of GPS units.
One is supplied by Garmin, who are an American company.
The other supplied by Tom Tom who are a dutch company.

There are other base map suppliers such as Google, Apple, etc, but these tend not to used on GPS units and are designed for phone use.

The routing software that does all the calculations is supplied by dozens, if not hundreds of software companies, that use either TomTom or Garmin base maps.
In addition both Tom Tom and Garmin also supply routing software.

Therefore there are a lot of GPS units out there which are sold as "Tom Tom" or "Garmin", but are actually nothing to do with the companies at all.

The Zenec GPS units installed by Mercedes which use a Tom Tom base map are a classic example.
A perfectly good base map, but with useless software on top.

Therefore be aware of what you are looking at.
You very much get what you pay for, and I'd not look at anything under £200

My preference has been to use TomTom for European mapping, as they understand our road system better than the Americans.
That said the Garmin interface to the satellites is slightly better, and in the event of a GPS shut down, the American are less likely to cut off Gamin, being an American company.

Tom Tom also have a better user interface, where you can report updates and corrections.

So given a choice, I'd buy a genuine Tom Tom unit, from Tom Tom, with the annual updates.
And ensure it's a unit that permits the size of vehicle to be entered into the system.

That said, I looked at all the options last spring, and found the best unit for the money was the Avtex Tourer three plus.
(Which is also sold branded as the RV3 and the Camper 3)
Which uses a Garmin base map, but is not Garmin software on top.
Cost to C&MHC members is change from £300.

I used it down to Portugal and back as well as around the UK, it does what it says on the tin.

 

[Mower Man]

Keep in mind there are basically two main 'base maps' used by the majority of GPS units.
One is supplied by Garmin, who are an American company.
The other supplied by Tom Tom who are a dutch company.

There are other base map suppliers such as Google, Apple, etc, but these tend not to used on GPS units and are designed for phone use.

The routing software that does all the calculations is supplied by dozens, if not hundreds of software companies, that use either TomTom or Garmin base maps.
In addition both Tom Tom and Garmin also supply routing software.

Therefore there are a lot of GPS units out there which are sold as "Tom Tom" or "Garmin", but are actually nothing to do with the companies at all.

The Zenec GPS units installed by Mercedes which use a Tom Tom base map are a classic example.
A perfectly good base map, but with useless software on top.

Therefore be aware of what you are looking at.
You very much get what you pay for, and I'd not look at anything under £200

My preference has been to use TomTom for European mapping, as they understand our road system better than the Americans.
That said the Garmin interface to the satellites is slightly better, and in the event of a GPS shut down, the American are less likely to cut off Gamin, being an American company.

Tom Tom also have a better user interface, where you can report updates and corrections.

So given a choice, I'd buy a genuine Tom Tom unit, from Tom Tom, with the annual updates.
And ensure it's a unit that permits the size of vehicle to be entered into the system.

That said, I looked at all the options last spring, and found the best unit for the money was the Avtex Tourer three plus.
(Which is also sold branded as the RV3 and the Camper 3)
Which uses a Garmin base map, but is not Garmin software on top.
Cost to C&MHC members is change from £300.

I used it down to Portugal and back as well as around the UK, it does what it says on the tin.

Wow that is a comprehensive reply so thank you. So did you choose the Avtex against the genuine TomTom purely on price? If price was not a factor(ie Christmas funds as gifts) which would you go for?
Cheers

 

[Brains]

Wow that is a comprehensive reply so thank you. So did you choose the Avtex against the genuine TomTom purely on price? If price was not a factor(ie Christmas funds as gifts) which would you go for?
Cheers

Price was a major factor, as I dont think its worth spending a lot of money, as despite many of them being sold with "Lifetime free updates", it's the lifetime of the GPS unit, not the lifetime of your grandchild.

Which means in reality a 'lifetime' of about 7 years, so if you spent £350 on a unit, excluding the updates, the cost is about £1 a week.
You can add another £1.50 a week (or around £70-90 PA) for the update subscription.

That said, unless you know where you are going the need to rely on a GPS unit is increasing all the time.
Navigation by GPS is now part of the driving test.
Remember many of us will see the day when road signs on main roads will be seen as a thing of the past.

Even on runs I know like the back of my hand I use the GPS, if only to tell me about potential traffic issues.

 

[LittleGreyCat]

We use CoPilot GPS software on an Android tablet.
This has done well so far in routing us around obstacles for Motor Homes and caravans.
I am not sure that the lifetime subscription is still available.

Old Garmin in the car.

In NZ we used Google Maps in the hire car, which worked fine but I don't think it accepts vehicle dimensions.