To those who use a GPS

V

Victor

Senior Member
Location
midwest USA
What brand is it? Is it easy to install in your car?
Can it be moved easily to a rental car?

Any problems with it?

I am thinking of buying one for when I travel.
I have no use for it everyday.
Rental car companies charge about $12-15 a day for them
BTW, it is impossible to get a local phone number for a rental
company. They won't give it out.
 

I have a TomTom with a 5 1/2” screen. Very easy to operate. I got the model that gives free lifetime maps.
After you use it a few times, you will find it less challenging and enjoy having it.

BTW, there is no installation. You just plug it into a cigarette lighter outlet. There are a few different types of mounts. I have the mount that adheres to the windshield by suction. Again, easy to install and use.
 
I have GARMN with lifetime updates. You can use it walking, on a bicycling or in a vehicle.
 

Many years ago i had a garmin. Once I got an iPhone, i didn't need the garmin. also, latest car has it built in.

Hmm. i wonder what happened to that old garmin....
 
Hoot N Annie said:
Many years ago i had a garmin. Once I got an iPhone, i didn't need the garmin. also, latest car has it built in.

Hmm. i wonder what happened to that old garmin....
Click to expand...

I have the latest Iphone, don't use it in the car, .. hubs uses his Iphone in my car rather than the sat nav. or in our vintage Camper ... but in his own car he has a beautiful built in set up...
 
I'm too much of a Luddite to bother with GPS, I go to Google Maps and print out the directions to get from point A to point B.

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GPS is very handy, but NEVER, EVER trust it completely. You won't have it for very long before it directs you to do something remarkably stupid.

I just bought a new Garmin DriveSmart 51 ($154 on Amazon) to replace our ancient Garmin model. Installing and moving the GPS between vehicles is fast and simple. There is a downloadable owners manual, and if you're somewhat adept at using menu-driven touch screen devices you likely shouldn't have much trouble getting started. Like many electronics, it can do a lot of things many of us will likely never use.

I bought one with a 5" screen because I find that anything larger blocks too much of my field of vision. I prefer windshield mounted screens because the screen for GPS system that comes installed in the car (at least my Rav4) is too far below my line of sight to be useful. I'm told that GPS systems that use your cell phone (either installed GPS or separate) gobble through your monthly wireless data allocation.

I like having GPS, but I always have a map (as in, paper) with me on any long trip. Hope that helps.
 
I preferred Magellan to Garmin, but their "lifetime maps" feature was a joke. The company supported a max of 2 downloads and thereafter would tell you your GPS was "too old" to be supported for another download.

The built-in GPS in our 2017 Ford Edge works almost as well, is clearer and easier to see, and updates are free under our extended maintenance contract. I do pay for a satellite-based Sirius option, which gives traffic updates. The GPS actually downloads the maps into memory chips in the car - hence the need for periodic updates.

My younger friends use Google Maps and Wayz on their cell phones. I tried it but found I didn't like it as well as using the Magellan or Ford GPSs. It was so much harder for me to read the smaller screen, especially multiple exit splits (where one exit then splits into two different streets or freeways).

I kept it on my phone as a backup, but never use it. The Ford GPS has voice activation, so no need for keyboard entry.
 
I stopped using my Garmin/Satellite Navigation device, once I realized how user friendly and accurate my phone GPS was. SatNav devices have map data already installed, and you update them from time to time by downloading all the most recent road information. Smart phones come with a full mapping package pre-installed and update on the go anywhere you're connected to the internet. The phone may get a faster fix on your location than your SatNav device because smart phones are able to use cell tower triangulation to augment GPS technology.

There are pluses and minuses to both. At the end of the day, it's personal preference. Mine is my iPhone for GPS use, just because it's portable, it means I don't need a second device, and I have multiple choices of which App to use for my purposes...Apple Maps, Google Maps, Waze etc., which each offer different features beside general navigation. Waze for example is customer driven and allows customer input, meaning that it will tell me if there's a wreck ahead, something on the shoulder, lane closures, police/speed trap up ahead...that kind of thing.
 
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