Garmin gps

[Bill Weber]

Does any one have a GPS in their auto? I purchased a high dollar Garmin and it's a piece of junk. Doesn't seem to know East from West or North from South. Went to San Antonio after getting it and it told me to turn east on I 10 when I needed to go west. Same thing on the return trip - told me to go west on I-10 when I needed to go east. Told me to take I-37 north when I needed to go south. Wanted me get off at the wrong exit to go to a restaurant.

Since then there have been many other stupid instructions. Had I not known where I was going I wonder where I would be now.

Called them & told them of the numerous errors I had encountered and they suggested a down load of new maps (which I did last night) - guess I'll see.

Wondering if anyone else has had similar problems.

Bill

 

[MLee]

Friend of mine has one. And when we go trippen we are consantly looking at the paper map, cause when we don't, we go extra miles out of the way and some times it is difficult to turn around and get back on track. Thats why he has named it MATILDA. You just can not believe how it leads you astray.

Course, this way you get to see country that you would not other wise see.

 

[JMetzger]

I have a Garmin NUVI 205W, by in large it is correct & only once did it lead me astray. I got it as a Christmas present in 2009. Very well satisfied with it.

 

[Moe]

I have a Garmin 7200 and it has been very accurate for the last 4 years. By the way I am a fulltime motorcoach driver. Garmin has treated me very well when I had issues with mine. If its still under warrenty, just send it in and they will take care of you. Moe

 

[HBarlow]

I've been using Garmin GPS products in my Dodges since 2005. Have owned several. The Garmin can lead you astray once in awhile in the choices it makes but it is very unlikely that it is ever wrong about something as basic as direction east or west.

It is usually better if the driver reviews a map also to understand choices the Garmin might make.

 

[Gonzo 1066]

I have been very happy with my Garmin 2150. Once it led on a goose chase. But every other time I needed important directions it has been spot on.

 

[TWalley]

Bill,



I have several Garmin products. I recently took a trip to Ohio and my Garmin GPS sent me a little out of the way at Indy. Like suggested above, I will be reviewing my route on a paper map prior to taking my trips and trusting my GPS. Sometimes it just doesn't understand why a particular route is a bad idea at certain times of the day. Mine was supposed to reroute me around traffic... not sure why that didn't quite work.

Also, I have found Garmin to have great customer support. They will usually walk you through fixes to your problems. Good luck.

 

[p-Bar]

My wife uses hers for real estate gets goofy every once and awhile but for the most part its right on. Sometimes better off if you don't know where you are going and have to rely on "Matilda" it will get you there

 

[tolmsted]

I have another brand, TomTom several years old, I've noticed that the gps will seek out the Interstate HWYs first, even if there is a secondary highway/road near by. I also check the map book first and decide which way I want to go. I like to avoid the Interstate if I can and enjoy the towns and sights along the road. Out here in the West we must use the Interstate to get around so it's not to hard to get lost if you use common sense.



I've heard stories of Foreign tourists renting a car in the winter with gps and no maps. #@$%!

They followed it down a country road up in the mountains and ended up stuck in snow drifts. The county Sheriff and the Local Search and Rescue had to get them out. Oo. Oo. Oo.

 

[Wertles]

I have had 4 or 5 different garmins in the last few years. I am not sure how I ever got along with out them. Once in a while they lead me in circles but I have always gotten to my destination and they have bailed me out a thousand fold more than they led me astray. It does help to have updated maps and iirc, all new units have 1 free update in the first 90 days. Some models have better antennas than others. I know for a fact that my cheapest unit will not work in cities like Boston or NYC while my more expensive unit does better.

 

[Bill Weber]

Guys I really appreciate the feedback. We are going on a long trip soon and will have a chance to check it out. Did the latest downloads. Maybe that will help. Will have my doubts until it proves itself. I can understand it choosing alternate routs from what I would have chosen but, having me go the wrong way ***????

Thank again, Bill

 

[The patriot]

I had a Magellan. (IIRC) It was a good product.

My wife bought a tom tom. I dont like it as much as the magellan.

 

[Wertles]

Another little quirk I had with mine was while I had the austrailian lady giving me directions, she always told me to go left out of my driveway while the pink route and correct way was to the right. Once I changed voices it has been correct. I always just chalked it up to austrailia being south of the equator lol. Lesson is to always watch where you should be going and sometimes ignore the lady barking out directions telling you where to go.

 

[champspa]

I have a Magellan it leads me astray every once in a while for about 2 blocks then it says ( make a u turn at the next possible place . after a couple of times of getting the wrong info ,unless I'm really stuck I don't use it. I'm back to where I was before I got that really nice gadget .

 

[DennyDay]

We just purchased a Garmin 1450, and haven't had any problems with it - - -It was purchased because it showed the posted speed limit most of the time. If you had'nt noticed, many speed limit signs are not being replaced across the US - - I really think this may being done on purpose - - Revinue generation

 

[AABEN]

Does any one have a GPS in their auto? I purchased a high dollar Garmin and it's a piece of junk. Doesn't seem to know East from West or North from South. Went to San Antonio after getting it and it told me to turn east on I 10 when I needed to go west. Same thing on the return trip - told me to go west on I-10 when I needed to go east. Told me to take I-37 north when I needed to go south. Wanted me get off at the wrong exit to go to a restaurant.

Since then there have been many other stupid instructions. Had I not known where I was going I wonder where I would be now.

Called them & told them of the numerous errors I had encountered and they suggested a down load of new maps (which I did last night) - guess I'll see.

Wondering if anyone else has had similar problems.

Bill

DID you have it up dated when you bought it??? If not hook it to your box and up dated it. That is what I have done to both of my Tom Tom and both work very good. I up date my Tom Tom every 6 month or so. == GOOD LUCK ==

 

[The patriot]

The wifes tomtom shows the speed limit on some roads too.

They arent always 100% correct either.

 

[TWalley]

I think I found another Garmin quirk today. We loaded up the kids and headed to the St. Louis Zoo. I pretty much knew how to get there, but wanted to be able to see my eta to destination. I had the wife load the destination. She did a search and typed in the "St. Louis Zoo. " It gave us the route and off we went. Okay, so I quit paying attention and just let that silly Garmin wench give me the directions... to a golf course 7. 8 miles from the zoo! I guess it didn't help that we were going to the south entrance this time. I was used to the north entrance route. After kicking myself for not making sure the route was correct, I went to the "points of interest" section. I found the St. Louis Zoo in that section and was correctly routed to my destination. Point being, try searching the points of interest and use that route before you just type the name in to do a general search for a location. Oh yeah, and actually pay attention to where you are being routed to!

 

[Bill Weber]

Sounds like good advice from a wise man. I will look to see if mine has a points of interest feature. Might help a lot.

Thanks, Bill

 

[sarj]

I have a handheld Garmin so I can use it in the boat or 4 wheelin'. It's good on the ocean or the trail with the jeep. It's what I use in the truck when I'm on the road in a foreign town, and it works like a champ. I'm not too big on the built-in models. Old-school, I guess. I like the Garmin product.