Best/Cheapest Navman TomTom Garmin

milo · Guru

Best/Cheapest Navman TomTom Garmin

_wombat_ · Master (of Mischief)

I have a Garmin and it's great, if you pay cheap you get what you pay for.

heres the one I have and it only has 6hours to go on eBay, be quick if you want it, normally $350

opps forgot the link biggrin

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/GARMIN-NUVI-1490-1490T-CAR-GPS-NAVIGATOR-2012-MAPS-/251044741518?pt=AU_Electronics_GPS&hash=item3a736ec18e#ht_7752wt_1189

-- Edited by _wombat_ on Monday 23rd of April 2012 02:41:45 PM

-- Edited by _wombat_ on Monday 23rd of April 2012 02:42:17 PM

Ron and Shirley · Senior Member

Went through a similar excercise a few years ago and to get a Navigation unit with good outback/off road mapping is not a cheap excercise.

At that time there was the Hema Navigator, however I found that the OZtopo maps from GPSOz on a Garmin gave me the best available 4WD track and contour information. This was based on a number of roads/tracks in the Vic High Country that at the time did not exist on the Hema mapping but I had driven them.

There was another set of 3rd party maps, Shonky maps, but they were lacking in the High Country.

What is available nowadays, quality of maps etc I have no idea, though it seems there is a new model Hema Navigator about to be released, and there is an updated version of OZtopo available, so the maps should be the most current available.

-- Edited by Ron and Shirley on Monday 23rd of April 2012 04:11:18 PM

whiteman · Senior Member

Anyone care to point me in the right direction prior to purchase ??...recently travelling with friends who were using an Aldi unit and was impressed with portability and accuracy. Unit must have access to all backroads as we do plenty of exploring and the Hema books don`t cut it at this stage and I have to stop buying all those Topo maps !!.....advices please.

tezza · Senior Member

have a look around in explore oz site. i believe they have comprehensive maps that can be downloaded to some systems

signwilson · Senior Member

we like our tom tom had no trouble so far

delapan · Senior Member

just bought a new Navman MY80T 2 years warranty and 3 years free map upgrades, from Harvey Norman for $164.00 on special, usual price $299

rosco · Senior Member

Got a Garmin from Dick Smith a couple of months back. Got free lifetime maps.

Beth54 · Guru

I know the saying about 'you get what you pay for', but I don't have a lot of spare money, so in many cases I'm happy to buy cheap rather than do without. I've actually found that cheap doesn't always = nasty.

Which is why I bought Aldi's Go Cruise Navigator at $60. I did have to return the first one, which just died for some reason, but my second one has been fine.

I haven't been able to register it because they don't seem to have a website, and they don't answer emails. But I recently found it listed on www.naviextras.com for updates, which I haven't really looked into yet.

But I have a question too...how often should the updates be done?

_wombat_ · Master (of Mischief)

Beth54 wrote:
I know the saying about 'you get what you pay for', but I don't have a lot of spare money, so in many cases I'm happy to buy cheap rather than do without. I've actually found that cheap doesn't always = nasty.
Which is why I bought Aldi's Go Cruise Navigator at $60. I did have to return the first one, which just died for some reason, but my second one has been fine.
I haven't been able to register it because they don't seem to have a website, and they don't answer emails. But I recently found it listed on www.naviextras.com for updates, which I haven't really looked into yet.
But I have a question too...how often should the updates be done?

Garmin notify me when an upgrade is ready to be downloaded to the GPS

Ron and Shirley · Senior Member

Beth
All GPS Navigation units are only as good as the maps that are loaded, and to a degree the program that they use.

Basically for general touring, ie on the main roads/blacktop, they all do a great job no matter the cost of the unit. However they should not be followed blindly, particularly if you have a van attached.

Whiteman in his OP introduced the off-road aspect which brings in another dimension that many of the cheaper units cannot handle, to put it simply, and the majority of GN's are not interested in.

I don't know your particular Aldi unit however a few years ago the Aldi unit that was available got a lot of very good reviews and it was not expensive.

Also that particular unit could be "hacked" and the excellent OziExplorer program added to the unit. Then off-road maps could be added so the unit could be used for both on and off-road touring, though no voice guidance whilst off-road. The cost of doing this would be around another $300+ by the time the mapping program and off-road maps were purchased. Something really only those in the know would do I would suggest.

Beth54 · Guru

Ron and Shirley wrote:
Beth
All GPS Navigation units are only as good as the maps that are loaded, and to a degree the program that they use.

Basically for general touring, ie on the main roads/blacktop, they all do a great job no matter the cost of the unit. However they should not be followed blindly, particularly if you have a van attached.
Whiteman in his OP introduced the off-road aspect which brings in another dimension that many of the cheaper units cannot handle, to put it simply, and the majority of GN's are not interested in.
I don't know your particular Aldi unit however a few years ago the Aldi unit that was available got a lot of very good reviews and it was not expensive.

Also that particular unit could be "hacked" and the excellent OziExplorer program added to the unit. Then off-road maps could be added so the unit could be used for both on and off-road touring, though no voice guidance whilst off-road. The cost of doing this would be around another $300+ by the time the mapping program and off-road maps were purchased. Something really only those in the know would do I would suggest.

Thanks for that info Ron and/or Shirley.

Driving an i30, I won't be off roading and yes, 'he' has made a few mistakes, so I certainly don't follow blindly. Sometimes I feel 'he's' directed me the long way around to get to my destination...eg: going to an unfamiliar suburb in Brisbane recently, but having a general idea of where I was heading, I felt sure I could have gone a more direct route. But overall I'm happy with it.

It's so much easier for a solo nomad in particular, as you can't keep stopping to read maps.

Beth54 · Guru

Dougwe wrote:
I have a Navman My80T and like it. Sometimes it could lead you astray if you don't be careful though. There is a good add on TV with a car driving into water because the GPS Unit said drive straight ahead and they were not watching ahead. There was a couple of people recently on the news who did a similar thing. I also found it takes a bit of getting used too as well, the "Lingo" used is a bit strange but all in all they are a great piece of technology, one I am glad I have.

And they nag too! Me... 'Yes, I heard you the first time Roger!'

-- Edited by Beth54 on Tuesday 24th of April 2012 01:36:00 PM

Dougwe · Chief one feather

I have a Navman My80T and like it. Sometimes it could lead you astray if you don't be careful though. There is a good add on TV with a car driving into water because the GPS Unit said drive straight ahead and they were not watching ahead. There was a couple of people recently on the news who did a similar thing. I also found it takes a bit of getting used too as well, the "Lingo" used is a bit strange but all in all they are a great piece of technology, one I am glad I have.

_wombat_ · Master (of Mischief)

Beth IMHO you should always have a paper map of the area you are in just in case the GPS has a fit and dies on you, especially when travelling in places you do not know the area

Beth54 · Guru

_wombat_ wrote:
Beth IMHO you should always have a paper map of the area you are in just in case the GPS has a fit and dies on you, especially when travelling in places you do not know the area

Yep, do that Dad. biggrin

milo · Guru

when i go to Adelaide for example i got a rough idea on how to get there from home,
usually research via Google maps, and then usually use the gps for getting thru adelaide etc
most times that works but not always, and I have sometimes yelled at "Ken" (the so called aussie voice)
I have noticed it does lead you a stray from time to time.

_wombat_ · Master (of Mischief)

milo wrote:
when i go to Adelaide for example i got a rough idea on how to get there from home,
usually research via Google maps, and then usually use the gps for getting thru adelaide etc
most times that works but not always, and I have sometimes yelled at "Ken" (the so called aussie voice)
I have noticed it does lead you a stray from time to time.

they do tend to lead you astray milo, I think they do it to keep you awake biggrin

mr glassies · Guru

hi theres a lot out there to choose from my first one was a navman 850 9 yrs ago then i found ebay hehe i always go for 1 with a reversing camera as we us them in our trucks about 150 or so i cant believe the technology today as i just bought a revercing camer witht th screen coming up in the mirror 2 channel 1 for van 1 for tow hitch with a camera 50 od dollars if you can see the back of them there nearly all samsung internals.
imo

dibs

jimricho · Guru

_wombat_ wrote:
IMHO you should always have a paper map of the area you are in just in case the GPS has a fit and dies on you, especially when travelling in places you do not know the area

GPS is an excellent aid to navigation but they are just that, an aid. There is no substitute to proper trip planning with or without GPS if venturing into "new territory".