Are Sat Navs worth buying?

Question

Recently Sat Navs have got very cheap:

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/categorydisplay_storeId_10001_catalogId_10151_categoryId_139980_langId_-1_topCategoryId_84370_parentcategoryrn_139979_crumb_84370-139979_topcategory_139979

I am wondering, are they actually worth the money, even if they are fairly cheap?

I find myself using map quite regularly, and it is quite time consuming to write down all the roads and junctions I have to take.

If they are worth buying, which one would you recommend to me?

Thanks.

Answer 1

with out a doubt yes , I use a Garmin nuvi 200, it is accurate ,easy to use and portable , can be updated via web site , stay clear of tom tom

Answer 2

If you drive places were u dont know were ur going quiet often then yes! If all u drive for is to go to ur friends houses or places u know there pointless!

Answer 3

Yes get one they are soooooooooo good.

I had my first driving lesson 47 years ago on my 17th birthday.

My son gave me a Tomtom for Christmas.

Now when driving I will NOT leave home without it!!!!

A few tips, Safety cameras may save your license and a “silent voice” is good as the directions drive me mad at EVERY turn. (If you turn off the voice you turn off the audible camera alert with mine)

I will also suggest getting the biggest selection of maps when you buy, as they cost more to add later.

I’ can’t say if my Tomtom One is the best buy, it is VERY good though, you need to read lots of reviews.

If you enter a house number it will take you to the door 95%+ of the time.

Summing up I think they are the greatest driving aid since the self starter!

Lost on a motorway in the dark running out of fuel?

Tom, navigate to the nearest fuel!

Tom, navigate to the nearest public ???????

Tom, where am I?

Good luck and happy motoring. S

PS Don't take any notice of people who prefere one or other and say all others are bad news.

Read the reviews make your own mind up.

Answer 4

Personally, I think they are worth the money.

I bought a fairly cheap Sat Nav from Toys R Us, around 6 months ago.

I travel up and down the country quite a lot, so I do find it rather useful.

However, I do take a map with me as well, once I ended up in the middle of a random town - the Sat Nav should of taken me along an A road!

I have a Garmin Nuvi 250, it is small and quite lightweight, I won't tell you to buy it,but check out some reviews for this Sat Nav and others that other answerer's have recommended.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Garmin-Satellite...

^ Some reviews.

http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en&q=G...

Answer 5

they are belting pieces of kit...

Answer 6

Not got one myself,but I suppose could be worth having. The ones I have come across aren't perfect though,as they dont always update,so you can end up on the road to nowhere,plus

there are blackspots where they don't work.

Answer 7

If I need to locate somewhere  I look it up on Google earth first  to  aclimatise myself to the layout  Get the general  location then zoom in  for specific,  Always been successful so far  and not neeeded sat nav or tom tom  at all.  personally I feel that unless you do lots of journeys to unknown places a sat Nav is a waste of time and money...  Ok they talk to you  but I am deaf anyway and cant hear it,

Answer 8

If you frequently need to look at a map then yes I would get one.

But they do make mistake and can take you a funny or longer route. So my advice is to have a map and a good idea of the route you want to take first.

And a sense of direction helps to

Personally I don't have one. I just used google maps and print off the directions from that.

Answer 9

I have the Navman N20 and its fine for me...

And its been worth the money I paid for it at £99.00

Answer 10

Hi I was in 2 minds about them, I did winge a few years ago about people using them, but since we got a car and were planning on going places we wanted to go for a drive out for the day and as I am no good at reading a map and I am pregnant, I couldnt be bothered arguing with my hubby all the way there and back where to go lol, so as like you said they are cheaper now we decided to get one and tried it out around our town first and it worked fine.

I would recommend a TOMTOM ONE, this is the one we got and its great, the only thing wrong is that you do have to pay £30 to update the maps and get new roads, but most of the time if you do take a new road then it will reroute itself, which it did for us and put us right back on track, if it does that all we did was start following the signs and then when the sat nav had sorted itself out then we started taking note of that then.

I think it made getting to where we were going stress and hassle free, I know we got into a few wrong lanes etc, but thats just with us being new to going anywhere and we should of been looking for signs as well etc, but we got there and back easy with no arguements at all and it was worth it.

I printed off a map just incase I needed it, as you are used to reading maps the first few times I would just make a few notes or take the map with you incase your sat nav takes you somewhere else lol, which I have heard can happen but I think this is mainly with the cheap ones not the tomtoms.

Answer 11

i recomend smart nav, its one that is wired into the car and you can even have a tracker fitted if you wish to, stay away from the Tom Tom sat navs as they are the make that are sort after by car thieves, with the smart nav because the bussiness end is tucked away under the dash, if they do break in all they get is the screen and it will only cost you £20 to replace rather than £100 plus if they take the whole lot, smart nav engineers come out and fit it into your car and it also comes with speed camara warnings, they have got a web site take a look at it

Answer 12

Depends on you really.I am a home improvement salesman.I have to find 3-4 homes a day to go to and it is perfect for me.I save money on paper and ink(no more mapquest).This model is a digiwalker from Staples. It was only $125.Doesnt have all that fancy c**p like tells me when there is traffic but does get me where Iam going great

Answer 13

local use - definetly . national - useful . tom tom G0 720 T .

Answer 14

They are superb i had to go to somewhere id never been before yesterday ..and on my back there was a obstruction in the motorway...the sat nav picked it up and redirected me saving me half an hour queing....Which in turn saves petrol...So after about 12 months they have paid for themselves in saved petrol and wrong turns!!! And also points on your licence !!

Answer 15

Ideal for car & van drivers. Personally I would not have one as I prefer the A-Z type of town maps, BUT, This week I have been "shotgun" with a couple of Polish HGV drivers taken on by our firm, and they have opened my eyes. The only thing I find wrong with them for my job is they can direct you down unsuitable roads if you follow them religiously, try taking a 44 tonne artic thru a housing estate  ( sorry to the residents of Ashton - Under - Lyne ).The directions were in Polish!  If you can check them against "local" knowledge use them. One word of advice when installing it, keep it out of the "A" zone of the windscreen - basically the width of the steering wheel, because the "plod" can get a bit stroppy if they feel your field of vision is impaired, and DON'T keep looking at it, they are more distracting than a mobile phone!

Answer 16

we have a tom tom named Betty...she is fun to play with works well and only cost 170 dollars...used her on Florida vacation and she messed up only once..sent us to a housing development instead of airport..lol