Favorite budget GPS for the Charlotte Area (buyers, price)

[ctribucher]

DH is having his b-day next week, and I thought I would like to purchase a GPS for his car for his present. Well... he's been hinting that that's what he would like - LOL!

Anyway, for those of you out there with a GPS, which model do you like best? Is there any system that is particularly good for the Charlotte area?

I don't have a lot of $$$ to spend, so please keep your recommendations under $250 if possible.

Thank you!

[mullman]

Our cars have Nav, but my favorite portable unit is the Garmin Nuvi series which I use on the two wheelers.
So much so that I will never get a car with Nav again and just use the upgradable portable Garmin Nuvis!

[uncgdad1]

I recently purchased the TomTom One 3rd Edition at Wal-Mart.com for $139.00, you can pick it up at the store for about $150.00. It works great, highly rated and recommended.
Good luck with your searching.....

[uncgirl98]

i 2nd the Nuvi. we just got the widescreen version about 2 weeks ago. no problem with directions so far. i suggest shopping around online for the best price.

[mm34b]

The June 2008 issue of Consumer Reports tested 39 GPS receivers.

Best Overall

1. Garmin Nuvi 760 - $370 on Amazon
2. Garmin Nuvi 660 - $329
3. TomTom Go 9202T - $430
4. Garmin Nuvi 350 - $200
5. Magellan Maestro 4250 - $245

Best Buys on a Budget

1. Garmin Nuvi 350 - $200 on Amazon.
2. Garmin Nuvi 260 - $227 on Amazon
3. TomTom One 3rd Edition - $150 on Amazon

The Garmin 260 "Widescreen" - $262 on Amazon.

GPSmagazine's GPS Buyer's Guide

[ctribucher]

Thanks to all of you who have responded... I really appreciate the feedback.

[SunnyKayak]

Base on reviews in the automotive section of the forums Nuvi does seem to be the most popular I am like the above poster and have the Tom Tom One

My opinion on Tom Tom
Very User friendly
has guided tours to help you understand how to use it on the gps unit.
Monthly map updates which is a big plus.
Mine allows to do map corrections if a street is mis named or the POI not correct you can correct it.
Which is a big plus for this area since there so much developing going on.
I like the fact I can change or download various day time and night time colors, sounds, car symbols right now Im driving an apache helicopter on mine.
Or change the voices. I have Cleetus and he is a smart allec
he will say things like
Im not rushing you but Hey you are going the wrong way
You need to make a right turn up here Bobby. (I dont know any Bobby's and never heard this expression b4)
You need to be in the left lane I know from experience.
Well how bout that you done got where you are going.
He is a hoot.

[groove1]

No GPS yet has given good directions to my house.

[pinkdesert]

I bought the garmin nuvi 360 a few months back, think got it under 250 on a Costco internet only special. It's slim, I can carry it in my purse when I park. I'm mega happy with it!
You can choose different voices, different alerts, download diff cars.
Check on line, I just saw it for 225.

• MP3 player with pre-loaded sample songs and audio books, JPEG picture viewer, travel alarm, and currency converters
• 2D or 3D views; pre-loaded with most recent Navteq-driven maps for United States, Puerto Rico, Hawaii, and Canada
• Turn-by-turn directions with actual street names; real-time traffic and weather info (if you get subscription)
• Super-bright 2.8 x 2.1-inch sunlight-readable color screen

Editorial Review
The Garmin nüvi 360 GPS Navigator and Personal Travel Assistant is a GPS navigator, personal translator, multi-media entertainer and tour guide all wrapped into one. In addition to all the advanced features of the Garmin nüvi 350 -- including automatic routing, turn-by-turn voice directions, an MP3 player and audio book player, JPEG picture viewer, and much more -- this pocket-sized personal travel assistant comes with hands-free Bluetooth wireless technology, making it the hands-down go-anywhere travel companion.

[ctribucher]

Do you have to be a member to shop online? Thanks!

Originally Posted by pinkdesert

I bought the garmin nuvi 360 a few months back, think got it under 250 on a Costco internet only special. It's slim, I can carry it in my purse when I park. I'm mega happy with it!