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I'm planning to get a new car and am leaning against the $1000 built-in GPS because:
1) I would mainly use GPS on trips, and rental cars are used on most trips. Might make one weekend trip per year with my car.
2) Also would use GPS a few times a year locally when bad traffic backups...to find out the reason for the backup(traffic feature on GPS) and also to find an alternate route. However, the new car I am looking at - the traffic feature will not be available to me (it requires a smartphone connection, which I won't have a smartphone and dont want one)
Rather than pay the $1000 for the built-in GPS, I am thinking about getting a handheld unit. The nice things about the handheld, you can use in in your rental car when you travel, you can bring it inside and program your addresses while at the hotel or restaurant.
But it sure would be convenient to have a GPS built into the car, and not have to stash a portable unit in the glove box for when you need it(maybe it's not so bad to have portable?). But without the traffic feature, the built-in GPS won't be all that great for me. Also, I heard it is expensive to get annual map updates, so folks basically keep the original maps. I plan to keep this new car at least 10 years.
If you have a GPS...How often do you use it? What are you thoughts of a handheld GPS, built-in GPS, or no GPS?
There's no way I'd pay a grand for a factory GPS option. I know some think it's worth it for the larger screen and the better visual integration and all that... I don't.
I have a Garmin that I use whenever I'm road-tripping even if I know the way there because it does more than just provide directions. It's great if you have a spontaneous travel style like I do because you can find stuff along the way on a whim such as nearby places to eat, nearest gas stations, points of interest, etc. Plus it'll tell me how much longer before I reach my destination both in miles and time, it will estimate fuel cost and consumption, it'll tell me my speed more accurately than my speedo, etc.
Frequently enough to warrant one, but I would NEVER buy a built-in unit. WAY too expensive. You can buy a GOOD GPS unit for $150 or less. Heck, all I use now is my phone. By the time I hook it up to the radio via the headphone jack (which most cars have now), it's basically the same thing because it plays through the speakers.
I use my GPS daily but not for the map feature but for the mph (speed) feature.
I never drove a car that was over 10 years old that odometer was not off.
I would agree with you on opting out on $1000 built in one, when hand held ones run around $100 bucks.
I have a Mio, I like how it tells me when I reach my destination it will be on my left or right.
I would probably not spend that much for a GPS. Having said that My GPS is my life line about 9 months out of the year. I got one for about $60.00 at Walmart that works fine. You are correct that the ability to use it your motel room to browse restaurants, program in trips and locations is priceless.
Most of the time when traffics backs up I'm already stuck in it and the GPS doesn't help much but I can call my appointment once I get going and give them a precise time that they can expect me.
IMO I always buy the cheapest product because as the technology gets better the delivery device we use to access it gets cheaper.
I have a built-in GPS in my F-150 and I love it. I think the option was around $2K but to me, it's worth having all the extras that come along with it. I don't really use the navigation that much because I know my way around Phoenix pretty well but I do use the back-up camera and integrated hands-free phone often. And I think it looks good in the dash.
IMO I always buy the cheapest product because as the technology gets better the delivery device we use to access it gets cheaper.
Then you always have the cheapest product, without whatever features and performance benefits a more upscale product offers.
I don't see the logic in this.
OP-what, if any, other features does the indash GPS bring with it? DVD? Anything else you might want? I wouldn't spend $1000 either. I use a laptop with a GPS program on it when I'm working, and if I didn't have that I'd go for a portable GPS.
I think they are making us dumber and more disoriented.
I drove throughout the southeastern USA on business for years,(55000 miles per year) and never used one. Learned to plan my route in advance and memorized anything of interest during the ride. Also, enabled me to focus on noting the business trends in the region rather than focusing/anticipating what the GPS would announce.
On the other hand, all of the other field reps for the company used them. So I was the odd man out of 21 staff. Of course, they are still field reps and I am now VP of Sales.
Nope, never used them. I'd probably consider them if I had a job that required frequent driving in unfamiliar areas. When planning a vacation road trip, I use maps to plan our route to our destination. For trips longer than 5 or 6 hours, we fly. Wife's spinal problems means no real long trips. Last time we drove for 4 hours, her spine was in better condition than it is today. We're hoping to take an Amtrak trip and a cruise someday while she's still able to walk.
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