Cheap GPS system for car use?

[DragonReborn]

Hey all, I know this is not the "best" place to ask but you are the maven's of the industry so I thought you might have some ideas.

My parents moved to Houston for a few months and they want a cheap, little gps system to help them get around. I know the TomTom's are highly rated but they are also way too expensive (700 for cheapest). I don't mind if it's an older model as long as it works. I'd like to stay under $400.

Saw the garmin quest, garmin i2, and some of the magellean's. Anybody have any experience with these?

Thanks!

 

[bwnv]

No experiance myself, but my son works at www.gpscity.com Maybe that will help?

 

[SearchMaster]

Would you consider a PDA solution? I think you could get a Dell Axim and GPS combo for somewhere around your $400 mark, and it would do SOOOO much more than just a GPS. There are probably Palm solutions as well but I don't know as much about them.

 

[getbush]

Ditto the axim. Do they already have a laptop? I use a laptop and a usb GPS that was $60.

 

[DragonReborn]

hmm..that's interesting. they do have a laptop. how does that work?

I was wondering about the PDA but one has a blackberry which does her calender and the other...well, I try and keep him away from electricity in general. =)

 

[laketrout]

Originally posted by: DragonReborn
Hey all, I know this is not the "best" place to ask but you are the maven's of the industry so I thought you might have some ideas.

My parents moved to Houston for a few months and they want a cheap, little gps system to help them get around. I know the TomTom's are highly rated but they are also way too expensive (700 for cheapest). I don't mind if it's an older model as long as it works. I'd like to stay under $400.

Saw the garmin quest, garmin i2, and some of the magellean's. Anybody have any experience with these?

Thanks!

The TomTom's are a lot less than $700. At newegg you can get the GO 300 for $539.99. With the upcoming thanksgiving sales they will likely drop a little more. The magellan units are typically more expensive and the garmins are about the same unless you go for a much cheaper model.

The tomtom user interface is a lot easier to use than most of the other and may be better for your parents. I know my parents have an acura nav system and they can't stand it because of the UI whereas the tomtom really impressed them.

If you want to go to the laptop and lug that around check out delorme. There software is supposedly really nice.

 

[stjohnh]

The Garmin I2 is cheap and wonderful. It is $220 at westmarine.com. Don't let the small size or mono screen get you off track. Color is a distraction and washes out in bright light, and not needed for routine car use. Very simple, accurate. I've had one for 2 months and just bought another for a friend.

The I3 is identical w color screen, about $100 more. The I5 is identical to the I3 but has pre-loaded maps (a one time saving of about 1/2 hour, the I2 and I3 require that you load the maps yourself with a computer), costs about $450.

Holland

 

[hannpark]

Originally posted by: DragonReborn
hmm..that's interesting. they do have a laptop. how does that work?

Well, you can buy "Street Atlas USA", one with GPS.
Install the program on your laptop, plug in GPS.
I use it all the time ;-)

 

[007ELmO]

If you have a laptop, you can get GPS on it fullscreen for about $100.