Garmin Good and Bad news

alldodge

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Have a Garmin 3790 which have been using since 2010 or 11 and really like the unit. Works much better then the 2012 GM unit in the wife's Caddy. Need to go to Port Clinton OH so decided to buy lifetime map updates. Bought on line and it took 12 hours to down load :facepalm: so just left the unit plugged in and went to bed.

Got up this morning and the Garmin will not talk to the computer and map updates failed. The unit will not even stay on and does nothing but cycle on, start loading maps and turns back off.

Called Garmin, and to shorten the story, they are refunding my map updates and giving me 20% off a new 2539LMT. Never did use the Bluetooth and voice commands on the 3790 (had them turned off) so not bad. Got to give Garmin an at-a-boy
 

dingbat

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Garmin really stepped up to the plate when I had problems with my 6 year old chart plotter this past Spring.

Great company to work with
 

bigdee

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Garmin really stepped up to the plate when I had problems with my 6 year old chart plotter this past Spring.

Great company to work with

x2 No other GPS comes close to Garmin (IMO) in accuracy,ease of use and graphics.....have tried them all
 

GA_Boater

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What a sneaky way to sell a new unit. :eek: :lol:

They took care of you, AD.

Are to heading to PC blind or traveling in Caddy style? :rolleyes:
 

alldodge

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No, driving the truck, I'm picking up a new trailer for my 27PC.

Using paper road maps OLD SCHOOL :D
 

bruceb58

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I have a Garmin. Never use it anymore. Use my tablet or my phone. The app for my tablet uses downloaded maps and the tablet has internal GPS. It is a wifi only tablet.

I like Garmin but I have had some issues with their customer service. I do a lot of cycling and bought a replacement for my bike GPS for one that I damaged in a crash. I had my new one for 2 months and couldn't get the thing to work reliably with its touch screen. All they would offer me for my trouble was to trade it in for 20% off a new one. This unit was $329 brand new and I had it for 2 months! I instead sold it for $195 on eBay and bought a different model without a touch screen for $300. I spoke with numerous reps at Garmin and even sent a letter to one of their vice presidents with no luck.
 
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Fun Times

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Using paper road maps OLD SCHOOL :D
Ah!! The days we could find our way without the use of electronics. We may not have known exactly where we were going but we were never lost.:encouragement:
 

MTboatguy

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I actually like my GPS units, because so many of the areas that I travel through, have changed so much, both my wife and I when we returned from WA this last month, ended up using the GPS because we thought we had missed our turns to get home due to a completely different look to the area with all of the construction that had been done.

Now I am trying to figure out how to put my double din navigation and DVD unit in the truck my Dad left me, Chevy in their wisdom decided that the 1.5 din radios were going to be the wave of the future, well they were wrong and I have a brand new Kenwood navigation unit that I have never used!
 

alldodge

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Ah!! The days we could find our way without the use of electronics. We may not have known exactly where we were going but we were never lost.:encouragement:

Pretty cool FT

Chevy in their wisdom decided that the 1.5 din radios were going to be the wave of the future, well they were wrong and I have a brand new Kenwood navigation unit that I have never used!

If they could only know what we would like, guess there is just not enough of us

I have a flip phone and no tablet. While smart phones (like the wife's) work well, they don't give you the visual and turn by turn like the Garmin. Someday they will come up with something I might use, but until then enjoy what you like, I'll keep my older stuff
 

bruceb58

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I have a flip phone and no tablet. While smart phones (like the wife's) work well, they don't give you the visual and turn by turn like the Garmin.
Yes they do! And Audio turn by turn! Even tells you what lane to be in. Beats Garmin by a mile.

I also like that it tells you how long it will take based on current traffic and gives you optional routes. Personally, I don't know why anyone would buy a Garmin anymore or buy a built in GPS in a car.
 
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MTboatguy

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If they could only know what we would like, guess there is just not enough of us

That is why they hire the people and pay them the big bucks, double din started becoming a standard back in the 80's, so it not like they didn't know!

LOL
 

bruceb58

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I believe Chevy started using double DIN in 2003 in their PUs.
 

MTboatguy

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I believe Chevy started using double DIN in 2003 in their PUs.

From what I have read, the 2002 Tahoe had a double din opening, so you can get a new radio bucket and make it work in the older ones which is what I will probably do.
 

alldodge

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Yes they do! And Audio turn by turn! Even tells you what lane to be in. Beats Garmin by a mile.

I also like that it tells you how long it will take based on current traffic and gives you optional routes. Personally, I don't know why anyone would buy a Garmin anymore or buy a built in GPS in a car.

No it doesn't , but you have your opinion and others have theirs. Lets just leave it at that. Good thing it's all about opinions because we all have one of those other orifice output devices as well.
 

MTboatguy

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Personally, I don't know why anyone would buy a Garmin anymore or buy a built in GPS in a car.

Bruce, that is the beauty of life, you don't need to know why anyone else would, you have a system that works for you and others have a system that works for them, we each have our preferences, I don't do anything on tablets or smart phones because our reception on many things are very poor. I am still stuck at a 1.5 mbps connection, when much of the country is enjoying 65-100 mbps connections. Personally, I don't like to carry many extra things, so being built into the car works great for me.

As I said, sounds like you have found something that works good for you.
 

NYBo

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Now I am trying to figure out how to put my double din navigation and DVD unit in the truck my Dad left me, Chevy in their wisdom decided that the 1.5 din radios were going to be the wave of the future, well they were wrong and I have a brand new Kenwood navigation unit that I have never used!
There is a kit to install a double-DIN unit in my Dodge Ram, which is also essentially 1.5 DIN from the factory. It does involve some cutting of the original bezel, of course. Maybe there is a comparable kit for your Chevy.
 

NYBo

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I have a Garmin. Never use it anymore. Use my tablet or my phone. The app for my tablet uses downloaded maps and the tablet has internal GPS. It is a wifi only tablet.
Which app are you using? A 10" nav screen would be great!
 

Harritwo

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The last 2 vehicles i have bought i purposely did not buy the NAV system due to prior experience with them I have many Garmins; the oldest is 12 years old and while the maps are not updateable the thing is still fairly accurate and will get you there. The newer ones have the lifetime maps, traffic, and voice command with bluetooth. The only time I have had an issue, i was able to call Garmin and plug into the computer where they repaired it over the internet. Great customer service in my opinion and a whole lot more reliable than the TomTom and the Factory NAV Systems. Our 08 Lexus would tell me that Voice Navigation was unavailable in my town yet would show me the house. Just could not find it when you got within 5 miles. Garmin hands down is the only way I would go.
 

MTboatguy

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A buddy of mine just gave me a brand new Garmin with voice and bluetooth, I like it a lot, the only thing I am having problems with is how slow their servers are when trying to do an update of the maps, talk about dial up speed!
 

JASinIL2006

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I use GoogleMaps on my iPhone, but it has problems when I don't have a data signal. My Garmin doesn't need a data signal, and it seems to do better with conveniences like stored destinations, adding waypoints to an already-planned route, etc. Are there better iPhone apps than Google maps?
 
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