GPS for car question

[Handlebarz]

The wife and I went to CTC to get a GPS today and the Garmin were sold out but they did have a Nextar GPS + Wireless back up camera on sale for $199 I was wondering if anyone has used or heard of Nextar the model number is 14-BCT

 

I will be looking it up on the net but know that many here know alot about these things and wanted to get some opinion's from here.

 

thanks in advance

[Raf]

probably a good reason the garmins were sold out

[Maverick]

I got a TomTom and can't complain. I have seen the Nextar in stores but haven't used one. Buy it, try it out and if it's no good, take t back.

 

Not sure which model you have but here are Nextar reviews from CNET.

[steelhead hunter]

the camera on the nextar fogs up realy quick and is useless get a Tom Tom had one for 2 years with no problems

[HTHM]

I would suggest that you get a Garmin, I have two and they are invaluable to be. A 250nuvi w should be less than 200 bucks now.

[jace]

A friend bought the Nextar camera/gps combo unit from CTC around Nov/Dec before heading down to the US to visit relatives. He was in total darkness on an unfamiliar freeway following the GPS route and drove right off the road into a tree. If the tree wasn't there, it would ahve been another 40 foot drop for him and his family. Apparently, the gps maps showed a straight road where there was a near 90 degree turn. I know he still should have seen the turn, but i think a lot of us would have been caught off guard also if the gps line showed a straight path ahead.

[lew]

I'm using the Garmin 256WT and it's an excellent unit and has been extremely accurate anywhere I've used it so far. It's also got the hands free phone feature which makes things far safer when you need to talk to someone while driving and the sound quality isn't too bad either, infact much better than I thought it would be.

[Rich Clemens]

I have the Garmin Nivi 205W and really like it. Lately I've been doing a lot of travelling for my work and it's really worked out well finding these out-of-the-way places. So for, so good.

[Big Cliff]

Garmin all the way!!!!!! I have been using Garmin GPSs in the bush, on my boat, and in my car for years. Excellent units, very good customer service if you ever do need. The only thing I will say is that they should be used as a "tool" much like a map. They can be very helpful but they are not an autopilot!

[Jer]

A friend bought the Nextar camera/gps combo unit from CTC around Nov/Dec before heading down to the US to visit relatives. He was in total darkness on an unfamiliar freeway following the GPS route and drove right off the road into a tree. If the tree wasn't there, it would ahve been another 40 foot drop for him and his family. Apparently, the gps maps showed a straight road where there was a near 90 degree turn. I know he still should have seen the turn, but i think a lot of us would have been caught off guard also if the gps line showed a straight path ahead.

 

 

It's hard to blame the unit for this one...I mean come on...look at the road for godsakes! Did he not have any headlights?

 

I have a Garmin unit, and while it is a great tool, can find many places, it's not fool-proof. There are many areas where the maps are out-of-date (Hwy 7 east of Ottawa, 401 & Stevenson Rd off-ramp in Oshawa to just name a couple). These gizmos are great, but not a replacement for your eyeballs and common sense.

[danc]

I use my Garmin 60CSx handheld for road navigation. It might not have all the bells and whistles as a dedicated vehicle GPS, but it has guided me to several places that I've never been to before without fail. If you want a GPS for both the bush and road navigation, one unit will do the job.

[Handlebarz]

You all said what I knew and was thinking Garmin is the way to go they are great units I just wanted some info on the Nextar but from what I have found it did not impress me much and from the board here I did not get any info that would make me use one so I will do what I knew I would and start calling around for the garmin unit.

 

thanks all for the help.

[Big Cliff]

Fenelon Falls, Peterborough, and Port Perry all show stock as of the 14 th. if you can't find one let me know and I'll see if I can get one over here for you.

[Cudz]

I'm using the Garmin 256WT and it's an excellent unit and has been extremely accurate anywhere I've used it so far. It's also got the hands free phone feature which makes things far safer when you need to talk to someone while driving and the sound quality isn't too bad either, infact much better than I thought it would be.

I used this unit as well (I believe Lew meant 265WT). IT is very a very good unit. When I was in Florida it only steered me wrong once. It told me the wal-mart was to the right when it was actually on my left. No biggie because I could actually see the wal-mart sign. Garmin seems to have the best units. I have heard good things about most TomToms as well and I wouldn't think twice about magellan either.

[lew]

(I believe Lew meant 265WT).

 

Oops, oh well, I never said I was good at typing

[SylvanOwner]

While I'm not super familiar with all of these units, I believe most have similar features in terms of functionality. The one "feature" that Garmin has is that their data is updated annually. None of them will ever be perfect in this regard but at least with Garmin there are regular updates.

 

Dan

[Maverick]

The one "feature" that Garmin has is that their data is updated annually. None of them will ever be perfect in this regard but at least with Garmin there are regular updates.

 

I have a TomTom GO 720 and it has been great. The TomToms also have regular updates and they have user updates that you can choose to get or not, it's up to you. You can also update the map if you find something different than what is displayed. It has bluetooth so you can connect your phone, has the ability to play the sound on your car stereo speakers and the one thing i like about this model is that I can load music on it or on an SD card and it plays it through the car's radio through the FM Transmitter built in. Usually most FM transmitters are garbage but this one works quite well. I bought an 8GB HD SD card and it works great. I got mine of eBay and it was refurb. Got it for less and 1/2 the price Future Shop was selling it for and I haven't had any troubles with it, even sitting in the car during -40 nights. Garmins are a great gps but all TomTom does is car gps so they are dedicated. Either will be good choices. Check CNET reviews before you get one though, they usually are pretty good with their video reviews on most products.

[ohhenrygsr]

I would return the one you got and get this one at Crappy Tire ASAP good deal. Sorry i couldn't post a link to long lol just search for this: Garmin NUVI 200c GPS

Edited March 16, 2009 by Henry Nguyen

[Daplumma]

I love my Tom Tom.When its foggy out I just drive by the map.Exellent product.

Joe

[Victor]

I got my TomTom One XLS last summer and have had no complaints so far. I did do a bit of research before I bought mine and the general consensus is that TomTom/Garmin are the better brands. They seem to have the best map/navigation systems, several online reviews have compared different GPS with the same trip and those two have performed better than the other brands.

 

I find that other brands have many different features that the TomTom/Garmin might not have, (i.e. hack-able so it can be used to watch movies), but in my opinion we buy the GPS in order for it to navigate so I think it's more important that it can take me from point A to B with the fastest/shortest route.

 

I'd suggest you to do a bit of research/shopping, from my experience CTC rarely has the best price, and if it does, you can always price match somewhere else.

[fishforfun]

If you're after the Garmin 250 advertised on the front page of the CTC flyer,

it is sold out in most stores but the CTC on fairview in Burlington still had 60

left an hr ago.

[Canuck]

TomTom 720 for me. TigerDirect had refurbs over Xmas for a good price. Very easily customizable (like downloading all the Tim Horton locations from TomTom Home software)

 

Maverick, have you enabled the Voice entry feature on the 720? There is a simple trick to turning it on (Search it on TomTom Forum). Once you do, you get the ability to "speak" your destination in just like the more expensive ones.

[Tarzan's Jane]

A friend bought the Nextar camera/gps combo unit from CTC around Nov/Dec before heading down to the US to visit relatives. He was in total darkness on an unfamiliar freeway following the GPS route and drove right off the road into a tree. If the tree wasn't there, it would ahve been another 40 foot drop for him and his family. Apparently, the gps maps showed a straight road where there was a near 90 degree turn. I know he still should have seen the turn, but i think a lot of us would have been caught off guard also if the gps line showed a straight path ahead.

 

 

Similar to the story of the person putting the trailer in cruise control and going back to make a sandwich.

 

I don't have a GPS yet...but appreciate this thread.

[Maverick]

TomTom 720 for me. TigerDirect had refurbs over Xmas for a good price. Very easily customizable (like downloading all the Tim Horton locations from TomTom Home software)

 

Maverick, have you enabled the Voice entry feature on the 720? There is a simple trick to turning it on (Search it on TomTom Forum). Once you do, you get the ability to "speak" your destination in just like the more expensive ones.

 

Yeah I have, great feature isn't it. Much easier than typing the destinations. It was my first refurb product that I had purchased and I was a bit skeptical but I couldn't tell the difference between that and a new one other than the receipt. It has performed great, easily hooked up to my cell phone and automatically downloaded my phonebook. I haven't downloaded the Timmies locations though, gonna have to do that