Auto GPS Question **NF**

[bassjnkie]

I'm thinking of upgrading my Garmin Nuvi 255W 4.3" GPS which is a year old. I noticed the new ones come with maps for life, traffic, lane assist and so on..... I'm going to get a Garmin and I have the option of getting a 4.3" or 5".

 

So to the people that went from 4.3 to the 5 is it worth the extra $$$?

 

Thanks

[BillM]

Bigger screen is always better. What kind of price difference are we talking?

[Billy Bob]

I have a Lowrance 5" I-Way 500c unit for my truck....much better then my wife's 4" Garmin in EVERY sense.

[danbouck]

not worth the extra $$$

[bassjnkie]

Thanks guys.

[SlowPoke]

I have the Garmin 1490LMT and I'm happy with it. One of the best features of the larger screen is having a nice size map to reference AND customizable data at the same time. I also think you gain some processing speed with the larger, more expensive units. I paid $169 a year ago from Costco.

[Rich Clemens]

I had the Garmin 255W (4") and switched last year to the 1450 LMT (5"). Really like this with the larger screen and life-time maps and traffic updates. One thing about the map updates, even with broadband, it takes close to 2 hours to complete the process. I get a notification of new maps several times a year. Traffic updates are typically in the larger cities as it identified a traffic backup on one of my recent trips to Pittsburgh and it was right.

 

Bought this one from Target on Black Friday last year for 149.99. This is after I waited in line for hours just to get into the store to get one - only to be sold out before I even got close to the counter. Came home, jumped on-line, and bought it for the same sale price. Then went to work.

 

Overall we are very pleased with the unit and has never led us astray yet.

[bassjnkie]

Thanks Rich and SP. That's what I wanted to hear. thanks.

[bassfighter]

Changing to updated technology all depends on your budget, your 255 is one of the better models out there. If you do not use your GPS too often, just add water depth chart map to it. Make sure to avoid water splashing to it when on a boat.

 

Check Kijiji GTA, many refurbish 5" Garmin GPS for under $90.

 

Also check some water topo or bluechart map at good deals, you can add these water map or upgrade to 2012 US/Canada map to your existing garmin 255 http://toronto.kijiji.ca/c-buy-and-sell-phones-PDAs-ipods-Update-Your-Garmin-Maps-2012-Maps-For-All-Countries-W0QQAdIdZ335309261

 

One reason to stick to garmin , lots of after market support out there.

[FishTracker]

I personally don't think that the screen size (only if you already have a 4.3") is worth the upgrade. That being said, if you were purchasing your first unit and you have a choice between the 4.3" and 5", bigger is better.

 

Another thing to keep in mind are the features of the unit. The lifetime traffic and map updates are a very good feature (and well worth the difference in price) as the unit is only as good as the underlying data (roads, etc.), right? You will also notice a significant difference between the manufacturers re. update frequency. I find that companies such as TomTom update their data more often than other companies. I have a TomTom unit and am very happy with it. After bringing it home from the store, I plugged it in and there were already multiple updates for it!

 

Best of luck!

[Billy Bob]

Here's my Lowrance IWay 500C......it also is a MP3 player and stores 5000 songs which play directly through the truck's speakers...when a directional command comes up the song is paused and "Jackie" tells us where to go....then after hundreds of miles of getting close to our destination my wife decides to take over and say no turn here and for some stupid reason I do and then I have to turn around or re-route....then we argue...