Halfords - is it worth spend the extra few bob?

cjmcork

I'm looking at getting a Garmin 250 Nuvi - it's online for about €160, it's in Halfords for €200 - is the service they give worth the extra money?

coylemj

Halfords seem to have a no-quibble money-back policy which is good and bad..........

A few months ago I bought a set of wiper blades in the mountings from Halfords in Carrickmines, the catalogue on the shelf said that set xx was the appropriate one for my make model and year but when I brought them home they wouldn't fit. I brought them back to Halfords and deliberately parked my car right outside the store. When I went in I explained my query to a female sales assistant, she pointed out one of her male colleagues to me so I went over and told my story to him. His attitude was that I could get my money back by handing the goods and the original recepit over to the cashier, he just didn't want to know when I asked if he'd like to come outside and see my car and verify that the wipers wouldn't fit.

So the bottom line is this: because of the money-back policy it seems to me that staff just don't give a toss if you bring back goods, they don't want to enage with you and their attitude can best be summed up as 'take your money and piss off'.

cjmcork

in relation to the Sat Navs, I know they will install and demo them for you, but is this charge extra? I'd be fairly handy with the PC - would I need them to do the install and demo - what exactly is involved in the install?

eamon234

cjmcork wrote: »

in relation to the Sat Navs, I know they will install and demo them for you, but is this charge extra? I'd be fairly handy with the PC - would I need them to do the install and demo - what exactly is involved in the install?

That's a scam all you do it stick it on your windscreen, plug it into your cigarette lighter and switch it on. Not exactly rocket surgery!:D They're not going to do any of the PC based stuff for you.

The rest involves a little-known process called: "Reading the Manual"

All joking aside, these things are designed to be easy to use (and install) I hate the fact that these guys prey on first time users and charge for something that simple.

I bought mine (TomTom) off them last year and they told me a load of sh1te about the maps - I ended up with crap Teleatlas ones and had to fork out more money to upgrade them.

cjmcork

no way - so which one would you recommend?

mrliffey

CJM.. you really need to weigh up the hassle factor involved with buying something online, which either you hate when it arrives or doesn't work. It's great to be able to sit on your arse with your credit card in hand and browse until you find something you like, but if it you need to return it are you the kind of person who'll keep all the original packaging go through the deliberately awkard returns policy and bring it down to your post office and pay for it to be sent back, then wait paitently for an email hoping that some chimp along the way hasn't bashed the package and ruined your chances of a refund.

then again....

eamon234

The Garmin you're looking at should be fine just a case of where you want to buy it..

coylemj

Buy the 250 from www.elara.ie - they're out in Park West and you can pick it up if your're prepared to drive to them. If you have a problem Garmin are pretty good at replacing units so I wouldn't worry about getting grief from the people who sold you the unit, obviously you need to hang on to the receipt.

You may assume that the units in Halfords are on the shelf for a few months and probably have V9 maps which will need upgrading so as well as being more expensive they're probably selling backlevel units.

CuppaCocoa

Am about to buy one of these myself. Elara sounds good to me because of the pick up availability but how do I know that their units haven't been sitting on the shelf either? How will I know that I'm getting the latest maps?

coylemj

There's no guarantee that you will get the latest maps but Garmin's policy is to look after anyone who buys a unit after the new maps become available so worst case scenario is this: You buy the unit and discover that the maps are V9, go to the Garmin web site, register the unit and ask for the map update DVD, they will send this to your home for free and stuck on the back of the DVD case will be a green label with an unlock code. You then attach the unit to your PC with an ordinary USB cable and do the update, can't remember how long it takes but about an hour or more, maybe two hours.

At this stage you'd be virtually guaranteed that www.expsnsys.ie are shipping units with the latest maps because they have a high turnover and the units are shipped from the UK so don't be put off by the Irish web address but you'll have to pay for DHL delivery, don't even consider ordinary mail for this type of purchase.

If buying a 2xx unit don't forget to buy the Garmin leather case which does not come as standard as it does with the more expensive units. Do not buy a generic case supplied by the mail order co. because it will probably be too big for the unit ('one size fits all' means too big) and not the good quality which the Garmin case is. Make sure to buy the right case, the 'W' units have a longer case.

SecureSounds

cjmcork wrote: »

I know they will install and demo them for you

:D:D:D

Just like their " half Price CD players" .......money and media can do wonderfull things.

Rowley Birkin QC

My experience with them has been very positive, in both the Mahon Point and Malahide Rd. branches.

I handled the purchase of a Nuvi 660 for my dad, long story short the bluetooth function failed twice. They replaced it with a brand new unit both times and extended the warranty accordingly. Also got new maps free of charge as part of the second exchange.

In short I would say it is definitely worth the extra €40.