I want to buy sat nav in the US....

Aoife9

and I know absolutely nothing about them at all, basically I was wondering which one to buy (not spending over 350dollars) can I download european/irish routes on to it when I bring it home? any advice appreciated.:)

EL_Loco

find one you like, compare the price of buying one in Ireland, which should have ireland and UK maps included against buying the unit in the states then buying the maps.

If it's still cheaper fire ahead.

even the cheaper garmin models will get you from A to B fairly well, the more expense you get it'll do things like play mp3s, has bluetooth to interact with your phone.

I only mention garmin because it's the only type I've experience with. not a fanboy as such.

whiterebel

Aoife9 wrote: »

and I know absolutely nothing about them at all, basically I was wondering which one to buy (not spending over 350dollars) can I download european/irish routes on to it when I bring it home? any advice appreciated.:)

I was thinking the same, but found Dabs.ie doing a Garmin Nuvi 270 with European AND US Maps for approx €250.00 delivered. It was close enough to prices I could find in Florida anyway, by the time ou added in buying the european maps after.

Aoife9

Hi thanks for the quick replies, whiterebel I checked out that garmin one and it definitely looks likeone I'm looking for and the best deal I've seen so far thanks again.

robinph

I don't think you'd save a whole lot in buying from the US for road navigation models tbh as you'd have to go to too much hassle sorting out local copies of any maps that you want as well. It would only really be a saving buying elsewhere for outdoor usage GPS models where your more likely to be using different, and free, sources of maps.

Lex Luthor

My TomTom came with European maps. There is a SD slot for a memory card so I can buy US maps and switch between either when I like.

If you buy one without memory slot, then you will have to remove the US maps and load the European maps. I wouldn't fancy it in case I crashed the unit. Having the other maps on the SD card makes it much easier

brophs

Firstly, if you are buying to use in both USA and Europe, make sure you buy a unit with both sets of maps installed when you buy it, as otherwise it will work out far too expensive.

That being the case, Elara have the Nuvi 270 for €228, and if you can get out to Parkwest, you can pick it up for free, and save on the delivery costs.

http://www.elara.ie/products/detailsfull.asp?productcode=ECE1447987

coylemj

Beware of single region models in the US, they will probably only have US /Canada maps so if you buy in the US you will need to buy a unit that has US/Canada and Europe - Nuvi 270 would be the cheapest model.

whiterebel

brophs wrote: »

Firstly, if you are buying to use in both USA and Europe, make sure you buy a unit with both sets of maps installed when you buy it, as otherwise it will work out far too expensive.

That being the case, Elara have the Nuvi 270 for €228, and if you can get out to Parkwest, you can pick it up for free, and save on the delivery costs.

http://www.elara.ie/products/detailsfull.asp?productcode=ECE1447987

Elara and Dabs seem to be waiting on supplies though. Dabs are due stock in tomorrow but Elara have put back their expected arrivals back a week to the 16th

rrpc

If you don't need the US maps, you should look at the 250W. It's a 4.3" wide screen and comes with Europe and Britain and Ireland maps. SD slot included and it's a bit cheaper. Pixmania are selling it for €179.

coylemj

But if you take note of the title of the thread, this guy wants to buy in the US and although the spec. sheet for the 250 says Europe over here, the same 250 in the US has maps of North America.

I don't believe that any high st. retailer in the US will stock models with European maps only so if you're buying over the counter in the US you will have to buy a unit that has both North America and Europe.

scanman_ie

Its not worth the hassle buying in the states for what you will save,
I BOUGHT a tom-tom one in Boston thinking i could down load maps
and use them[free], not so easy unless you go to the tomtom sight and porches them of them,
i would have bought one here For nearly the same money by the time i was finished
installing the maps i needed, saying all that the tomtom is a good gps with a lot of good features and the tomtom sight is quiet good and user friendly,
I hope this helps

ioshmearse

coylemj wrote: »

Beware of single region models in the US, they will probably only have US /Canada maps so if you buy in the US you will need to buy a unit that has US/Canada and Europe - Nuvi 270 would be the cheapest model.

Good advice. I went into the Garmin shop in Chicago last summer and the price of the european map was almost $300. This was also the same price as Garmin were advertising on their website. You should buy a European and US unit here, at least you can get the feel of it, find addresses and possibly faults.

Alternativley buy a european only unit and buy a US map for $100 in the US which I did - found that the SD map was faulty and it wasnt replaced until I arrived back in Ireland.

sliabh

For someone who has bought a GPS elsewhere, can anyone recommend online European retailers of maps (DVD or SD).

I am in the market for some marine and city navigator maps for my Garmin maps but the prices charged in Ireland are just criminally high.

coylemj

Check out www.expansys.ie they specialise in mobile devices like GPS, PDAs and mobile phones and are usually the best price in this part of the world.

whiterebel

coylemj wrote: »

Check out www.expansys.ie they specialise in mobile devices like GPS, PDAs and mobile phones and are usually the best price in this part of the world.

Very expensive compared to tthe online sellers, TBH. Elara.ie have better prices than that. Dabs etc are way better again.

coylemj

Can't argue with that, current prices including delivery for a Nuvi 250 are as follows:

Dabs 150.64
Expansys 176.28
Elara 152.46 (assuming you pick it up yourself)

So Dabs wins hands down. Expansys are generally best for PDAs and mobile phones but in this case Dabs is the clear winner.

whiterebel

Just got the Nuvi 270 delivered from Global Gizmos in the UK. Stg£179 delivered, which aat current rates, is a steal. Looks the business so far.
Bit messy dealing with Global Gizmos, though, Said they had sent it, but I had recieved no dispatch advice. When I rang them , they said it had gone missing (?), and sent a new one via Royal Mail. As soon as they sent that I got a dispatch advice, and received it 3 days later. Porkies being told, methinks......