<p>The reason I like Costco is for their wonderful return policy. I returned some travel mugs that I got a couple of years ago and one of them had a broken lid. I didn’t have the original packaging or receipt and they gave me a 100% refund. From some of the Garmin reviews, it sounds like some models don’t last more then two years.</p>
<p>Overall, I buy many, many things from Amazon but don’t have any experience with returns.</p>
<p>^^ I’ve only returned to Amazon once when they sent me something twice. It was quick and easy but obviously in their favor for me to return it. But I agree, Costco seems easy to take things back to. The biggest problem with Costco is their lack of choices in items and how they sometimes carry some non-standard part numbers from vendors.</p>
<p>Personally, I also LOVE the Costco return policy as well as their extended warranty for some items. Also, if you buy with the AmEx card, you get one more year of warranty, which has also come in handy for us, especially with GPS, computers & printers.</p>
<p>And if you are a Costco executive member and pay with a Costco Amex, you get 2% back from Costco and 1% back from Amex/Costco. Sweet.</p>
<p>Minor detour - what’s this about Costco coupons? I’m a regular Costco shopper, get their emails all the time (which I ignore)… but know nothing re Costco coupons. How do you get them, and are they for any item (ala BB&B)?</p>
<p>PS I am perfectly happy with my cheapo-deapo Garmin Nuvi 250. It does NOT say the street name aloud, doesn’t have traffic info etc. I agree they would all be great features, but mine was $129 as a Costco Hot Buy last year and included the bean bag type dashboard holder. Love them both. I think I am just easily pleased :).</p>
<p>However, I will go for the added features if this one ever dies ;).</p>
<p>Jmmom, I get a little booklet in the mail every couple of months or so from Costco that’s full of coupons. Some of them are valid only during certain weeks. I just figured that I was on their mailing list because I’m a member. Maybe you should stop at the customer service desk next time you’re in there and ask them why you’re not getting the booklet.</p>
<p>On the other hand,I don’t get any e-mail from Costco. Maybe I unsubscribed at one time - I’ll have to go back and check my account settings.</p>
<p>I might get the emails because I’ve also bought from costco.com.</p>
<p>I get the e-mails AND the coupons! The good thing is that (at least a my Costco) you don’t have to cut the coupons, you just show the book to the cashier and anything you bought that had a coupon offered will be discounted.</p>
<p>I need the names of the streets as well as the turn by turn directions. I don’t like it when you are on unfamiliar roads and it just says turn right in 500 feet and you are driving pretty fast and all of a sudden there are two roads, one right after the other and you don’t know which one to turn at. </p>
<p>I found a GPS discussion board! [GPS</a> Discussion](<a href=“http://www.gpsdiscussion.com/forums/]GPS”>http://www.gpsdiscussion.com/forums/)</p>
<p>Another vote for the Garmin 255W. We have two of them. Well, actually my wife has the 255WT (free traffic updates) but the only difference is the cord. I can use it on either of the 225W. It speaks street names. You can pick the voice (Samantha, Jack, or even some with British or Australian accents). You can also download voices from their web site. We have one that sounds like Dracula and another like an elf. You can also download different types of vehicles (that show up on the map). My wife has a convertible so her ‘car’ on the map is a convertible. Mine is a truck.</p>
<p>Got my Garmin Nuvi 255W at Best Buy for $149. Got my wife’s Garmin Nuvi 255WT at Best Buy for $229. As I said the only difference is the traffic updates (i.e. the cord). These only work in the big cities anyway so unless you live in one or frequent one often, I wouldn’t spend the extra $$$.</p>
<p>My husband is in a weekend band and drives all over the Philadelphia area, including into the city quite often so traffic updates are would be very helpful. What HE really wants is for the satellites to upload quickly.</p>
<p>Yea, we have trouble with getting the uploads quickly, especially in LA when we make a wrong turn & need to have help getting where we meant to go. I really like that our Magellan helps you know which lane you need to be in. This is KEY information for LA & other places where you have many lanes to choose among & freeways intersecting.</p>
<p>Garmin 265 WT. I saw it for $199.00 some where yesterday. Works perfectly.</p>
<p>I know this thread is a year old, but looking for additional advice. Prices have dropped even more from when this thread started. My daughter is in DC and would like a GPS as she will have her car and doesn’t know how to drive the city as she has only used public transportation.</p>
<p>The one thing I know is whatever GPS we buy, it is going to come from Costco! That said, these are my options between what is in the store, what is available online and what I want to spend. </p>
<p>She has a Blackberry, so has some map access, but while driving she would prefer a GPS. No need from bluetooth, but would like a GPS that does speak and I haven’t decided whether the traffic updates are needed. While I have read the reviews on each, I realize many complaints would only be noticeable to someone that has played with multiple GPS units. Looking for ease of use, accuracy, and reliability. </p>
<p>Magellan RoadMate 5045-MU ($169.99)
Garmin nüvi 1350 ($129.99)
Garmin Nuvi 265 WT ($149.99)
Garmin Nuvi 255W ($99.99)</p>
<p>My cousin had the Garmin Nuvi 255W and tried it in DC and found they could not get a signal until they arrived at their destination. I then read that it does take time to load the information on some units and you should turn them on even when not using them. Are some units better in larger cities vs. the highway? </p>
<p>Another concern I have is buying an older unit like the Garmin 255W; is that a concern? If the info in updated, does the age matter if it is a reliable unit?</p>
<p>I need to do a side by side comparison on the above units, but if anyone has first hand knowledge on any of them, please share. Again, I am only going to buy one from Costco, so the ones listed above are the ones I will select from.</p>
<p>We have a Garmin, a Magellan, and a Tom Tom. We like them all, but we especially like the “speech to text” feature.</p>
<p>Check Costco.com…sometimes they have more choices online.</p>
<p>Two of the above are from Costco.com and two from my local Costco.</p>
<p>I bought the Garmin 1350 for S who will be taking his car to college for the first time next month. He has only had it for a couple of weeks and has just tried it out around town but he’s very happy with it so far (I know that’s not a true test of its capabilities). I didn’t get one with the traffic updates because he needed it mainly just to find his way from Florida to Texas on the interstate, not as a commuter who needs to avoid traffic tie-ups. But if he had needed it for that reason, I would definitely have spent the extra for the traffic feature.</p>
<p>The reason I chose the 1350 over the 200 series was the Lane Assist feature, which shows on screen which lane you need to be in for exits, road junctions, etc. I think this is really helpful when driving on unfamiliar highways.</p>
<p>Personally, I find the lane assist feature in the Magellan invaluable. We do NOT have the model you mention, but the one we have has automatic lifetime traffic updates (as long as the device is plugged into the vehicle for power). Not sure how important lane assist would be for someone catching public transportation, but for driving it’s essential.</p>
<p>When I was confused, I bought several different GPS from Costco & ended up returning all but the Magellan. I liked how it pronounced Hawaii street names best (impossible to understand the other brands). I admit I use it more on the continental US, but it’s still nice for it to be useful in HI.</p>
<p>S much prefers his TomTom over our Magellin, but it’s all a matter of personal preference. Tall buildings do get in the way of signal. We have had trouble getting signals in downtown LA, especiallyl when we’ve gone off route & want it to recalculate in the midst of lots of tall buildings.</p>
<p>Costco is great about returns as long as you have EVERYTHING it came with, including any mounting. Our Magellan died – twice & they took it back with apologies for full refunds which we turned around & re-purchased the upgraded model.</p>
<p>That is why I only will buy one at Costco! My husband says I should work there as I sing their praises.</p>
<p>I go there so often, everyone says I should work there. 
I especially like buying electronics from them, so they will help if there is any problem with the product down the road (as there often is). If you charge with their AmEx credit card, you even get an extended warranty, which has also been very helpful with the kids’ laptops.</p>
<p>I have a garmin nuvi 255w and am very happy with it. I bought it on amazon. I haven’t got much to compare it to since I’ve never had a GPS before, but I really like it and have had no problems with it. It has saved me many times! </p>
<p>I do have some limited experience with magellan GPS from rental car use, and when we used those their maps tended to be outdated. Maybe that had more to do with the rental car company than the unit itself, I don’t know how those things work.</p>