<p>Before Costco changed their return policy on electronics to 90 days, my son returned his iPod three different times. There was a problem with the ear phone jack and we couldn’t understand why he had 3 iPods with this issue and no one else did. We finally figured out it was his cord that connected the iPod to his radio; something in the cord messed up the iPod. I felt bad as it wasn’t iPod or Costco fault, almost dishonest; Costco didn’t care! At one of the returns he was able to get a newer, larger model for less than we spend for the one he returned; he left with cash in hand!!</p>
<p>My daughter lives within walking distance to Costco. She was there on Saturday having her eyes checked as her vision had changed since her checkup in March; BTW, another great deal with the Optical Department opened on the weekend! My daughter called me from Costco and said, “Do you know how dangerous it is having Costco within walking distance? The only advantage is I can’t buy a lot, as I can not carry it all home; of course, I could come everyday!”</p>
<p>I don’t know why I go to Costco so often, but I do. My husband just ordered movie tickets online for his staff as a thank you for staying late a few days. Our location only has Regal Cinema in the store, but the others we can get online.</p>
<p>We have a Garmins and love them! The one I would recommend though is the 765T. Just my choice. We have two. One from Best Buy and one from Amazon. Both have return labels that you print out. I’ve never had a problem.</p>
My kid used a 255W in the DC area and it worked fine. It’s true that they’re not instant-on types of devices because they need to ‘acquire’ the satellites before they can do much. The same is true for any GPS but some take longer than others and can be affected by the placement of the device which affects the ability of the antenna to receive the satellite info. For example, my iPhone has a hard time even functioning for GPS if I have it in the console area but works much better if held by a window.</p>
<p>This 255W was selected over a year ago so if I was to purchase a GPS now I’d check what the current products have relative to each other and the price and see which one to get.</p>
<p>You can compare the Garmin models on Amazon. Just look up any of the models, then scroll down and look at the graph “Which Nuvi is Best for You.”. It does a good job of telling you the features of each model in one place.</p>
<p>My S bought a Garmin last weekend at Best Buy. It had been $200 and was on sale for $139.99. I don’t know what model it was, (it’s in his car & he’s at work). It tells you the street names out loud (Turn right on Grand Ave, for example) , is touch screen, and finds places of interest. You can search for a gas station or mall close to you, etc. It did come with 1 free map upgrade. He chose between a male or female voice. We’ve used it a few times & works well. I had him program it a few times when I already knew where I was going, just to see if it was correct and took the best route. It did. :)</p>
<p>^That is kind of a fun thing when you log in to upgrade your map with Garmin. There are a few free downloads for voices and vehicle avatars. S2s has an Aussie girl’s voice and his avatar is a jet…yes, I understand the subliminal message of him being a fighter jet is pretty bad, but it’s cute. He can change to a sled in the winter. :)</p>
<p>When downloading updates, are these done through satellite or on the computer? If computer, it looks like the Magellan I looked at is not compatible with a Mac, which my daughter has, but Garmin is I think. That might help make my decision, although I think we have decided on the Garmin 1350 anyway. Waiting for that and the Magellan to arrive from Costco and test them both out.</p>
<p>The map updates I did for the Garmin were on my MAC, but you plug it in via usb and log into their website. I don’t see where it would make a difference. Good question to ask though! I didn’t even think of it as I have the only MAC in the house so the other Garmins had been done on PCs.</p>
<p>I am pretty sure the Magellan is not Mac compatible; or at least it looks that way on their website. While my daughter does have a PC available at work, I am sure she would prefer to update on her own computer.</p>
<p>Newegg has a great sale on a Garmin and a TomTom GPS. The Garmin is refurbished, but to be resold it has to meet factory standards. It is $77.99. The TomTom is $79.99. I have a Garmin and it works fine. You can also update the maps on them every year. I think it is around $120 for map updates for the lifetime of your Garmin.</p>
<p>We call H’s Lois after an assistant he once had. Lois was factory installed and woefully needs a makeover. We yell at her by name if she doesn’t get things right. She tries to send us on roads that no longer exist! Last time we took a trip with Lois, my 17yo screamed ''I think Lois has PMS, she is all confused!". I about lost it! He’s pretty shy so coming out of his mouth, it was priceless!</p>
<p>S1’s was named Cortana by his brothers. She is a robot in the game series HALO. Yea, I didn’t have anything to do with that one.</p>
<p>The other two have not been given names. The kids like to wait for something to come up for a reason… Should be interesting.</p>
<p>We decided on the Garmin Nuvi 1350 for the moment. I will see how it works here at home before taking it to my daughter in DC. I had the Garmin and Magellan delivered today from Costco, but the Magellan is not Mac compatible, so don’t see keeping it. If for some reason we don’t like the 1350, I will get the Garmin Nuvi 265WT, although I bet it won’t act any different than the 1350.</p>
<p>Wake up, thread… Amazon has a Tomtom gold box deal now, but people on this thread seem to mention Garmins more - any updates from recent purchases? How often do you get the ‘lifetime maps’ offer with these GPS units?</p>
<p>We’ve only had Garmin, and both last year in the Portland-Seattle area and this summer near San Fran, we got a lot of “lost satellite”. Don’t know if this is typical with all GPS or if our Garmin was acting up. Still won’t let go of my AAA maps though.</p>
<p>Funny, we have names for all the voices of each cars GPS. DHs is Lois after a sweet but slightly out of date secretary he inherited with a job once. That GPS was factory installed and never got updated maps. My sons is Cortana (Halo anyone?). He can’t drive without her because he pays more attention to her then the road and has never learned his way around. There are two more, but those are the funnier ones. </p>
<p>I really need a new one as yet another young driver in the house is about the abscond with mine. I’d love thoughts on a newer Garmin from anyone that was ever in the 765T/775T camp.</p>