Post pics of your GPS!

[Signe]

Strictly out of curiosity, I was looking up prices on GPS systems and had no idea even name brands like Garmin and TomTom were selling for as little as $80 brand new.

How many of you were able to mount one onto your dash and make it look at least somewhat stock? I've seen cars whose GPS system looked tacky (the cord dangling down into the cigarette lighter had a lot to do with it.)

Can any of these GPS units be recharged so as to avoid plugging them in once they're in the car? Or has somebody drilled a hole in the dash and routed the cord through there? I know next to nothing about these.

 

[Signe]

It looks like they can be charged but the charge only lasts for about four hours.

More importantly, I'm getting the impression that sales of these will probably go down for a couple of reasons:

1) More and more cars are coming with a built-in GPS system
2) More and more people are buying smartphones with a built-in GPS system

 

[maverick7321]

Just got a new Garmin 1300 a couple of weeks ago at Target on sale for $109 the regular price is $219 so not a bad deal.

I have a feeling that the closer we get to Christmas the more of these sale prices you are going to see.

This is the one that I got:

http://www.target.com/Garmin-Portab...om_size-bin,target_com_brand-bin&frombrowse=0

I will try and take some pics of the custom dash mount I made this weekend.

 

[ericautopart]

You get what you pay for. I'm on the road a lot and have tried plenty. Best value out there is Garmin Nuvi 255. The tomtoms function very well but the mount ***** and you'll soon get sick of it and get a new one. I use a higher end magellan but it freezes pretty often but was fairly flawless on a 1 week road trip.

 

[Signe]

If you get a Garmin or TomTom, don't you have to go to their web site and pay a fee to download the latest maps? I thought I heard somebody say that once.

According to WalMart.com, the Garmin nuvi 1300 4.3" GPS Navigator is their best seller. The online price is $117 and was originally $249.99:

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Garmin-Nuvi-1300-4.3-GPS-Navigator/11008183

I then logged onto Cragislist to see how many locals were selling theirs. I saw several in the $60-$75 price range. All of them said it was an excellent condition and are selling it either because they now use the GPS on their smartphone or just bought a car with a built-in GPS system.

I wonder is there's a way to run the cord through the dashboard's defroster vent, splice the wire(s), and then connect them to the wires going to the cigarette lighter. I don't smoke and if I need to charge my cell phone, I can use the power outlet in the back. What do you guys think?

 

[ericautopart]

My magellans (I forget the model #) has free map updates for life. What they didn't tell me is I have to see olive garden and red lobster adds flashing across the top of my GPS. Garmins are great..I just don't have one because I paid too much for this magellan to get rid of it.

 

[maverick7321]

The Garmin Nuvi 1300 I got had free lifetime map updates included but not all the 1300's do and I also paid less than what an new Nuvi 255 would have cost me which is what I had before and really liked.

 

[shibby]

i just use my android phone works great lol

 

[JeepOwner07]

You get what you pay for. I'm on the road a lot and have tried plenty. Best value out there is Garmin Nuvi 255. The tomtoms function very well but the mount ***** and you'll soon get sick of it and get a new one. I use a higher end magellan but it freezes pretty often but was fairly flawless on a 1 week road trip.

i disagree, and basically what it all boils down to is opinion, i have both a garmin in the libby and a tomtom in my work vehicle, the MOUNT is fine, i have never had a problem with it at all, my work vehicle i drive aprox 12 hours a day 7 days a week, then it switches off to another driver and its still attached .

both different brands have features that i like and dislike and/or have features on one that i want on the other and vice versa. Ive never however used a magellen.

 

[nzoliver]

It looks like they can be charged but the charge only lasts for about four hours.

More importantly, I'm getting the impression that sales of these will probably go down for a couple of reasons:

1) More and more cars are coming with a built-in GPS system
2) More and more people are buying smartphones with a built-in GPS system

Hi,
I agree re the built in systems but as for smart phones...no so sure. The Garmin Hand helds are water and 'bang' resistant. Car systems are nicer to use than phones and usually have bigger screens. Most of the cars that have built in GPS also have Bluetooth to 'talk' to the phones so they stay inyou pocket!
i understand there is a swing back to good well featured 'ordinary' phones over smartphones as folks fine they just don't use them as much as the hype suggests they might! Oh they break easy too....The only exception would be the new Motorola Defy but it aint cheap.

Anyhoo....:secret:

 

[jinstall]

Garmin Nuvi 1690T right next to the guage cluster hood witht the cable wedged in th egap that runs down the right side of the dash behind the steering wheels. Nothing flopping around and does not block any view ahead except for part of the hood.

 

[jjr110481]

i know this is an old thread but i just finished hard wiring my nuvi1250 into the libby, looks great nice and clean

 

[bugnout]

How about some pictures?

 

[jjr110481]

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[bugnout]

Nice job.

I've been thinking about adding a couple of USB jacks to the dash to power the GPS and the Cell phone. Both can be powered from a USB port. No need for the Gigantic cigarette lighter adapter. The fill plate with the defroster vent might be the perfect place to mount it.

 

[jjr110481]

thanx usb ports are sa great idea....hmmmmmm now the wheels are turnin:icon_idea:

 

[gtommec]

Just out of curiosity does anyone use the factory Mopar GPS that was available on the 2002 KJs before the RB1 came out?