Did any of you guys get it from costco?

 

Nope best buy for 800.00 and please get the warrenty
TRUST me on that its only an extra 100.00

marcus

 

Do you think these NAV units are not reliable in terms of defect? I've never been much on extra warranties for electronics. Do you have experience with these sorts of things breaking? Just curious.

 

Wow, I JUST bought this same Navi for $700 at Abt electronics, wheeled and dealed with the sales rep. Reg price is $800, was on sale for $750, asked to do a bit better, said he just sold it for $720 to another family, talked a bit more, told him I'd take it if he did better, he said 710, I said 7. done. Its AWESOME. I was going to post pics as well, but I'll have to do it later when I get home or something. I had mine mounted right under my rear view, but found the light and lack of vision to be bothersome. I didn't like it in the center for the same reason, I mounted mine in the left hand corner of the windshield. fits PERFECTLY there. I used the windshield mount which is very stable(it doesnt juggle around when you hit bumps) and it has a quick release button so I just unclip in and store it, when I get out of the car. I "hard wired" the line by installing a simple 12 v socket in the ignition location(accessory is already taken by my valentine, and since I dont have plans to leave it in the car for extended amounts of time when the engine is off, this works fine)

The interface is great and the graphics are very crisp. A bit pricey for a simple GPS, but its very portable and lightweight, which is one reason I wanted it over say a garmin c340 etc..

Few words about the unit: Voice instructions say street names, not just prompts to turn left or right. very easy to use touchscreen. No external volume control knob sucks though, but again, not hard to get to. for simplicity sake its perfect. I did find that the restaurant listings seem to be rather incomplete though.

The power cord is actually attached to the mount itself, which makes attaching and reattaching the nav unit simple one handed one second operation. The wire is run down the a pillar, where my newly wired 12 volt socket is waiting. I did NOT want to chop up and hack my new power cord. The A pillar cover pops off so I could easily take the power cord on say a vacation somewhere. without having to go buy another one... Plus you still have the fuse working for you. I paid $10 for the extra 12 v socket at autozone. The unit basically snaps into the holster like a head unit does into your cd players. very simple one click operation, not wires to plug in etc..

again I will post pics later,

but this was by FAR the best nav unit I've tested. I was NOT impressed by the ALPINE blackbird. I actually went in to buy the alpine, walked out with the Nuvi.

Although I should mention that the Nuvi 360 will be coming out shortly, basically only adding bluetooth so that you can use it as a handsfree speakerphone, you can place calls etc through the unit. Im pretty sure thats how I got such a deal on the 350.

Check the reviews on CNET.com Nuvi 350 has the highest user reviews, although its 3rd on the list of editors reviews, which still isn't too shabby considering all the competition out there.

 

should also add that there is a traffic receiver that can be purchased for about 150-200, you get 15 months free, thereafter its 60 a year. Not only does it give you the traffic updates, it will re-route you AROUND the traffic automatically. Unlike say the Acura TL which only provides the info for you. but again, probably don't need this, there is a simple detour button that will give you an alternate route if the one youre taking is backed up or something.

While the extra features are interesting to say the least, I do not plan on really ever using the mp3 player(got an ipod for that) or pictures. MAYBE foreign exchange calculator, but the only time I'd use it were if I were to go to another country and I dont think I'd end up taking the nav for that...

On another note, while this unit is small enough to be mounted somewhere, for reasons mentioned earlier in this thread, I wouldnt want to.

1. cant travel with it(unless its a removeable mount)
2. Colder climates might damage the unit
3. Cant move it from car to car, very easily(say you're going somewhere in the gf's car and want the navi, the battery would be MORE than enough to use for the night, cnet editors tested the battery at about 6.5 hours with normal usage)
4. theft(I prefer to lock up my v1 and my nav and my faceplate when I'm in a Sketchier area...


About the warranty: I opted not to purchase one. While on something like this I Probably would have, the mfg is one year, and abt electronics has some of the best customer service in the retail world, so I figure if something REALLY went wrong, I'd be covered(at least for the initial year) The only thing that does worry me is the non-replaceable battery. But I dont plan on using the nav without the plug so it won't really matter much.

For people who don't know about Abt electronics, they are one of the premier electronics and home appliance stores ever. They only have one store. And they like it that way. They also do online sales at abtelectronics.com. Customer service will always be 10 times better there. then say a best buy etc...
They are also one of the best mobile audio shops in the nation. Not to mention home theater specialists. If anyone is local to chicago I'd recommend buying it from there. Who know's maybe they'd give you a discount over the phone.

 

Well the reason why i Strongly recommend you purchase the warranty is because my other garmin unit the 2620 had a few problems, I went through 5 units (replacements) before i found one that works properly.
My first one it kept sayin recalculating, over and over and over again.
I would have to shut it off and turn it back on to reset it.
Other ones screen went bad, taking to Long for the system to warm up, i undertsand your not soppose 2 leave it outside yes and if you do you should let it warm up, But the warm up would take like an hour.
So Paying and extra 100.00 for the unit oppose to buying it from a small store, and an extra 100.00 for the warranty is cool with me cause all i have to do is bring the defective one in and they give me a new one, no questions asked.


Marcus

 

First of all let me apologize about the picture quality my digital camera sucks, but i figured posting pictures is better then no pics right?
Here you go..

 

I like having Nuvi by my right hand because I'm right-handed and wouldn't be able to enter addresses easily with my left hand. I haven't run the power cord yet so I'm not sure how that's going to look. I didn't buy the warranty because I'm not so concerned about the unit breaking as much as theft. I'm too lazy to always lock it up. I'd be happy if it just doesn't get stolen.
I'm considering using the MP3 player because it had nice menus, which are on a screen right in front of my face. The downside is that the mounting cradle only includes power connection, not audio, so I'd need to attach the 3.5mm plug every time I put the unit in its cradle - bummer. I hate when they don't think of these things. I guess the mp3 player is intended for walking around with. I've had the thing a week now it it's still great tho I've charged it twice in my house. It doesn't seem to charge fast on the 12v outlet, and it doesn't charge when the ignition is off. Can't wait to get the power cord installed.

 

Does anyone know if the adhesive disk to attach to the dash can ever be removed. I like that option b/c it keeps it close to your hand, but I don't want something that can never be removed (it case I actually sell it at some point) Thanks!!

 

My guess is that the adhesive can be removed and some dash dressing will disguise the mark. I'm debating whether to drill a hole to put the power cord since there's not a seam close by. I was considering having the base screwed onto the dash but the adhesive shows no signs of weakness so maybe I'll just stay with that.