garmin rip offs

echoindi

Dont buy Garmin sat nav's, I bought map updates and they were not properly updated, and when you e-mail them they wont listen to you or try in any way to help you, stay well clear of garmin sat nav's.

jor el

I bought a Garmin Satnav and it updated perfectly. Maybe you did something wrong.

Bosshogg

echoindi wrote: »

Dont buy Garmin sat nav's, I bought map updates and they were not properly updated, and when you e-mail them they wont listen to you or try in any way to help you, stay well clear of garmin sat nav's.

The updates in Ireland are always behind by as much as a year or 2. Like you won't be expecting to find the new M3 section on this year's map yet, maybe not even next years, but the year after that it should be ok. Around Dublin city I wouldn't blame anyone or thing for not knowing where to go.

Also searching for the Address in the Garmin can be a PITA. Sometimes the address is in there but the "Where To" search function won't pull it out.

Using it (Nuvi 710) abroad it works a dream. I used it in Majorca and Barcelona and it's a real door to door experience driving from Airport to Hotel etc. In the UK enter a postcode and it takes you to the front door.

Maybe the boys in one of the Tech forums can give you a dig out if it's something more than that.

inforfun

echoindi wrote: »

Dont buy Garmin sat nav's, I bought map updates and they were not properly updated, and when you e-mail them they wont listen to you or try in any way to help you, stay well clear of garmin sat nav's.

Does updating not work at all or are you not happy with the fact that the maps are not up to date enough?

I use garmin and ovi maps and they are both not really up to date i noticed when driving from Dublin to Cork.

cybrandian

Hey,
Sorry if this takes away from your question, but I am hoping to buy a sat nav in the next week or so, and I had heard that Garmin was the best brand. Not so sure now!
Basically wondering if anyone can tell me a good make and model out there, bearing in mind I have trouble understanding maps!
Will really only be using it for driving around Ireland, but work takes me to the most off-beat places, along with cities.
Thanks....

inforfun

cybrandian wrote: »

Hey,
Sorry if this takes away from your question, but I am hoping to buy a sat nav in the next week or so, and I had heard that Garmin was the best brand. Not so sure now!
Basically wondering if anyone can tell me a good make and model out there, bearing in mind I have trouble understanding maps!
Will really only be using it for driving around Ireland, but work takes me to the most off-beat places, along with cities.
Thanks....

Imho Ireland lacks zipcodes in order to have sat navs working perfectly. doesnt really matter which brand you choose, setting the destination is a pain.

Or maybe i am just spoiled when i am in Holland where i only have to put in zipcode and housenumber and off i go.

jor el

cybrandian wrote: »

Basically wondering if anyone can tell me a good make and model out there, bearing in mind I have trouble understanding maps!

I have a Garmin Nuvi 255, and it's fine. Maps are about 6-8 months old though, and new roads are not on it. Ireland's road infrastructure has been constantly changing over the last number of years though.

There's a GPS forum which you may want to look at too.

echoindi

I explained to garmin that when I purchased the updated map there was a new dual carrigway opened a year previously to when I purchased the update and it still was not showing on my sat nav, they agreed with me only after a long struggle with them when they looked at the map I bought, but they said there was nothing they could do about it, they are cheats, no douth about it. buy tom tom they are sopposed to be very good and they have a different company supplying them with the mapping.

echoindi

Garmin accepted what I told them, only after they viewed the map update but they said there was nothing they could do about it, or would'nt to be precise, so I bought an updated full year map but it was only updated for about 4 or 5 months, nice one garmin.

Gerard93

echoindi wrote: »

Garmin accepted what I told them, only after they viewed the map update but they said there was nothing they could do about it, or would'nt to be precise, so I bought an updated full year map but it was only updated for about 4 or 5 months, nice one garmin.

I bought a Map update for my Garmin Nuvi 660 about a year ago, was cheesed off at the time that new road sections that had been completed 6-12 months previous were not shown on it, however as far as I recall the Update disk was an upgrade for most of Europe, so from that point it is possible to see how they cannot possibly have every road/area updated, against that I felt the update disk was a bit expensive over €80, I am not going to update again or at least for a few years whereby then it would be better buying a newer Satnav.

Having said all the above I used it in France and did quiet a bit of driving & thought it was brillant, especially the Traffic & Speed Camera alerts. As mentioned in a previous post system seems to work better abroad.

Dinkie

I bought one fairly recently and am very dissappointed with the maps. I needed to get to Galway Clinic recently and it wasn't on it... despite having been built a few years ago. Infact the first 3 places (none of them new builds) I tried to get to were not on it. I wish I had known how bad it was before I bought it.

My Dad has a tomtom however and loves it. I keep meaning to see if the places not on the garmin are on the tomtom

Jip

I have 3 Garmin products and have always found their customer service to be nothing but excellent, there's many more around the various sports forums echoing the same. Don't have any issues with the mapping software either.

Trampas

I used Garmin in South Africa and it was perfect

upaho

I bought a Garmin Nuvi1200 in Halpins to help me find addresses in and around the Dublin area. It's my first experience with GPS and I'm hugely disappointed. The interface is pathetic. The search is difficult. I would love to be able to limited it to Dublin only, temporarily or otherwise to speed the search. It's hopeless for finding apartment blocks. In the lists of addresses I have to visit the best it does is 70% and the average is 50%. I wouldn'/t recommend it to anyone and the more a person needs help the more useless the Garmin is.

The Customer support is worse, if that's possible. The say they'll answer email query in 3 days, their response to me is nearer 30 and then there's no solution because they didn't read my query in the first place.

The website is difficult to navigate too, I couldn't find and download a manual for it.

Here are some recent addresses (names and house numbers deleted) that it couldn't find


The Richmond, North Brunswick Street, Smithfield, Dublin

The Hardwicke Apt, North Brunswick Street, Smithfield, Dublin

Southmede, Old Dundrum Road, Ballinteer, Dublin 14

Block G, The island, Chapelizod, Dublin 20

Block C, Lorette Abbey, Grange Road, Rathfarnham, Dublin 14

The Cedar, Parkview Apt, Stepaside, Co Dublin

Hazelbrook, Upper Kilmacud Road, Dundrum, Dublin 14

Grange View Road, Clondakin, Dublin 22
Road doesn’t appear in search results, only Grove Green Court, Close Walk and Way

Castlefarm, Shankill, Co Dublin

Booterstown Hall, Booterstown Avenue, Blackrock, Co Dublin

Fort William, Mount Merrion Road, Blackrock, Co Dublin

Gateway Apt, Belmarnine, Newtown Little, Stepaside, Dublin 18

Meadow Court, Stepaside Park, Stepaside, Co Dublin

Academy Buildings, Parkwest, Dublin 12

, Loretta Abbey, Grange Road, Rathfarnham, Dublin 14

, Goldstone Court, Clougher Road, Crumlin, Dublin 12


Block C, Lansdowne Valley, Slievebloom Road, Drimnagh, Dublin 12

Belgove Park, Mount Prospect, Clontarf, Dublin 3

Lucerne, Castle Avenue, Clontarf, Dublin 3

The Willows, Grattan Wood, Hole in the Wall, Donamede Dublin 13

\Garrison Mews, Loughlinstown, Co Dublin

Sefton Hall, Foxrock, Dublin 18

, Castlecourt, Kilgobbin Wood, Sandyford, Dublin 18

The Tramyard, Block G, spa road, Inchicore, Dublin 8

Cedarbrook Way, Cherry Orchard, Ballyfermot, Dublin 10

, Block C, Metropolitan Apt, Inchicore road, Dublin 8

Emmet Lodge, Emmett Court, Inchicore, Dublin 8

The Millrace, Martins row, Chapelizod, Dublin 20

Tara Hill Road, Rathfarnham, Dublin 16

Marley House, Taylors Hill, Rathfarnham, Dublin 16

, Frances Court, Marks Alley, Dublin 8

, The Granary, Longs Place, Dublin 8

Old Kilmainham Village, Bow Lane West, Dublin 8

Viking Harbour, Ushers Quay, Dublin 8

Millenium Tower, Charlotte Quay Dock, Dublin 4

Temple Hall, Mount St Annes Phase 2, Milltown, Dublin 6


, Woodleigh Ash, Highfield Road, Dublin 6

Berkley, Pembroke Square, Upper Grand Canal Street, Dublin 4

Rathgar Court, Rathgar Road, Dublin 6

Buskey Park House, Terenure, Dublin 6W

The Shrewsbury, Donnybrook Castle, Donnybrook , Dubblin 4

Fields Terrace, Ranelagh, Dublin 6


Cowper Hall, Mount St Annes Phase 2, Milltown, Dublin 6

Temple Hall, Mount St Annes Phase 2, Milltown, Dublin 6

Fashion City Ballymount, Dublin 24

Kilakee Walk, Firhouse, Dublin 24

Killininny Cottage, Firhouse, Dublin 24

Tymon North Lawn, Tallaght, Dublin 24

tullibardine

Why should Garmin care about a backwater like Ireland?
Very few customers,
No postcodes,
Ever changing road systems,
Ghost buildings and estates,
and they can't be bothered putting up decent road signs.

ejmaztec

tullibardine wrote: »

Why should Garmin care about a backwater like Ireland?
Very few customers,
No postcodes,
Ever changing road systems,
Ghost buildings and estates,
and they can't be bothered putting up decent road signs.

Surprisingly enough, as well as serving the Irish sat-nav customers, all mapping companies have to cater for visitors to Ireland as well.

It's only in recent years that ther have been significant changes in Irish road systems. Ghost buildings and estates aren't relevant, as these exist all over the world. You probably wouldn't need road-signs with a sat-nav.

Are you just annoyed because your bridge isn't marked as a place of interest?

Jip

Not a direct comment on the poster with the list of addresses that he/she can't find, but often you need to search using city/town etc rather than address and you'll find it. Plus you can also see an address on the map and you can tap it and it will take you there.

channelsurfer2

i bought a garmin 200w 2 years ago and used it in wales. dam thing never wanted to bring me on a primary road at all. it insisted on using the b roads and at one stage i ended up a narrow country lane in snowdonia on the mountain. eventually i gave up and bought a road map.... much more realiable.
it still insists on sending me from kinnegad to edenderry to get to dublin from tullamore.

nompere

" ...never wanted to bring me on a primary road at all. it insisted on using the b roads and at one stage i ended up a narrow country lane ..."

That happened to me in the Sperrin mountains in winter a couple of years ago - it was a bit scary. When I got home I reset the machine so that the routes it chose were the "quickest" rather than "shortest".

ejmaztec

channelsurfer2 wrote: »

i bought a garmin 200w 2 years ago and used it in wales. dam thing never wanted to bring me on a primary road at all. it insisted on using the b roads and at one stage i ended up a narrow country lane in snowdonia on the mountain. eventually i gave up and bought a road map.... much more realiable.
it still insists on sending me from kinnegad to edenderry to get to dublin from tullamore.

Sometimes, TomTom's are no better, telling me that I'm not actually driving on the road, but instead showing me driving through fields 50 metres away. It just seems that some areas get screwed up during the mapping process. I've been guided into farmyards in Bavaria, instead of along roads, and other stupid things like being told to turn right off a main-road into what turns out to be a crescent, which rejoins the very same main road a couple of hundred yards away.:rolleyes:

Jip

nompere wrote: »

That happened to me in the Sperrin mountains in winter a couple of years ago - it was a bit scary. When I got home I reset the machine so that the routes it chose were the "quickest" rather than "shortest".

Exactly, issues people are having seem to be the way they have the unit set up or how they're using it.