Thanks Nodak. Great price indeed. My luck woth refurbished equipment however has not been great. I have narrowed my purchase to the Garmin Nuvi 1350LMT or the 1450LMT. Both have free lifetime maps and are under $200 with a little shopping around.
I've had a Nuvi forever. The voice known as "Jill" is my favorite. One of my great amusements is to piss her off by doing something that forces her to recalculate the route -- as she is thinking about it, she says "Recalculating.." with just a hint of irritation. It's great.
And you guys thought I'd be bored in retirement....
BTW - I love the Nuvi.
A tip: you can enter a new location somewhere near where you want to force her to take you (say an interstate exit). Do this shortly after you are en route. When you save the new location (as a 'favorite' for example) the Nuvi will ask if you want to set it as a brand new route or as a waypoint in your current route. Choose the latter and Jill will reconstruct your route to where you want it.I use "Jill" too, but call her Mrs. Garmin.
Sometimes Mrs. Garmin has no sense and will want to take me a way that is so not the best. I wish she would tell me to take the tollway around Austin. I do anyway but she wants me to march right through town, motorhome and all. She also sometimes wants to abandon the faster freeway system and take me along a route that I am sure is shorter but not faster, even though I chose faster in my options. I've learned to plan my routes to at least generally force her in the right direction.
She is especially great for navigating unfamiliar city freeway systems. Or finding addresses in unfamiliar towns. Though the route there may not be the best route I always seem to get where I want to go.
..., but you do get some popup ads to help pay for the free traffic.
What!? I have used Garmins for over a decade and have never heard of pop-up ads. Are you receiving signals other than the US gov GPSs? I don't think the US gov is selling bandwith to advertisers.
A tip: you can enter a new location somewhere near where you want to force her to take you (say an interstate exit). Do this shortly after you are en route. When you save the new location (as a 'favorite' for example) the Nuvi will ask if you want to set it as a brand new route or as a waypoint in your current route. Choose the latter and Jill will reconstruct your route to where you want it.
But, there are no options to say 'use major highways as much as you can' or 'don't take a side route if you are going to come back to this highway in the next 10 or so minutes... heck, at all'....
A friend has a car with factory GPS and it has options for fastest, shortest, avoid interstates, and avoid turnpikes. I'm assuming that turnpike refers to a toll road.There should be a preferences tab on your system that will allow you to set the route to the fastest route. That should keep you on the interstates.
-- Rita
I love my GPS, but I never leave home on a multi-state trip without my hard copy Rand McNally Atlas from Walmart. You can get free state maps at the welcome centers on the interstate, but the Rand McNally is more convenient, except for the exteme back roads.
Using the GPS I feel like I don't really know where I'm going or where I've been. I do like the GPS for detailed addresses for motels, restaurants, elevation, and other points of interest.
There should be a preferences tab on your system that will allow you to set the route to the fastest route. That should keep you on the interstates.
-- Rita
Normally, you should be given multiple choices in the prefs like Fastest, Shortest, or Scenic. Just be aware that fastest and shortest may be very different, so think about it. Personally, I prefer fastest.
The newest Garmins (pricey!) claim a little AI feature that lets them gradually "learn" your preferred routes and modes of travel. Looking forward to reviews from those who will be purchasing them.
I have an older Magellan and it apparently has this feature. It works pretty well too. When I leave my subdivision, my first turn is either right or left depending on time of day (eg rush hour). It "remembers" my last route even though it cannot interpret the time of day factor.
Yeah, 'Giz' can be a little unpredictable at times. I am especially aware that sometimes she has me turning before the actual street -- but I blame the satellite for that.I have found that Mrs. Garmin frequently does not chose the fastest route, even when instructed.
There should be a preferences tab on your system that will allow you to set the route to the fastest route. That should keep you on the interstates.
-- Rita