Garmin or Magellan USA or Aust, what and where to buy?
Submitted: Sunday, Jun 17, 2007 at 13:59
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fujimiester
Hi all,
Yes you have heard and read it all but I want to hear from all you pros out there. Magellan or Garmin, looking at the XL, 600 or the 60cx,cxs Is Ebay the way to go? Do I go to GPSOZ, Prestige etc? Which unit do I purchase? Preferably a handheld unit.Intention is to do a couple of small trips next year Simpson,
Oodnadatta etc. I don't need it around the burbs. Being a copper I should know where to go.lol Yes it is a can of worms. I've just about read all the threads relating to the above. Now really confused!!!!!!!!!!!!! Help
Reply By: Member - Ian F (WA) - Sunday, Jun 17, 2007 at 14:31
Sunday, Jun 17, 2007 at 14:31
Go to Johnny appleseed website . I have the Garmin 60cs which is now superceded and only had one hickup after 9 months and garmin happily replaced the unit.
I do have an old Magellan XL but it is very slow and you have to have good map reading skills which no doubt you have.
Ian
AnswerID:
247443
Reply By: Member - John D (VIC) - Sunday, Jun 17, 2007 at 15:55
Sunday, Jun 17, 2007 at 15:55
Garmin would seem to be the way to go (not because I have one, I had a Magellan before & have found the Garmin to be far better).
If you can afford the extra couple of hundred $$$'s, why not take a look at the Quest,
www.ja-gps.com.au/garmin_quest_1.html
Comes with mapSource software for the pc, whereby you can create your own
routes and download to the Quest, it has "In car voice guidance" etc, etc.
I have found
mine to be
well worth the $$$'s.
Cheers,
John
AnswerID:
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Reply By: Mike Harding - Sunday, Jun 17, 2007 at 16:35
Sunday, Jun 17, 2007 at 16:35
Sounds like the eTrex will do what you need:
www.ja-gps.com.au/gpsprod_etrex.html
or
Site Link
Mike Harding
AnswerID:
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Reply By: The Landy - Sunday, Jun 17, 2007 at 18:11
Sunday, Jun 17, 2007 at 18:11
Hi
We recently bought the Magellan Explorist package through Anaconda. As I found it cheaper elsewhere Anaconda discounted another 10% on top of that...all up it cost about $1,080.
I find it simple to use and runs a file system similar to your desktop computer.
Good luck.....
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247486
Reply By: Member - joc45 (WA) - Sunday, Jun 17, 2007 at 18:47
Sunday, Jun 17, 2007 at 18:47
Without suggesting what sort of GPS to buy, I'd stick with an Australian supplier to ensure warranty claims are easily sorted out. These things occasionally go wrong, and shipping the thing back to the US can be an issue.
The last time i bought a Garmin (admittedly a while back), Aust offered 2 yrs warranty, but in the US, it was only 1 yr. And GME Aust only covered Aust-sold units.
Gerry
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Follow Up By: The Explorer - Sunday, Jun 17, 2007 at 22:20
Sunday, Jun 17, 2007 at 22:20
Yes - Magellan Aus are a bit nasty when it comes to warranty on US units. Faulty ‘
grey’ units seeking warranty will incur a flat repair cost of $485 plus freight. If your unit does fail in the first year (extent of Magellan warranty period) you can end up paying just a fraction more that if you purchased off them direct (depending on what unit you get and what price you pay for US unit) ...so they are hoping you get scared. One would hope the average Magellan unit would last at least 1 year without need for warrany repair, so its probably worth a chance for top end units which can be had for half price in US compared to Aus sellers i.e. you can buy another one for $485 anyway.
Back to main topic - Magellan mapping software is generally regarded as better (with respect to detail in out of town areas) than Garmin so go a Magellan 500 + Dast Topo IMHO.
Cheers
Greg
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Reply By: Member - Doug T (W.A) - Sunday, Jun 17, 2007 at 19:15
Sunday, Jun 17, 2007 at 19:15
Have a look at the Garmin links in my webpage
Doug
Site Link
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Reply By: Bonz (Vic) - Sunday, Jun 17, 2007 at 21:42
Sunday, Jun 17, 2007 at 21:42
I found armin and GPSOZ to be a great combination, Johnny Appleseed too are great people and have good package deals.
I have had 2 Garmins, the latest a 60CS and very happy with it
I found Garmin to be a little more intuitive than the Magellan units
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Follow Up By: Muddy doe (SA) - Sunday, Jun 17, 2007 at 21:48
Sunday, Jun 17, 2007 at 21:48
Judging by the current rig pic you seem unlikely to be lost Mr B!
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Follow Up By: Bonz (Vic) - Sunday, Jun 17, 2007 at 21:50
Sunday, Jun 17, 2007 at 21:50
Not a chance Muddy Not a chance
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Follow Up By: Kev M (NSW) - Monday, Jun 18, 2007 at 06:43
Monday, Jun 18, 2007 at 06:43
Bonz,
Are you going to be Roachies check navigator?? :))
I hear that he gets a bit disorientated when out of his office LOL
Cheers Kev
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Reply By: allanw - Sunday, Jun 17, 2007 at 22:38
Sunday, Jun 17, 2007 at 22:38
One thing to be aware of with the Garmin GPSMAP units at least, is that the base map included with the unit depends on where you buy it. ie if you buy it in the US it will not have any australian mapping info built in.
Of course you can still buy the OZ city Navigator etc to get the OZie maps.
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Follow Up By: fujimiester - Monday, Jun 18, 2007 at 14:56
Monday, Jun 18, 2007 at 14:56
Thanks everyone,, I'm really confused now. However I might have to start leaning towards the Garmin. Is the Garmin Quest portable? i.e. take it out of the car with you whilst walking?
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Reply By: fujimiester - Monday, Jun 18, 2007 at 15:02
Monday, Jun 18, 2007 at 15:02
Thanks for the links too.
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