Sat Nav Buying Help!

Jokaty82

Hi,

I am after a Sat Nav. Ideally looking at models around the £59.99 - £69.99 mark. I know this is the cheap basic end, but I wont use it a lot and so dont want to spend oodles on it.
I find a lot of the reviews mind boggling, in that they confilict each other. As I dont know a lot about them I dont know which one to get. Tesco seem to have 4-5 within this price range.

Can anyone help. Key things are spotting cameras, being reliable as in not taking ages to recalculate a route if I go wrong. Easy to navigate through, clear instructions etc.

Thanks xx

wba31

I have no experience of the cheaper sat navs, Ive always believed it was worth paying the extra for things.

I originally bought a Tomtom XL with Europe maps on in 2009. it was a nice, easy to use device, cost about £120, was awesome. It died dramatically in November of last year. I looked into another Tomtom on Amazon, and the new ones have really poor reviews. A lot of people recommended Garmin sat navs, as they have traffic updates for free.

I, like you, didnt ever use the sat nav all that much, however i appreciate a good sat nav when i do use it. I'm not saying you cannot spend £60ish on a good sat nav as i have not had good nor bad experience with one like that, but trying to help you from my experience, garmin are better than tomtom at the moment if that helps. I found user reviews on Amazon really helpful...

[Deleted User]

Navigon 1400. Cost £70 from Argos last November. Best budget Sat Nav I've ever used.

bigjl

Have tried a few different SatNavs over the years and to be honest the Tom Tom is the best, I have a cheap widescreen that I got on sale last year, that is a NavMan, i use it purely because it has RDS to warn about traffic jams, it also does Europe without switching maps like on my old Tom Tom one with the removable SD card.

However I still feel that TomToms are a lot better, quicker to change direction, picks up the satellites better.

i know some who have had the really cheap ones, and they say they work OK, just not as good as a TomTom.

In all honesty the average TomTom works almost aswell as some full on fitted systems, such as the VDO Dayton used by the Ambulance service and previously used by Addison Lee, the newer systems look at lot better with proper birds eye view etc, not just the basic lines viewed from above in the early versions.

Bob_Bridges

Have a look at Mio Navman Spirit 470 - currently on amazon at 89.99

Review link below

http://www.greenmotor.co.uk/2010/11/mio-spirit-470-satnav-review.html

Bob

bengalknights

Tomtom Go very easy to use and i maanged to pick mine up from makro for £80 when they was doing the clearance deals Garmin also good but as mine broke after a year i wouldnt get another one.

no-oneknowsme

I bought a sat nav from Asda called "My Guide" . Think it was around £45 ?

Totally useless !! Wouldnt recommend it at all.

Takes forever to recalculate the route if you take a wrong turn , the voice giving the directions is also very hard to understand etc.

OH has a Garmin which is excellent !

I see they have some garmin in TJ Hughes for £69.99.

Stigy

Avoid anything by Binatone at all costs! I bought one a while ago and it was rubbish. The first one had a distorted screen so I gave it the benefit of the doubt and had it replaced. The replacement's screen was fine, it just couldn't navigate! I once used it to travel a route that I already knew, and it's just as well I did know the route otherwise I'd have got lost and contravened several No Entry signs etc, lol. I foolishly replaced this sat nav when it broke, with an updated version fro Binatone which done exactlt the same thing!

I now have an RAC Sat Nav which seems okay so far! I tend not to use sat navs much, but I find them better than maps if you're not familiar with an area as you don't get lost as easily. More for the wife's benefit

[Deleted User]

The Navigon 1400 which I got is quick at re-routing. E.g if you miss a turning, it re-routes instantly telling you to take next turning if it leads back etc. I've had a cheap one before that would take ages to re-route then it would end up telling me to do a U-turn which is not really suitable on a busy main road.

Also it gives you the choice of 2 or 3 routes so you can avoid motorways, duel carriageways etc. And it lets you have a turn by turn review of the journey before you start.

I hear the budget basic TomTom doesn't let you review a route, meaning you have to drive blind not knowing which way it's going to take you. Not sure if that bit is true though.