14 replies to this topic

[RocketPossum]

Can anyone recommend a good, basic GPS for cars? I don't want Bluetooth, voice activation, telephony, traffic updates, or build in coffee-maker, just voice directions. Are the maps of Mexico any good? All the Garmins I look at put commercials on the screen, so they are out. How well do GPS units work here?

Thanks

[Chooch57]

Hi, GPS are just as good as the operator, I recently bought another GPS in Canada which included Maps or Canada, USA and Mexico or should I say all of the big cities of Mexico. Places like Chapala and Ajicic etc are there but it shows the main road which is good also. When travelling in Guadalajara there is lots of street with the same name so make sure you enter the right place ie, Guad, or Zapopan, Tolana etc etc
It is very easy to use and it is a Tomtom XL with a free lifetime unlimited road and maps update.

Maps update can add in further cost if they are not included in the package. I paid around $115.00 with tax in Canada.

I drove across Canada, USA, and Mexico with no difficulties using the GPS, however we did had a Trip Tick from CAA and at some points we had to make a decision to which road to take specially around the big city like New York, Houston etc.

It does not matter if it is a Garmin or Tom Tom as long as you have free life time map and road updates included with your purchase, you are in.

Always carry a road map if everything else fails.

Hope this helped a bit.

Norm

[johanson]

I use a compass which is part of my car, a map and my iPhone 4 which includes a GPS, compass, map, Etc. The screen is a little small, but, no big deal.

[lakeside101]

i have a garmin... no advertising

[tomgates]

I have a Garmin with preloaded maps of US, Can and Mex. Also lifetime maps and can update them quarterly. It is very accurate getting around Guadalajara. Funny quirk in that it has the Joco bypass but not the couple improvements on Lazaro Cardenas. No ads on mine either. The designation on the model number tells you if it has lifetime map updates, LM or LMT. But you have to read the details on Garmin's website to see if it has preloaded Mex maps.

[The traveler]

I have a Garmen for sale. It is a Nuvi 260W model. It has maps of Canada, U.S., Mexico, Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico and Virgen Islands
. It did not come with the cable to download updates but we bought one. We have the cable cord, the charger that goes in the cigarette lighter when you drive, and the holder that mounts on the windsheid.
We have not used it much and to our surprise one of our family menbers gave us a little newer model for Christmas.
It works perfectly and is in the original box with manual in English and Spanish.
It works very well in Guadalajara as long as the roads have not been turned into one ways in the opposite direction and the roads are not cordoned off for the bikers or construction.

The Garmen has to rely on what the installed map is but you know roads can change and can be blocked. However, if it can't take you directly to your destination because of a block, it will re-calculate and keep turning you towards the destination and you will get there via some detour.

The original cost was $323.35 and we have the invoice. Will sell it for $100.00 U.S. or equivalent in pesos. It has saved us getting lost in Guadalajara.
If interested please email me sm1mex@gmail.com
Thanks

[RocketPossum]

Thanks, allo.

The reviews of Garmin on Amazon complain greatly of ads, but apparently they do't show here.

[Chooch57]

Hum! I know that on my TomTom there is no adds. All maps come from the same places.

[hensley]

We have never had any ads on our Garmin either, we also used it in McAllen.

[thevalerieleigh]

I use a Garmin here and no ads. I will say that the bicimaps for Mexico are FAR better than the Garmin Mexico map. They are very outdated and do not show Cuota roads that have been completed for 4 years!

Good luck,
Valerie

[Ronnie]

Just be careful using GPS anywhere. There have been several news reports in the past year about people being led astray.

One couple from Canada driving to Las Vegas for a conference were directed to a logging road. Their camper got stuck. After a week he walked out but his body has still never been found. She was found alive a month later.

My experience with Garmin in Mexico is mixed. Where I live on the coast, my Garmin GPS with the latest maps shows me parking my car in a lagoon. The roads in the area are 40 years old but do not show up on the Garmin Maps.

[tomgates]

After a week he walked out but his body has still never been found. She was found alive a month later.

That doesn't make sense.

[Ronnie]

After a week he walked out but his body has still never been found. She was found alive a month later.

That doesn't make sense.

Ok to explain more fully: he left his wife in the camper, took the GPS and tried to walk out. But his body has never been found.

Read about it here http://www.kgw.com/n...-121629914.html

[Chooch57]

Like I said earlier, a GPS is just as good as the person using it. Common sense should prevail.

It is unfortunate that people take the wrong route and get lost with a GPS. It is still happening so a backup plan like a good road map is essential to carry just in case you do run into problems.

I did not have any major problem with my GPS driving from Canada.

[Alpha1]

Can anyone recommend a good, basic GPS for cars? I don't want Bluetooth, voice activation, telephony, traffic updates, or build in coffee-maker, just voice directions. Are the maps of Mexico any good? All the Garmins I look at put commercials on the screen, so they are out. How well do GPS units work here?

Thanks

Ensure that you get the units with LM (Lifetime Maps) in the suffix of the part number and that it includes Mexico maps. https://buy.garmin.c...hop.do?cID=401. I have an old 255w and purchased the MX maps separately, works great, and wouldn't be without it.