Jump to content
Chapala.com Webboard

Need a GPS for car


Recommended Posts

You can purchase gps here in Mexico (Best Buy in Guad, eg) but in general they are more expensive than NOB. We've always bought ours on Amazon.com and always Garmin LMT (lifetime maps and traffic) with North America maps (includes Canada, US and Mexico). Lifetime maps gives you free updates via download. Traffic not much use down here but very useful NOB. You might also inquire around about a used one. I have sold two of my previous gps locally so that I could upgrade to a larger screen. Both went quickly.

We have TomTom built in nav system in our new car and it is, IMHO, of minimal utility. No comparison to Garmin.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I use an old Garmin Nuvi. Works great. Garmin used Navteq for the mapping software and they seen very up to date in Mexico. Bought a second one for our other car on Ebay last year used for $35. Software available as a lifetime update purchase on line or by the year. Also (don't quote me) pirate updates available on ebay for under $20 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

7 hours ago, Alpha1 said:

http://www.mio.com/

 

Seems to be a popular brand at Costco. States does Mexico, Canada and US.

However:

ban on portable GPS units

 

 

 

I needed a GPS to navigate in Guadalajara. I asked Spencer at S & S auto where was the best place to buy one locally. He said Best Buy in Guadalajara. I went there and asked them which was the best GPS for Guadalajara. They said MIO. I bought one and it is terrible-I am ready to give it away. Several times I have had to hire a taxi in Guadalajara to take me out of the mess that my MIO has put me in. My partner has a Microsoft cell phone. Sometimes the GPS in it is excellent sometimes it isn't. We usually use Google maps with it but recently it failed miserably.

Buyer beware.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks everyone.  I believe a friend is going to loan me hers for my trip to the States to see how I like it.  If so, I will just wait and purchase one there.  Thanks for the information about Garmin ... it does look like that will be the way to go.  I would just try using Google maps on my phone if I had one but still have the old fashion flip type phone as we don't use it except for emergencies when we are out and about. :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

16 hours ago, cedros said:

I needed a GPS to navigate in Guadalajara. I asked Spencer at S & S auto where was the best place to buy one locally. He said Best Buy in Guadalajara. I went there and asked them which was the best GPS for Guadalajara. They said MIO. I bought one and it is terrible-I am ready to give it away. Several times I have had to hire a taxi in Guadalajara to take me out of the mess that my MIO has put me in. My partner has a Microsoft cell phone. Sometimes the GPS in it is excellent sometimes it isn't. We usually use Google maps with it but recently it failed miserably.

Buyer beware.

If it's that bad why not return it to Best Buy?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have used my android phone in several countries.

A few years ago it was not so accurate in Mexico but in the last year it has been.

Google maps has a talking direction mode.

I have used it to go to places I already know where to go in Guadalajara and surprisingly it showed me a quicker routes. One even shaving 20 minutes off a trip from Chapala to Zapopan.

 

I use Google maps and waze. Both free. Both have voice direction. I even give voice commands when in Google maps and the street view let's me see what I should see when approaching the location.

 

I used a dedicated GPS before but got frustrated at having to update it. And paying for other country modules. I finally gave it up when after a year I had to buy updates.

If you have a friend with a smart phone try it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, Alpha1 said:

If it's that bad why not return it to Best Buy?

They won't take it back.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 7 months later...
On 2016-05-20 at 11:01 AM, Alpha1 said:

http://www.mio.com/

 

Seems to be a popular brand at Costco. States does Mexico, Canada and US.

However:

ban on portable GPS units

 

 

 

So instead of trying to do something about stopping cows, horses, donkeys, cars with no lights that can't keep up to the speed accessing the highways, they thought it was a bright idea to ban gps. Oh Mexico...?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Can't speak to their car maps but the maps for the Garmin GPS on my BMW motorcycle are full of errors and not only in Mexico.  For example, on a recent 4K miles road trip to New Mexico, AZ, and a circle route in Old Mexico, the thing mis-identified roads that have been paved for decades as unpaved, routed to towns totally wrong and would have gotten me thoroughly lost had I not carefully research routes beforehand using Google maps and printed out some critical areas to take with me.

Coming out of Tepic, it said that libre 15 was unpaved and tried to route me to PV to go home.  It misrouted through Durango.  

In New Mexico, it couldn't find a well known road between Cloudcroft and Ruidoso, then identified it as unpaved (40 years or more since it was paved), then misrouted between Ruidoso and Mountainaire, etc.  It tried to send me to Los Alamos to go to the Taos area and didn't know of the existence of the Santa Fe bypass that has been there for nearly 20 years.

The thing cost me nearly $600 U.S. and is basically worthless.  Updating frequently hasn't helped.  The mapping isn't even up to the level of Rand McNally, let alone Google maps, which I find to be far more accurate here in Mexico.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

49 minutes ago, Mainecoons said:

Can't speak to their car maps but the maps for the Garmin GPS on my BMW motorcycle are full of errors and not only in Mexico.  For example, on a recent 4K miles road trip to New Mexico, AZ, and a circle route in Old Mexico, the thing mis-identified roads that have been paved for decades as unpaved, routed to towns totally wrong and would have gotten me thoroughly lost had I not carefully research routes beforehand using Google maps and printed out some critical areas to take with me.

Coming out of Tepic, it said that libre 15 was unpaved and tried to route me to PV to go home.  It misrouted through Durango.  

In New Mexico, it couldn't find a well known road between Cloudcroft and Ruidoso, then identified it as unpaved (40 years or more since it was paved), then misrouted between Ruidoso and Mountainaire, etc.  It tried to send me to Los Alamos to go to the Taos area and didn't know of the existence of the Santa Fe bypass that has been there for nearly 20 years.

The thing cost me nearly $600 U.S. and is basically worthless.  Updating frequently hasn't helped.  The mapping isn't even up to the level of Rand McNally, let alone Google maps, which I find to be far more accurate here in Mexico.

 

If it were my GPS. I would be talking to Garmin customer service. I have used a Garmin for the last ten years to drive from Ontario and to many places in Mexico, and around Guad,  They have worked well, not prefect !!! But well enough that I have always got to where I wanted to go.. I would not leave home without mine.. 

I do have a couple of apps on my iPhone, they work but don't come close to a stand alone Garmin GPS.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The thing works fine, the mapping software is poor.  They've been advised of all these and a number of other serious errors and did not respond.

The thing is integrated with the monitoring functions of the bike and thus is useful for a number of other things.  But as a GPS it is of limited value.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...