Save Big On Auto GPS Units

Although prices on auto GPS units have fallen quite a bit lately, there are still ways to save hard earned cash when you buy one. Because you can spend from $150 to $900 on a GPS, using ‘price’ as a starting point is not a bad strategy.

You should wrap your mind around the market for auto GPS units a little better before investing in GPS.

Many buyers base their choices on what their friends have or on a few reviews they read online and end up buying a model that does not meet their navigation needs. As with everywhere else, knowledge is power in the world of automotive GPS also.

Let’s start by considering the features you should be looking into.

All auto GPS units show you where you are and telling how to get to destinations. They also have touch screens, a database of pre-programmed destinations (called Points of Interest, or POI’s), and pre-loaded maps, usually of at least the lower 48 United States. You can get the extra maps, saying the street names, and the real-time weather conditions and traffic alerts (with subscription) for only about $200! The Garmin nuvi 350 can do this just fine.

Some trendy features are more extensive maps, actually pronouncing street names with the directions, real-time traffic bulletins, and Bluetooth capability to name only a few .

You can get all of this for $200! If you want Bluetooth, then you can get this and the wider screen for approximately $400. The multiple point routing will cost you an extra $50 to $100.

One other example of a good mid-priced GPS is the Magellan Maestro 4250. It can do everything I’ve mentioned and it has the wider, 4.3-inch monitor. (Normal screen sizes are 3.5-inches. These are all measured on the diagonal, just like a television.)

Yet another auto GPS unit you need to be thinking about is the Tom Tom GO 920T. At around $400, the GO 920T can do everything mentioned thus far, and also it has a few features that only Tom Tom offers–such as their Map Share technology. Map Share lets users actually input information into Tom Tom’s map database that reflects current road conditions.

The Garmin Nuvi 200 is one of the least expensive auto GPS units you can buy. I would suggest this as a good starter GPS system, it’s simple enough that a friend of mine bought it as a birthday present for his mother in law who is a complete and utter technophobe.

While we’re mentioning extra features, let me make sure you know about Magellan’s deal with AAA. they have the Tour Book pre-programmed right in their device. I’m a AAA lover. So, for me that’s a great selling feature.

As you can see, there are auto GPS units to fit all budgets and needs.

Your best money saving tip would be to visit an informative website where you can check out prices and browse particular models. I can’t think of a better way to know what you’re buying when you make a decision to spend your hard earned money!

This entry was posted on Friday, August 28th, 2009 at 10:43 am and is filed under GPS. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.