# Sat Nav- best place to get a good deal?



## Luckycharm (14 Nov 2007)

Going to get my Dad a Sat nav for xmas, sister boyfriend has one and he loves it. Any recommendations on where to get one? Looking for an OK one not a top of the range one at a good price - any recommendations on what one to get?


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## colm (14 Nov 2007)

Halfords do a good selection of them.


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## Satanta (14 Nov 2007)

As for where to buy one.... they seem to be popping up everywhere these days. Halfords certainly have a decent selection, but not sure if any supplier is especially good for deals/low costs. Your best bet is to narrow down to one or two of interest and look for the best price you can get on those (using online prices, calling a few shops etc. you might be able to save a bit).

As for what to go with....
I have a Garmin Nuvi 300. 

Garmin have a very good name in the market and I'd happily agree, not a single complaint on it. It's got a nice clear screen (not huge, but certainly more than large enough), good clear voice commands and a decent battery life if it's required. 

They (Garmin units) come with the NavTeq maps (usually the mapping is the most important factor in deciding on a sat nav - with NavTeq [in the past at least - been a while since I've looked at the market] the best mapping for Ireland).

The Nuvi 300 is on the lower end of the scale (it doesn't come with some of the MP3/Bluetooth/etc add ons and bells and whistles), but for simply giving directions it does the job great. 

(No sat nav will ever be perfect. Given the number of road changes/new roads/etc the minute a map is produced it is out of date. As long as a user applies a little common sense [e.g. if a new road has opened ignore the sat nav directions and take the new route instead] they are a very handy tool)


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## Luckycharm (15 Nov 2007)

colm said:


> Halfords do a good selection of them.


 
That link did not work is there a link to the Irish website might have a look there thanks.


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## kazerzzz (22 Nov 2007)

hi im also lookin for a sat nav as a gift willing to pay 300-400 euro on one any recomendations?


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## Jildy (23 Nov 2007)

I would recommend www.mysatnav.ie . I have used them and found the delivery fast and it is an irish website so if there is a problem with the unit (Garmin Nuvi 360), I can drive to them and get it sorted!!



No connection - Just a happy customer!

J.


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## muzaway (23 Nov 2007)

I got a Viamichelin x970 from pixmania.ie, who seem to have a pretty good range of devices, and often has a couple on discount.

It has worked out well, though some of the features are not very good, e.g. it has a bluetooth hands free feature but you really need to shout into it to have anyone you are calling hear you.

The menu structure takes some getting used to as well, but on the whole I have enjoyed using it, and have been taken on routes I never would have known were there to get from A to B.

One thing though, and I'm not sure if it applies to other GPS units, is the due to the fact that Ireland has no postcodes you can be driven demented trying to find somewhere by entering a street name. For example, the machine seems to think that anywhere in North Dublin is in Swords. As a result you need to point to where you want to go on a map. This issue doesn't happen in countries with proper post codes, so I can't blame the product.


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## Happy_Harry (23 Nov 2007)

I have a Garmin Nuvi 360. From www.blokesstuff.com who were the cheapest at the time - but I just see they are selling their website... Guess I was lucky.. The satnav is working fine, but the bluetooth is not very good, so you can just as well go for the cheaper 350.


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## NHG (26 Nov 2007)

Just picked up a Halfords offer brochure and they have the Garmin Nuvi 200 at €229.99 and the garmin Nuvi 250W at €299.99 and the Garmin Nuvi 660FM at €459.99 - just heading off to look up other prices now as I want to buy 2 for christmas presents.


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## peno (26 Nov 2007)

Can someone tell me what the benefit is of a blue tooth sat nav?

Does it link to your car radio?

I'm just trying to figure out what the benefit is of having bluetooth with the sat nav


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## foxylady (26 Nov 2007)

kazerzzz said:


> hi im also lookin for a sat nav as a gift willing to pay 300-400 euro on one any recomendations?


 

I recently bought one on www.ibood.com it is a vdo dayton one and has all teh european maps as well as Ireland & England it cost me €201 which included postage charge of €12.   Bear in mind you need to check this site every day as its a different offer each time, but the sat navs have been repeated several times.


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## Rebelman (26 Nov 2007)

Peno - with the bluetooth sat nav you could (if your mobile phone also has bluetooth) use the sat nav as a hands free kit.
I'm not sure about linking it to your car radio - unless your car radio has bluetooth?


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## Luckycharm (26 Nov 2007)

Is garmin the best make- saw a few cheapish ones in Powercity but is it best to stay away from the cheaper brands?


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## bond-007 (26 Nov 2007)

[broken link removed]

They were over €70 cheaper inluding delivery than the leading stores. Fast delivery for €12 with an post.


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## foxylady (26 Nov 2007)

Luckycharm said:


> Is garmin the best make- saw a few cheapish ones in Powercity but is it best to stay away from the cheaper brands?


 
Stay away from powercity, full stop


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## colm (26 Nov 2007)

foxylady said:


> Stay away from powercity, full stop


 
I'll second that  LOL


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## Luckycharm (27 Nov 2007)

colm said:


> I'll second that LOL


 
Why I bought a few things there never had any really probs


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## Satanta (27 Nov 2007)

Luckycharm said:


> Is garmin the best make- saw a few cheapish ones in Powercity but is it best to stay away from the cheaper brands?


The biggest problems you might have with the "cheaper" brands is the mapping which they provide. It was a huge deal when I did a little research on Sat Nav's a few years back (anything other than NavTeq mapping was terrible in Ireland at the time) but not so sure if this is still the case.

From personal experience with Garmin they make excellent products. I've had my own little Nuvi for a while now (for work and the odd unusual trip it has been invaluable) and would strongly recommend Garmin to anyone looking to purchase a Sat Nav. Reviews of the Garmin products tend to be very positive, but no doubt a few other names are out there which would be worth considering (I just don't know what they are  ).


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## leelee (28 Nov 2007)

Any thoughts on the NavMan range as they seem to have few at lower price range?  I want a low cost for one husband for xmas - he does not do too much driving so no reason paying top end of market for one.


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## bond-007 (28 Nov 2007)

NavTeq maps are still the best. The others maps are woefully inadequate.


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## Luckycharm (6 Dec 2007)

Ok looking at   which seems to be cheapest on Pixmania is there a big difference between the 3.3" screen and 4.3" there is about €50 diff is the bigger screen worth it?


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## Satanta (6 Dec 2007)

Luckycharm said:


> ...is there a big difference between the 3.3" screen and 4.3" there is about €50 diff is the bigger screen worth it?


I'll resist the urge to say the difference is about an inch  

It's roughly a 33% increase in size, so definatly a significant increase. It probably comes down to personal preference. 

The decreased size can be handy (easy to throw in a pocket rather than leave in a glove box) but I'd personally go for the bigger size. 9 times out of 10 you'll just use the vocal directions (e.g. "in 100 meters turn left".. only one left turn ahead so no need to view the map) but it's the 1 in 10 where there are three different turns where you can be caught out. A quick glance at the screen can give a lot more information (e.g. it's the first of the lefts up ahead), but having a smaller screen will make this tougher to spot and potentially mean your eyes are diverted from the road for longer, increasing the risk.

Have a look at both in a shop if possible before buying online (or any similiar SatNav with 3.3" and 4.3" screens). Set them a distance which they will roughly be away from you in the car and see if you're happy with the smaller screen.


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## Home&away (7 Dec 2007)

Saw an ad on TV3 last night for Halfords advertising 50% off all sat nav systems until Dec 17th. In store, not online from what I can gather.


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## cerberos (7 Dec 2007)

make sure that it has MAPS loaded as a minimum and Bluetooth


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## briancbyrne (7 Dec 2007)

just bought a garmin with europen maps (which i needed) for 204 delivery included from pixmania


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## NHG (10 Dec 2007)

Hi Home&away,

Yes, saw that advert as well which said "50% sale on ALL sat nav's". And yes all was in capital letters and underlined. Went in and one model garmin (which was sold out) and one route 66 and one navman model was all that was in the 50% sale. The other satnavs were in a different cabinet.

I consider this false advertising and plan to complain.

Just been onto halfords customer service in england and transferred twice, now waiting for a lady in customer service to call me back. She has just called me back and says that the advert says UP to 50% - but the advert outside the kilkenny store does not say UP to 50%. Unfortunately I won't get up to see it again for a few days (which I am sure they will have the sign changed by then).

Did anyone else see the advert or get to read the sign?


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## Luckycharm (10 Dec 2007)

briancbyrne said:


> just bought a garmin with europen maps (which i needed) for 204 delivery included from pixmania


 
Bought 2 garmin 250s with bigger screen today €222 each from piximania how long did it take for you to get it?

Yep I saw the adds from Halfords and rang them up to be told only applied to a couple and the ones I were looking for were around €270


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## NHG (11 Dec 2007)

Just to update everyone on the hallfords 50% of ALL sat nav topic - went back  into kilkenny last night and yes they have a big red sign which says up to 50% off - the sign at the weekend was ORANGE


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## deiseboys (16 Dec 2007)

pixmania seem to be the cheapest .... and they say orders in before the 20th will be delivered before christmas.


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## Luckycharm (18 Dec 2007)

Well I got mine last sat - I had a quick play around with one. Where I live in South county dublin was not mapped - how up to date are the Irish maps?


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## bullf1979 (8 Jul 2008)

[broken link removed] cheeper that most other sites, think they must have something to do with garmin themselves,


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## mik_da_man (10 Jul 2008)

bullf1979 said:


> [broken link removed] cheeper that most other sites, think they must have something to do with garmin themselves,


 

Not really - Pixmaina, Elara and Dabs are all cheaper.
Prob more but didn't look too hard.

Mik


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