GPS Pricing Deal Fest - Post that good price or deal here

[gefr]

Originally Posted by crazybrit

I'm seeing a lot of GPSMap 276c threads on various Craigslists from www.zxcok.com, seems similar. Agree, odd.

I paid my lesson quite dearly. Cheers.

[mac inger]

You did ? What happened ?

[DRZ Charlie]

A Garmin 276c for $180.00 should be the first clue that its fraud. Lately they have been on ebay for between $600 & $800 bucks.

[crazybrit]

Originally Posted by DRZ Charlie

A Garmin 276c for $180.00 should be the first clue that its fraud.

That's a bit harsh plus hindsight is 20/20 I just saw a 276c for sale on Craigslist in San Diego, $50. Battery wasn't working but worked fine via external. Expect it was the usual battery needed a hard/external charge. Guy called me and had just sold it. Deals do happen. I got my 478 2 months ago for $250.

[DRZ Charlie]

Yep your right. I didn't mean to come off that harsh and I can see that it did, sorry about that.

It's just that a brand new 276c won't even be close to that price. I got mine about a year ago for $275, but since then they've steadily climbed in value.

[crazybrit]

Originally Posted by DRZ Charlie

It's just that a brand new 276c won't even be close to that price. I got mine about a year ago for $275, but since then they've steadily climbed in value.

Not sure they have climbed in value. You probably got a deal a year ago. The 276/376/478 is one of the few items that seems to have bucked the rule that 2 year old electronics is basically worth 1/3 original price. As far as eBay value, I agree that anything for bids goes for $500-600 but I've seen a few listed with BIN in the $250-300 range lately (seller not realizing what they are worth), you need to be on the gas to snap one up.

[TAPnTX]

West Marine has the Garmin 76cx's back on sale for $179. This is a great GPS that is way more versatile than any of the newer Garmins.

Been using one for about 7 years and they are rock solid, and will use all the current maps available to Garmins.

[Emmbeedee]

Originally Posted by TAPnTX

West Marine has the Garmin 76cx's back on sale for $179. This is a great GPS that is way more versatile than any of the newer Garmins.

At the risk of firing up another pissing contest, I would not say that the 76Cx is way more versatile than modern Garmins. It may be more useful to you with its power connector, and tracks which keep the colour they are transferred in, but the new generations are faster, have higher detail on their screens, allow wireless transfer of routes, tracks and waypoints, and many other advantages.

Granted, USB only power is not an advantage, but that's the only drawback in my opinion.

[TAPnTX]

Originally Posted by Emmbeedee

At the risk of firing up another pissing contest, I would not say that the 76Cx is way more versatile than modern Garmins. It may be more useful to you with its power connector, and tracks which keep the colour they are transferred in, but the new generations are faster, have higher detail on their screens, allow wireless transfer of routes, tracks and waypoints, and many other advantages.

Granted, USB only power is not an advantage, but that's the only drawback in my opinion.

Give me specifics of the unit you are speaking of.


Todd

[Emmbeedee]

Originally Posted by TAPnTX

Give me specifics of the unit you are speaking of.


Todd

I have both a 62S and an Oregon 550T and there's no way I would give up those just for the power connector. In fact my wife and I sold our 76CSx and 60CSx units a month after buying the Oregons.

[Nata Harli]

Originally Posted by WhiteAndBlue

Amazon.com offers the Garmin nuvi 1390LMT 4.3" Widescreen Portable GPS Navigation System for $149 now. That's a good price.

$188 today. But, the bad thing about these is they have ads that pop up on the screen periodically. I keep getting ads for Red Lobster, Shell, and some motel chain that pop up. I can find no way to turn this "feature" off.

I know Garmin is hurting, but selling ads ... WTF?

[TAPnTX]

Originally Posted by Emmbeedee

I have both a 62S and an Oregon 550T and there's no way I would give up those just for the power connector. In fact my wife and I sold our 76CSx and 60CSx units a month after buying the Oregons.

Your kidding right!!!! I had an Oregon 400 series for a very short while. That unit made me consider other brands as Garmin keeps dumbing down their units. For under $200 US the 76cx or 60cx are very hard to beat for a unit that can do just about anything and still be visible under just about any lighting condition. I never use the back lighting in the woods or on the road unless at night, and I get over a week of 8 hour days on a set of NiMH 2800 batteries.

Of course I cant put a pic of my kids on the screen or see 3d info, but to follow a track or route that is 100% visible in any light condition is what I want a GPS for. I dont need it answering my phone, or being able to transfer routes while out on the road. And as far as the Touch screens, I will take visibility over convenience any day. That touch screen creates too many visibility problems. I think the Oregon 400 line was probably the shortest lived GPS unit that Garmin ever produced. I know the 550's were supposed to be better, but according to the reviews and what I witnessed in the store with one, it was nominally better nothing like the old 60/76 screens.

In the end I am very happy with the 76CX 76CSX line, it is easy to use, very clear screen, and incredibly low power consumption. I considered the 62s and the 78s , but after playing with them in the store, I realized it was not for me. And as far as durability, I would destroy mounts, and never the unit. Now if Ram could make a mount that was as solid we might actually have an indestructible pair.

In the end if you are happy with it, that is all that really counts anyway.

Todd

[Emmbeedee]

Originally Posted by TAPnTX

Your kidding right!!!!

No, I'm not kidding. I use the 62S most of the time on the bike and it's ability to use multiple maps loaded in separate files, 1.7 gigabytes of storage space vs the 76 which has none built in, the 65 K colours vs the 76 which has 256, the profiles which allow you to configure the unit in multiple ways and switch very quickly between them, 2000 waypoints, 200 routes, 10,000 point track log, 200 tracks, 3 axis tilt compensated electronic compass, high speed usb connector, unit to unit transfer, paperless geocaching friendly...

Again, there's no doubt that the 60/76 model is great, but it doesn't fit my definition of "way more versatile".

[TAPnTX]

Originally Posted by Emmbeedee

No, I'm not kidding. I use the 62S most of the time on the bike and it's ability to use multiple maps loaded in separate files, 1.7 gigabytes of storage space vs the 76 which has none built in, the 65 K colours vs the 76 which has 256, the profiles which allow you to configure the unit in multiple ways and switch very quickly between them, 2000 waypoints, 200 routes, 10,000 point track log, 200 tracks, 3 axis tilt compensated electronic compass, high speed usb connector, unit to unit transfer, paperless geocaching friendly...

Again, there's no doubt that the 60/76 model is great, but it doesn't fit my definition of "way more versatile".

Wait wait you are wrong the X models will use up to 4gb memory, they come with a 1gb micro sd card like your 62s. In fact I have 6 mapsets in my 76cx Topo and CN and some hybrid maps. And they are all selectable for all or just one at a time.

Ok so you got me the 76cx does 1000 way points, 50 routes and 10k track points. The best thing is I dont have to go out to the main menu to select different pages. And of course it has a water proof power connection and the case is more durable than the Oregons or the 62 :) I know this for fact as I had one fly out of the cradle (Garmin) at 70 on the highway. It never missed a beat other than some scratches it worked fine. But for less than $200 it still is a better deal than the 62 or the 550 for more than double the price....lol just saying ;)

Todd

[Emmbeedee]

Originally Posted by TAPnTX

Wait wait you are wrong the X models will use up to 4gb memory, they come with a 1gb micro sd card like your 62s.

I never said it wasn't possible to use memory on the 60/76, just that they have none built in. The Oregon, Dakota, Colorado, 62/78 all have built-in memory, in addition to the micro sd slot.

And FYI, the 62/78 can be configured to have exactly the same menu style as the 60/76. It's called the 'Classic' profile.

And on your 76, yes, you can have multiple maps on the unit, and display one or more individually, but they are not separate files. They are all loaded into one file, uploaded to the unit's micro sd card.

But more modern Garmins can have many separate map files loaded so if you need to make a minor change to the mapset, you don't need to go back to square one and reload all your maps.