Are you brand-loyal to Garmin?

Started with Magellan and didnt really like it, switched to Garmin (Nuvi765T) and have never looked back and wont.

Over 15 years ago I was looking for a marine GPS and was flying in a private plane. The pilot had a portable Garmin about the size of a cigar box on the dashboard of the plane as we headed to the Bahamas.

That sold me, and I purchased a Garmin 65 for my boat a short time later. That cost $995.00 and had no graphics at all. Just lat/long, speed, COG and other numerical information.

I still use that unit to feed position information to a plotter today. During the year 2000 'crisis' that model 65 did lock up as the century turned over. Garmin took it back, uploaded new software and sent it back.

I was impressed with the customer support long, long after the initial sale.
Now I have a Nuvi, and like it.
Someday hopefully they will make a single unit that will handle land and marine use with equial utility.

Yep, I'm a Garmin man all the way.

I am a Garmin man, but only for reason of quality.

I've tried Magellan products and came away disappointed. The same too with Tom Tom. I do appreciate the "simple" way Garmin presents the data you need at the time you need it, without too much distraction with icons and hundreds of options.

While I would like more options from my Garmin (don't we all?), it just works.

I like the Garmin unit, very much. I also like the Magellan and LG units I own. The TomTom has given me some grief from time to time and so has the LG (the LG is primarily hardware releated issues). The Magellan is a great unit but has a super slow refresh rate while driving. Even after refreshing the firmware and installing a new map. The Garmin I have to say, wins from the four different models I own in terms of UI, and map info. It's not perfect but is best overall.

So far, I've only bought Garmin products.

Yes I am a loyal Garmin fan and always will be.

My entire family is Garmin loyal

I have had two Garmins and have used them from the East Cost to the West Cost and Hawaii . To be able to find a Gas Station when low on gas is a real plus just one click of a button and it takes you there. Finding a restaurant when your on the road is not hard, but finding one that has a particular type of food is easy with a Garmin.

I have a Garmin Nuvi, a Kenwood GPS(Built into Subaru Tribeca), a TomTom 920 and a Garmin GPS for hiking. The Kenwood will get you where you are going, most of the time. If you are in rural areas it will tell you that "guidance cannot be provided in this area". The TomTom is better than the Garmin in my point of view. The Garmin sometimes will show my car as being in the field beside the road I am driving on. I have placed the TomTom and the Garmin in the same car and the TomTom seems to be faster when the route changes (because of a detour). The TomTom maps are easy to update and the TomTom IQ routes give me a more accurate ETA. I hope this helps. If you know someone that has a TomTom and a Garmin, try a side by side test before you buy.

I own a 750, 755 and a 255.
Appreciate all unit, have one lifetime map which I appreciate.

Loyal to armin yes as long as prices remains not much higher than competition for a reliable product.

Definately. I have had Magellan, Lowrance, Tom-tom and Garmin units. None of the other units held a candle to Garmin. I will never buy anything other than Garmin.

I am as well, my nuvi is my first and only, and i rely on it all the time. I travel fulltime in my motorhome, and it's indespensable. Wish they had road clearances, but it is what it is. Friends have tom toms, and magellans, and both have had issues. I'm very pleased with mine.

CAYMAN ISLANDS/March 16, 2010/PR Newswire/ - Garmin Ltd. (NASDAQ: GRMN) announces that its board of directors has unanimously approved moving the place of incorporation of the company from the Cayman Islands to Switzerland. Garmin’s shareholders will be asked to vote in favor of the proposed change in place of incorporation, also known as a redomestication, at a shareholders meeting, which is expected to be held on May 20, 2010. The redomestication will also be subject to approval of the Grand Court of the Cayman Islands. If the redomestication is approved by Garmin shareholders and the Grand Court of the Cayman Islands, it is expected that a new Swiss company, also called Garmin Ltd., would replace the existing Cayman Islands company as the ultimate public holding company of the Garmin group and each shareholder will receive one share of the Swiss company for each share held of the Cayman Islands company.

I am loyal, so far, about Garmin GPS. I hope that I continue to support their products.

yes

Reasonable prices, especially after a couple of months, and superior customer service.

Very satisfied with three units so far. Glitches are corrected in a reasonable time (imo). That is all that can be asked of a company.

I like Garmin because of the way one enters an address. Last time I checked both Tom Tom and Magellan required the state, city and address in that order. Garmins always allowed address search without the city.

That feature saves a lot of time and brain cells.

I have owned several and all have been great.

i considered myself brand loyal to garmin and i would recommend it to anyone.

It depends on if anything better comes out. If google were to ever make a stand alone gps unit with their navigation and maps I think I'd have to switch but at the moment garmin is the company to beat!

My Garmin 255w is the first GPS unit I've purchased before and it was between this or a Tomtom 730 that I was deciding which to buy. And although I really like the customization that Tomtom offers, I much preferred Garmin's menus and interface and also the Garmin battery didn't die nearly as fast as it did in the Tomtom.

Having said that, I would like my Garmin even more if it only had some customization options like Tomtom does and allowed more street detail on the maps. Mostly its just the little things about Garmin that annoy me, like having to press back repeatedly to get back to the map if you're several layers deep in the menus. And also not having a clock in the 3d navigation screen while driving. It annoys me to no end to have to hit menu to see the time and then having to hit 'where to' to go back to the map while driving.

If Garmin could just fix simple things like that plus more customization of interface, they would have a great product.

SOMEONE ELSE makes a GPS?

You don't have to keep pressing the back button repeatedly.Just hold it down for a second or two and it will go back.The clock thing I dis-like too.I put a suggestion into Gamin about that.It needs to show on the main screen when navigating.

So far I've only bought Garmins but I wouldn't exclude other brands in future purchases.

Wow! Thanks awesome! Thanks for the tip. Didn't know that.

I own a 660 and 680 and my 660 is still working like a charm even after almost 3 1/2 years.

My car has its own clock and all I need is the time of arrival which my Garmin 750 is very good at. Consider buying a small LED stick-on clock (under $5.00) and place it in the car. Or, you could buy a new car with a clock in it. life can be so simple at times.

cheers

I know its not a huge deal, but it is an annoying detail though and I don't think it would take much for Garmin to make that minor adjustment in their interface. Just get them to place that same clock from the main window in the same top right position in the 3d navigation and even overhead map screen and viola, problem solved and everyone's happy.

Sure I could buy an addon clock, but its still abit easier to just look at your GPS and get all the info in one place rather than looking at your GPS and then another clock if you want to know the time. The same when you're walking around, its not difficult to press the screen a couple of times to get the time, but since that space isn't used in the map screen anyways, why not keep the clock there?

Also another couple of peevs I have with my 255w is that:

1) in overhead map view, the car icon doesn't automatically re-centre as you're driving along and you go off screen, meaning you have to keep touching the screen to keep your car icon in view.

2) in overhead map view, you have to keep swiping the screen to scroll the map when it would be SO much easier to have a D-pad type of scroll interface that would allow you to hold down the button and allow for continous map scrolling. Just put the D-pad in the top left corner of the unit and keep the zoom buttons in top right and that would make it rediculously easy to navigate the map.

So these are a few other things that I wish Garmin would change to make their units better. Also thanks charles for the menu tip!

It's not being "brand" loyal as much as it's confidence in what I am using....I don't care if it says garmin, Tom Tom, or Commodore 64 on the front of my unit - I know that when I hit that power button - I can get from point A to point B.

I travel for a living and have zero...I MEAN ZERO sense of direction - so I am completely dependent on my GPS - I can honestly say that I could not do what I do without my GPS - so needless to say - my GPS is important to me - it HAS TO WORK!

So when I turn on my unit - I know how it functions and I am confident in where it is taking me - My first experience was with a garmin 350 and I have never, NEVER had an issue with it - it's never frozen - I've never had to call support - sometimes the directions are a bit off...but it's always been close - so when it came time to get another GPS - I simply went with what worked - so I got another garmin (1690) and thus far - I have had no issues with that one....

So, until garmin proves to be an issue - I imagine I will be staying with them.

wow I rambled on there...sorry

Garmin all the way

I always chuckle when I see someone say this. What the heck did you do before GPS to "make your living"? It's not like these auto units have been around for many years. 6-7, maybe 8 years TOPS since they've been getting mainstream in price, availability and societal acceptance. What did everyone do in the '90s? LOL

Thomas Brothers. I am an employee in a very mobile industry. We always used Thomas Brothers maps, and bought new ones each year. I'm a desk jock now in the same company but to this day, I still keep a Thomas Bros mapbook in my vehicle. GPS isn't perfect, and sometimes I have to fall back to the map book.

I am loyal enough to include them in my research every time there is a need for a new unit. Currently we own 2 garmin and are somewhat dissatisfied with their costumer support.

I'm loyal to Garmin

I have been happy with my Garmin and have not looked elsewhere.

I own 3 Garmins and have never had any other brand. Last time I shopped for a new unit, I never even considered anything but a Garmin.

My Garmin 265WT showed a trip through Washington, DC, to be a 1-hour trip. It turned out to take 2 hours 45 minutes. I could have picked a better route on my own if I hadn't wanted to try out the Garmin.

The traffic indication was worthless.

Just saw on Garmins Facebook page that they are telling people to send emails to social.support@garmin.com.

The email address they told me is product.support@garmin.com

Anyone have experience with the first email address?

It's harder for Garmin to nail people down, particularly in comparison to everyone's favourites, the cell carriers...

The cell carriers lock you in for two years or so at a time. But look at the pent-up love ATT generated with iPhone users, and how many jumped at the opportunity to get an iPhone from anybody but ATT...

Lifetime maps aren't really a lock-in as they are device specific. If Garmin made lifetime maps OWNER specific, that might provide an incentive to stick with Garmin when upgrading.

SO I guess they have to build brand loyalty the old fashioned way -- by providing good products and great support.

Is that so much to ask for?

Have tried others.. But as you can see from the signature.. I'm all garmin..With exception of the 2 puck GPS's I use for Amateur Radio APRS

Absolutely! I own a Nuvi 660 and an Edge 250.

I owned a TomTom GO 930 before I bought my current Nuvi 1490LMT. I switched company because I hated the fact TomToms have a slightly curved top and Garmin now shows POIs without me having to press the + to show them all the time.

All I've ever had or plan on getting are Garmin

I've actually got a Tomtom and don't use it. My Garmin is so much better all around. A friend was looking for a GPS last month, mentioned Tomtom and I told him forget about them and find a Garmin instead. He did, and thanked me for my advice.

I guess I am. I only have two of them and have never had to call for service or help.
I definitely would buy a Garmin again..

Yes. What are the practical alternatives? OTOH, I don't see upgrades of our GPS instruments until Garmin makes significant & meaningful technical advances in each of our products.

I've had GPS's for about five years, first a StreetPilot C530, which I sold when I upgraded to my current Nuvi 1450. I like Garmin, I trust Garmin, and in the five years I've had Garmin, I've never had a problem with either box. So, yeah, unless something changes, I'll stick with Garmin.And they're a U.S. company.

When I first brought a Auto GPS I took out all the top models here in New Zealand for a test drive, Top 4 here are Garmin, TomTom, Navman & Uniden, I settled on nuvi 660, I sold that 18 months ago, did the same again & brought & a nuvi 3760, this month I repeated the process and brought, wait for it I down graded to nuvi 2455LMT, things I didn't need were bluetooth, & a glass screen. This time the only one to come close to Garmin was the TomTom GO LIVE 2050, but things were missing like being able to see all my personal close by POI's in a list (I only have about 7000 of them), the 2 calculators, the size was way too big, it had a glass screen (a personal hate) & there were others, so it's back to Garmin. So I love to hate Garmin, customer service at both Garmin and TomTom is great, both are really helpful.