Garmin 3790LMT Refurb for $159.98 is back in stock again at Walmart

Thanks for letting us know about it.

Was this the top of the line unit prior to the 2012 line being announced?

Replaced by 3490/3590

Yes and if you compare it to the 3490 you will find that Garmin removed some of the 3790 features with the 3490. The maps are far more detailed on the 3790.

This link illustrates this in photos and side by side comparison:

http://www.gpspassion.com/forumsen/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=142811

Wow, I started wading through the 24 pages of posts comparing the two models in your link and left unsure as to whether folks there prefer the 34xx or the 37xx.

missed it last time thanks

The more detailed map screens and the $200 less cost were what made it a no brainer for me to choose the 3790LMT.

I think DN has both units, so maybe he will give us some sound advice comparing the 3790 to the 3490/3590. But it seems like you can't go too far wrong on a 3790LMT at this price.

thanks for the heads up

Just ordered one, and it will be here in about a week. Total cost was $175 with tax and shipping.

I still have my 1490T, and it works great. So we'll see how this new unit checks out. I'll let you know!

the 3790LMT. I have one but thinking to upgrade to the 3590LMT. It has a 5" screen, my eye sight not as good as it use to be. It has a few extras than the 3790LMT.

If it is factory refurbished by Garmin with a warranty (which is likely is) that is a great deal. I purchased such a unit for slightly more that that, which was also a great deal.

You may want to Google the 3590 before buying it. The screen is not as good as the 4.3" models. Have read some reviews and they were not very positive and down right negative about the dim screen that is hard to see in bright lite. A lot of people returned the unit and were very disappointed after using the 3490 or 3790 prior to getting the 3590.

Yes it comes with the same exact warranty from Garmin as a brand new one.

I purchased mine from Amazon.com a few months ago and I love it. I highly recommend it for this price.
I like terrain view a lot. Powered cradle wasn't so high on my list, but I wouldn't want a GPS without it now. Screen clarity is great. I've never had problem with sun glare and I have brightness set at 70%. Volume is more than adequate for me. I've never had problem with bluetooth feature.
There are a few well documented issues, but nothing major.

I have a garminfone with lifetime map update already. But this model seems great. Might order one.

If only I hadn't already spent my tax return, darn!

I have read (somewhere else - far far away) that some people have figured out how to put the 3490 firmware onto the 3790.

The FM traffic receiver is different. I think the 3490 uses HD FM versus 3790 using regular FM.

The 3490 allows an Android phone to connect to it via blue tooth so that the 3490 can get internet data for various optional services.

However, the software process to convert a 3790 into a 3490 didn't sound very simple, and one wonders if there will be future problems.

Too bad Garmin doesn't just update the 3790 firmware to allow all the 3490 features since the hardware is virtually identical.

Howard

I have said this before and I'll say it again. I sold my 3790 and now own 2 3490's. I have owned every top Garmin and the 3490 is the BEST PND ever created by Garmin. This is my personal opinion but the feature set on the 3490 makes this unit the most complete and it has HD traffic which has worked flawlessly throughout my travels whether I use it in the south, in the east or the southwest.

I love when people read a subjected review and let the reviewer convince people on what to buy. Take the 3490 for a test drive and you will quickly forget about the so call more detailed maps on the 3790.

BTW: For those interested in the 3790, Best Buy has the $160.00 price for today only.

Happy travels!

If they were in the same price range, but they are not!!! Comparing $160 vs. $400 is deal breaker for many of us.

It's $160.00 for a current refurbished unit. But when the 3490 came out the price was even so at that time it was a no brainer on which unit to choose.

It always comes down to what features work for you and what is your current budget. For me I would still pick the 3490 cause of the excellent traffic, and having the ability to avoid roads along your route.

I ordered it from Walmart and it arrived in about four days. Shipping was $1.97, total with tax a little more than $175.00

The first thing you do is set up the unit and upgrade all the system software and the maps. This takes a while, but when you're done it works great. I love the voice command feature!

I like the smaller size and the very clear and bright display. And it locates the GPS satelites much faster than my 1490.

Some of the newer units may be better, but for the price, this is an excellent value!

I've just ordered it though I never shop Walmart. The used 850 I bought just didn't work the way my stolen one did. Anyway, can I copy my added POIs over to the new one or must I upload the csv files again?

Great price for a good unit.

Ihe Walmart sale does look tempting.

But, maybe I'll just wait a few more years and get a refubished 3490?

Just do it the same way you installed the added extra POI's on the 850. Just hook up the new 3790 and run the POI Loader program.

If you are talking about the favorites just copy the current.gpx file from the old 850 and copy it into the GPX directory on the 3790 and rename the file to current1.gpx and when the 3790 starts up it will automatically install all your favorites. On the newer units I have found if you name it temp.gpx it doesn't work and had to change it to current1.gpx before they showed up.

Thanks!

Really have no use of it. I am considering to return it.

I ordered two of these--one for a neighbor.

I had guessed these were probably new excess stock being remaindered, but the one I got had two pretty good-size dents in the back side. That is just cosmetic, but I've had a hair-pulling amount of trouble with it not recognizing finger touches--getting past the initial choice of locale and language took me many, many tries and several minutes, and the save vs. cancel choice on setting changes has very often not been acted on first try (even though it clearly sensed my finger push, as indicated by a changed screen color of the button).

But the key must-return item is that as of today the unit goes silent when plugged into the mount. That is to say, touch beeps, navigation directions, and such-like are all proper when it is running handheld on battery power, but when plugged into the vehicle mount, it just goes silent.

I don't for a moment imagine this last problem is typical--and my neighbor's copy also does not seem to share my touch response problem.

His, however, would not start up or show any sign of life on first plugin. After a few minutes in the mount, disconnection and reconnection got a perfectly normal startup. As disconnection a couple of minutes after that got a red battery level indication, with a low battery shut-down alarm, I surmise his battery arrived in such a low state that it caused a failure to start up. I just hope he does not have a defective battery--which would be hard to diagnose within the 15-day WalMart refund limit for GPS units.

So my message here is just this--be extra sure to check out the unit thoroughly promptly on arrival.

Other than those problems, I mostly love it. The screen brilliance and clarity puts my 855 mounted next to it to shame. Most of the controls seem pretty natural. I'm still trying to figure out whether current firmware has finally solved the problem of handling Trip Planner routes with vias properly--posts say yes, but my first observation suggested no.

I looked at this more carefully after posting. I've only checked in simulator mode, but it appears that on current "software" version the behavior is that you do get asked which via/destination you want to go to next, but if you answer the first via on the plan, it takes you there, and then continues on to the others in sequence. I consider the prompt slightly puzzling in language, but the function is actually useful, so this seems good.

My audio problem changed yet again. Now in addition to not giving any useful audio output, it buzzes continuously all the time that it is on and in the mount. This is the same buzz I heard the very first time I plugged the new unit into the mount.

Awesome deal. Kinda wish I'd seen that before buying my 1490LMT.

I probably would jump on this but I have some kind of hang up on the smaller screen. It probably is negligible next to the bigger screen though.

Sounds like you may have a defective cradle or the speaker in the cradle is bad.

Mine works fine and both nav prompts and bluetooth phone calls are very clear even at freeway speeds.

OH NOoooo!

Agreed. For sure something is defective on my specific sample, not a general design issue. I currently suspect a thermally intermittent problem in the mount (cradle). It worked perfectly for twenty minute drive home after heat soaking in the New Mexico sunshine for an hour and a half while the car was parked at church. After it sat in the shady garage for a couple of hours, it again made zero useful audio, and remained that way on trials at two to three hour intervals since.

If it truly is a thermally intermittent problem, I think it likely to be in the mount, not the unit, as the unit self-heats rather dramatically when in active use as compared to sleep mode. So if my unit had a defect which does better when hot, I'd see it go to good behavior after a few minutes of use.

My current plan is to keep using it a couple more days to reassure myself this is a model I want, then try to use the WalMart 15-day return for refund provision for GPS units. I'll post here whether that is easily accepted on this refurb unit.

We need to have a way to delete our posts when we discover a mistake! Am I missing something?

I had a 1490 with the 5" screen, and I really don't see a lot of difference with the 3790 because there are lots more pixels and it's much brighter.

I did learn that I get a larger display if I choose the normal setting instead of more information for the screen display. This allows the map to display in full landscape with the speed and mileage indicators in the lower corners.

Once I got it updated, configured and loaded all my POIs from POI Factory, it's working great!

The NUVI1390LMT has lifetime map and traffic plus blooth. This is a great basic GPS.

The link given in the first post of this thread is still active at 8:10 p.m. MDT on June 29. Better yet, it shows the unit as in stock and the price reduced to $149.98. I don't know how long ago Walmart dropped the price the extra $10.

At this stage I am quite happy with the second unit I got, and it is possible that the first would have been fine with the replacement mount which Garmin e-mail service offered to send me free under warranty.

Best Buy now has it for $149

thanks for the deal guys!

Thanks. Good price

Thanks for the update... it is really tempting.

All the useful features I found are in 3750. Everything else only slows it down, probably why it has much lower ratings than the old old models.

I bought ten bucks more..

Thanks for the heads up! I will go take a look.

Unfortunately those deals are not valid for Canada!!!!
Lucky you that live in the US!!!
If at least I had a mailbox in the US, I would buy it for sure!!! I am wondering of a way to get it!

ahhhhhh... by the way, nice to meet you everyone, maybe a bad way to introduce myself, but I am really frustated.... :):)

It does look tempting, but I'll wait for the newer models to be available as refurbished, as I like the smart phone integration features.

Link:
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Garmin-Nuvi-1390LMT-4.3-Portable-G...

Now that the 3590lmt has been out for a while, has anyone seen a refurb of that model ?