Garmin GPS Best Bang for the $

A factory refurbished Garmin with a manufacturer's 1-yr warranty is the way to start your quest.

I see that the GPS Store currently has a 2597LMT for $140. If ordering from them, be sure to find the promo code for free shipping (which I missed when I bought from them ) The code may be FREEG today.

Seeing that you're in Canada, you may need to research any added fee for shipping across the border if shopping at the GPS Store. From their site:

International Ordering

We accept all major credit cards for payment on International orders, however you may be asked to provide ID and authorization by fax, and bank wire transfer may be required on some orders.

No need to go to a lot of trouble with duties etc. Gpscity.ca has the 2597LMT your talking about for $154 Canadian, shipped from Calgary,AB. See:

http://www.gpscity.ca/search/q=nuvi+2597lmt+newly+overhauled

$154 CDN is almost exactly $140 US at today's exchange rate.

I am considering the 2798LMT and the US price is $ 399.99 plus tax and exchange brings the price to about Cdn$ 465.75

GPS City in Canada with tax is about Cdn $ 472.50 in Alberta. BTW: I will be driving past their store in October.

NO hassles with the hefty brokerage charges from UPS or FEDEX.

Personally I refuse to do any cross border shopping with anyone who does NOT ship by USPS! Most times no extra charges and if any maybe a $ 5.00 fee from Canada Post!

Wow, am I ever behind the times! I was still thinking the premium was reversed. Maybe I need to plan another trip to the north. It looks like the current sway has been around since early 2013.

Melaq, I agree with shipping. As an ebay seller, I always shipped to Canada by mail. I never heard about FedEx's charges but I remember hearing horror stories about added fees when using UPS.

Yes, it wasn't that long ago we were paying $975 or $980 CDN for $1000 US. Now it cost us $1100 CDN so you folks coming to Canada with your US money should do alright.

Not so much a good thing for us "snowbirds" that spend 6 months in the sunny south however.

[quote=t923347
Not so much a good thing for us "snowbirds" that spend 6 months in the sunny south however.

A great source for discounts of all kinds ... retailmenot.com

http://www.retailmenot.com/s/m/thegpsstore/gps+store

As others have commented on a pure bang for buck basis you may want to shop for the factory refurbished Garmin units.

An additional place that has had a substantial selection of them is walmart's online operation.

Free shipping and a pretty hassle-free return through the store option are pluses. But they'll charge you the sales tax you owe. And some people hate them on principle.

I bought a total of four refurbished 3790 LMT's from them, and was glad for the easy return option, as the units did have some problems. With exercise of one complete unit return for refund at Walmart, and receipt of one replacement traffic cord for the defective one by Garmin under warranty, my neighbor, my wife, and I would up with three good units at a good price, but in our case it did require our active participation and follow up.

Check Tiget Direct. They have Canadian warehouses.

They have lots on 1-day only deals.

Right now they list a Garmin 50M refurbished for $59.99 w/free shipping on ebay.

http://bfads.net/Hot-Deals

http://www.ebay.com/itm/161408213941

2597 is a helluva GPS

Costco is selling the Nuvi 2598 for $169 with lifetime maps, a 5-inch HD screen, and voice navigation. It would help to know what features you're looking for. Considering full retail is over $300, this is a decent deal.

Bright 5" dual-orientation display
Detailed maps of North America, with free lifetime map updates
Free lifetime HD Digital traffic
Voice-activated navigation and Bluetooth® compatible
Garmin Real Directions™ with Garmin Real Voice™
Active Lane Guidance with voice prompts
photoReal and Bird’s Eye junction views
Compatible with iPhone® and Android™ Smartphone Link

Thanks for the heads up!

I'm tempted to stop by the local Costco to check out the selection they have in store.

"Bang for the Buck" or "Money's Worth?" Here's a money's worth:

http://www.amazon.com/Garmin-2555LMT-Portable-Navigator-Life...

5", KISS both visually & operationally. Then enhance to your own eyes using Garmin Map themes, dashboards, available vehicles.

... or find a local supply that will offer "competitive Amazon pricing."

life map update is important, live traffic is not accurate so it is not useful. Anyone with life map update and cheap is probably the best choice.

I would definitely disagree.
But if you live in Bucksnort,TN then I would agree.

I have been very happy with my 2595 LMT. It has been a very stable unit after a few minor start-up issues that Garmin addressed with firmware updates. The bluetooth isn't all that great due to low volume and the traffic status icon doesn't really work logically, but to be fair, these problems affect other units in this series as well. I'm not sure if the 2595 is still in the current product line, but there's factory refurb's out there for bargain prices.

I'd recommend the very feature rich Garmin 2640LMT with voice recognition - not a brand new unit, but still solid with lots of bells and whistles. If you want a larger screen and want to step up to a high end one, the 2797LMT is awesome. I actually tore out my dashboard and installed the Garmin permanently. Looks like factory.

I have a 40LM I bought for around $100
but my only issue is I don't remember where!
great unit lifetime maps.
check ebay lots of good deals there as well!

I agree, like the 2460 so much I bought a second one for wifey's car. I have used mine for work every day for a couple years, mostly as a drive along map, it's on 8 to 12 hours a day, with no problems.

THIS ONE VERY BAD MUNTIHG SYSTEM. power terminal is connected the unit unlike connected base in the previous models

Is the Garmin Nuvi 2598 as good as the Garmin Nuvi 3597

https://buy.garmin.com/en-US/US/catalog/product/compareResul...

2598LMTHD: fewer pixels, no 3D bldgs or terrain, the 2598 requires the power cable to connect directly to the nuvi rather than a powered base. (The lack of 3D bldgs may not be a big issue. All the new 2014 Advanced models just offered do not show 3D bldgs and that makes me wonder if Garmin will pursue adding additional 3D bldgs to new cities in future map updates only to update older nuvi models.)

The 3597LMTHD has a glass display which really looks sharp after years of using non-glass displays.

One other issue is screen dimensions. Both are 5" diagonals but the 3597 is 4.3x2.9 inches while the 2598 is 4.4x2.5 inches. The almost half-inch of added height makes the 3597 better for viewing in my opinion.

For me, the lack of a powered mount in the 2598 makes it a loser when compared to a similar device with a powered mount.

But at this point or very shortly in the future, the question may be can you even find a new or even a refurbished one of either model? Don't wait too long to shop for either unless you're willing to look on ebay in the used-condition market as your only choice.

Then again, $170 for a new 2598 at Costco is a lot less than $220 for a factory refurbished 3597 at GPS City (even if the factory refurbed 3597 is really a new 3597 in different packaging).

Picked one up from Costco. Love it so far!

I like the powered mount. This way I can take the GPS out of the car without having to disconnect cables. I have had problems with cables going bad and it is probably from over handling so I would like to handle the cable as little as possible.

I will probably go with the 3597.

I still love my 775t, which works great, but I can give it to my son so he does not have to borrow it from me anymore.

Costco definitely the way to go

Never thought to ask, but now I have more knowledge

...unless you want a model other than the 2598. As far as I can tell, that's the only Garmin GPS that Costco offers right now. For Garmin users with an older nuvi with a powered mount, they could be sadly surprised with the 2598 when it comes time to connect/disconnect the device from a vehicle.

The powered mount is a nice convenience. I have them on the new Zumo 590LM and older Nuvi 765T. I have also had direct powered GPS units with USB power connectors on the Nuvi 2598 and Nuvi 660. My experience has been that the powered mount on the 765T is fragile and I have replaced the cradle twice. The hard-wired mounts seem pretty durable. I have never had a direct wire USB cord fail, and the inconvenience factor of connecting a cord has never been a show-stopper. YMMV