Nuvi 660 finally died - what's a good new similar model to replace it?

For the best answer on comparing the units, try the Garmin comparator reached through https://buy.garmin.com/en-US/US/cOnTheRoad-cAutomotive-p1.ht...

There you can compare units to your 660 and see what's been held over (not much) and what accessories still work. Buy one with the LMT suffix and you will get the correct traffic receiver for whatever model you select as well as lifetime map updates.

Box Car's link for the comparator is the way to go.

Also, as Box Car suggests, buying a LMT nuvi will give you both lifetime map updates and traffic, so there'll be no need to use your old 660's cord.

All nuvis use the same ball and socket mount so your current friction mount will work with any new purchase.

I expect that you will be very pleased with whatever you buy, given the added Lane Assist, Junction View, etc.

Given the age of your 660, let me also point out a few things that are easy to overlook.

The 660 can play mp3 audio. No current Garmin auto GPS does this. If playing mp3 audio is important to you, you will lose this. More to the point, if your custom POIs loaded with POI Loader have custom mp3 audio alerts, your new device will require that you switch to wav audio alerts. There is a faq here explaining how to get wav audio alerts to work for you.

Your 660 has the power/traffic cord plug into the cradle rather than the GPS itself. Many here prefer this. Note that many of the newer devices have the power cord plug into the GPS directly. This means each time your remove the device from your car, you'll need to unplug the cord from the GPS. If you want to stick with a powered base unit (preferred, in my opinion), be sure to check this out before buying a replacement. It can be hard to determine this. The best way to check it out is to download the device's Owners Manual from Garmin, then see how the power/traffic cord connects.

Your 660 used a standard SD card. New devices use micro SD cards so if you use a card, be sure to buy micro. Luckily, 8GB and other good Sandisk cards are very inexpensive.

Your new unit may use MTP rather than MS connectivity to your computer. If your new nuvi doesn't seem to show the files you expect when connected to a computer, check the faqs here for the fix.

One last thought. Factory refurb units are highly regarding by many here at The Factory. If you want to save some money or buy a better unit, look for a Factory refurb.

I just purchased a nuvi-2598-LMTHD from COSTCO for $139. Replaced my old nuvi 350. Just back from a trip and it worked great. Does traffic, lane views and can hook up Bluetooth to your mobile phone. I am using the same beanbag base I used on the 350. It comes with everything else you need for mounting including auto power cable.

Good points, The one I'm disappointed in is the power cord into the cradle - seems a hassle to disconnect the power from the GPS every time. But I ended up with the 2555LMT. Could've had the 52LM for a little cheaper, but wanted traffic as well. Got all the red light cameras and speed cameras loaded up, so hopefully ready to go!

One question on storage - after updating my maps and POI's, seems I only used about half the onboard storage. Without MP3 audio, what do most folks use an extra micro memory card for? And what size should I get to be safe? They are pretty cheap, but I don't want overkill, even though the best bang for the buck right now in SanDisk seems the 32GB. When I update maps I'm assuming it just overwrites the pervious version, so I may not need extra storage.

Hope this unit gives me the same years of service as my old workhorse 660!

My suggestion is to not go out and add a SD card until there's a need for it since you many never have the need for one. It's doubtful that SD card prices are at a low now and will spike in the future.

Adding Custom POIs even with custom icons and audio uses little space. One reason for the SD card may be for users with very large or multiple supplemental maps (Topo, Europe, etc.) and even then, an 8GB card would be more than sufficient for most folks.

Yes, map updates will overwrite the older map unless you use MapInstall (unlikely) or some similar strange update process and as long as Garmin's update software works as expected. A map update therefore has smallish (by comparison) file size increases due to added map data or built in POIs.

According to the link here at the POI factory it appears the 2555 comes with two versions, 4 or 8 GB.
http://www.poi-factory.com/node/34375

Do a property check on your Garmin 2555 to see how much memory your unit has, if using Windows Explorer it will show both free memory and the 2555's capacity.

If only 4GB I would invest in a micro SD card, anywhere form 8 to 32 GB (recommend SanDisk).

If 8 GB I wouldn't worry about an SD card, you should be good for a long time unless you plan on adding additional maps to use,

Only buy micro SD cards since most electronics use them these days. If you have something that requires a full SD card you can always buy a cheap adapter that adapts micro to full. I use this adapter when using an SD card for my 660. If I need a micro SD card, I simply remove from the adapter and use the micro card for my 2460. By having the adapter you can use a micro SD card in almost any Garmin unit or other type of electronics.

I still have my 660 as a backup, amazingly it still has the original battery from 2007 and holds its charge. My 2460 begins to lose charge within several minute when running on battery. They just don't make them like they used to.

Interesting...didn't know it had 2 versions. Mine has 8GB, with 54% used after map update and POI's (just red light and speed cams). Think I'll hold off on the memory card for now, but the price is tempting to just get one with the adapter just in case:)

BTW, between internal storage and an added memory card. can you direct where to store maps, POI's, etc. or does it get allocated as the updater sees fit? I'm using Garmin Express and POI loader.

Custom POIs will go where you tell POI Loader to install them.

Garmin Express and GarminMapUpdater will put map updates in the nuvi storage unless and until the largest map your unit is entitled to be received is too big to go to the nuvi and it will then give you the choice to install a smaller mapset to the nuvi or the full map update to the SD card. (See link below for the nuvi exceptions to this rule.) Always choose to install the full map because smaller mapset updates will possibly lose the Junction View, voice command and maybe some other features.

If for some reason, you want to install a map update to a SD card when the nuvi still has room, use alandb's clone technique. Maybe I'm missing it, but I didn't see a faq for the first link below, so I listed the faq from Garmin.

https://support.garmin.com/support/searchSupport/case.faces?...

http://www.poi-factory.com/node/39231

I have been using the Garmin 2555LMT for about a year now. It is a basic unit but has the features that I need. I paid about $110 at BJ's.

I live in Metro NY area and the traffic is usually accurate, however, this area is so congested at times that alternate routes are not usually much better. I do regular trips to VA and even find the traffic to work fairly well. If traffic is congested Garmin will advise an alternate route and approximate time savings. I have used this feature several times and it seems to work well.

The 2555LMT will accept custom POI's, including red light and speed cameras. These are easily loaded with Garmin's POI loader. I did install an 8Gb micro-SD card but don't really seem to need it. I have the 8Gb unit and that seems to be adequate.

If you need a solid basic unit with lifetime maps and traffic, you can not go wrong with the 2555LMT. Good Luck!

On my 660 the red light camera alerts flashed red across the top banner. With my 2555 they are a gray banner across the top, and I may not visually notice that as well. Yes the audio is turned on, but I would like to mute that because I usually don't need turn by turn voice. I don't think there is a way to just enable audio alerts for POI and not the turn by turn, but if there is I would love to know!

Anyway, is there any way to adjust how the POI red light alert banner shows up? I would like a red flashing banner like I had with the 660, but almost anything would be better than the steady gray.

Thanks.

Costco has deals and also 5 inch screen with lifetime maps is always the better way. Look at Costco promotions and
Bestbuy for deals.