Garmin 3597 Refurbs on Sale Again

Have been a TomTom user for years and Garmin is quite a bit different. Just got this from a family member. Hopefully it grows on me.

Good luck. I feel that the nuvi 3597 and DriveLuxe 51 are my two favorite Garmin automotive devices. I've never used a TomTom to compare.

The 97 and 51 are my "go to" devices as well. I often run them side by side when travelling. That way, I can plot side trips, look for POI's, etc. on one unit while navigating a route with the other.

We may be a small club, but I also have both a Garmin Nuvi 3597 and DriveLuxe 51. They are not exactly the same as one another, of course, but I do like both of them.

When my wife is aboard, I will often have her navigate with Google maps on a spare smartphone to supplement what Garmin is doing. When they don't agree, we look a little deeper.

Considering a DriveLuxe 51 for a second car.

IMO, the Driveluxe 51 is an acceptable alternative to the Nuvi 3597. Both have powered magnetic mounts which I prefer over all other mounting systems. Both also have the thin, sleek & sturdy aluminum case. The 51 has several newer features that the 3597 lacks including backup camera compatibility, Drive app compatibility, hazard warning banner for curves & speed limit changes and several others.

I really miss the green shaded topographic maps on the 3597 though.

Production on the driveluxe 51 however was cut short due to a large number of defects. I bought 2 refurbs and had to return them both due to defects. The two replacements however have been working fine.

If you buy a refurb unit, make sure it is a factory refurb with a warranty. If buying used on eBay, check the seller rating and make sure the unit is covered by eBay's warranty. Some vendors can be difficult to deal with when it comes to returns.

The GPS Store, a reputable internet seller, is now offering factory refurbs for $99:

https://www.thegpsstore.com/Garmin-DriveLuxe-51-LMT-S-with-N...

I bought both my 51's from them and the defective units were promptly replaced.

@bdhsfz6 ... Are you sure the DriveLuxe 51 is compatible with the newer Drive app? I have not tried installing the Drive app on my phone, but I am still using the older Smartphone Link app with my 51.

I confused the Drivesmart series with the Driveluxe. I'm using the Drive app on my Drivesmart 65, NOT the Driveluxe 51.

Thanks for spotting my error Alan.

What kind of defects? My driveluxe 50 is working well. Sadly these days it's rarely used as I use the larger DS 61/65 units. In fact, I'd consider selling the luxe 50, but it won't fetch anywhere near the $250 I paid for it few years ago. Such is life of a gpsholic.

and truly love it. Great little unit for my long distance road trips. Very very capable.

I used to buy and sell many GPS units on eBay but as you say, they don't get anywhere near their retail price. With the increased shipping charges, it's hardly worth the effort anymore.

The Driveluxe 51 defects I'm aware of were varied. My first unit would function normally for about a half hour and then power off. It could be rebooted after a period of time but would shut down again. I suspect it was a thermal connection issue.

The second unit worked normally for about a week. It then went into a boot loop that wouldn't stop until the battery died. Both units were promptly replaced by the seller and have been working fine for almost a year.

I've read about other reported problems in various sites on the net.

I contacted Garmin after the second unit failed. The tech I spoke to told me the unit was pulled from production early due to an abnormally high failure rate.

For the most part, Garmin has worked the kinks out of the 51 and is still selling refurbished units two years after production was halted.

My experience is similar to bdhsfz6. The first DriveLuxe 51 refurb died within the first 2 or 3 days. It would post a "GIR Memory" failure on bootup. theGPSstore promptly replaced it. The replacement has worked perfectly for over a year now.

I don't think the DriveLuxe 50 or the nuvi 3597 units ever had these failure rates. IMO, these three models are the best automotive devices that Garmin has ever sold. I have no desire to replace them with something else and you will have to pry them from my cold dead hands before I will give them up

the link is dead

The original link in this thread is from 2016 so it being dead is no surprise. Did you try the recent link? It works for me:

https://www.thegpsstore.com/Garmin-DriveLuxe-51-LMT-S-with-N...

At some point, this 4 year old thread morphed into a discussion of the Driveluxe 51 from the original post about the Nuvi 3597.

The original link for the 3597 refurbs is indeed dead.

The latest link:

https://www.thegpsstore.com/Garmin-DriveLuxe-51-LMT-S-with-N...

is for a Driveluxe 51 refurb. Not a bad price IMO.

*** EDIT***

It appears more issues are surfacing with the Driveluxe 51:

http://www.poi-factory.com/node/50666