Honest GPS Evaluation Sites

Unfortunately, you're about 10 years too late for that. Standalone GPS units really aren't a category anymore. Garmin pretty much owns the markets for handhelds and other recreational devices. You could also argue they are the dominant automotive device. They bought Navigon, Magellan is long gone. I guess TomTom still has automotive devices, but really haven't looked for a long time.

Anyway, 10 years ago there was GPSReview, GPSPassion and GPSTracklog. The first two are long gone, GPSTracklog still exists, but seems to be mostly spam (Rich, the original owner, sold it to some kind of travel agency quite some time ago).

I don't think there's any site that actually does "reviews" of gps devices today, although you might find some here and there on various consumer electronics sites. Bottom line, for automotive devices you are limited to Garmin and TomTom. For outdoor/handheld/offroad devices, it's really just Garmin unless you want to take a chance with some small companies that basically just use phone or tablet hardware imported from Asia with an app.

Of course, I'd love to be proven wrong if someone else has a recommendation. IMO, dedicated GPS devices have been largely eplaced with apps on phones and tablets and whatever dedicated devices remain are a handful of products that gets smaller each year and some expensive niche devices (like the Tread, which ranges from $700 to $2400).

If I wanted a new, general purpose automotive GPS, I would probably get a Garmin. But it wouldn't hurt to look at TomTom, they tend to do things differently from Garmin though, if that's what you;re used to. Anyway, find a few models that look interesting and just try some Google searches for reviews (and consider the source before believing them).

That's what I was afraid of. I think I may explore using Google with CSV files.

I am philosophically oppose to paying Ford a fee every time they update the map in my 10 year old truck.

I doubt there are any websites out there doing this kind of thing anymore.

You can look to YouTube and search for "review of" and add the unit you're interested in.

Some are indeed truthful...there's a guy on on there who is local to me in the SoCal area; "thehikingguy". He is not endorsed by any manufacturer like Garmin. He buys the units he reviews and gives very honest opinions of them, but this is for outdoor units like the newer eTrex Touch and the Garmin GPSMAP H1 series. He also has a website...Google it. I won't post direct links here.

If you need automotive unit reviews, you can find those on YouTube as well. Keep in mind that some of these reviews can be quite old but if you search for current units that you may be interested in, you may find some reviews that would be helpful to you.

Very differently. TomTom exited the US market years ago and only focuses on smartphone apps and in-dash units stateside. Unless he goes with a smartphone app or takes a risk on a used TomTom, Garmin is it.

You're right! Shows just how little I follow that market now. The last time I was in a Best Buy, I remember seeing TomTom and Garmin in the store. But - thinking about it now - it's been a long time since I went into a physical Best Buy Store!

I tried the TomTom app a number of years ago, when I first got my iPhone 12 ProMax. It was a solid app, but a few things I didn't care for, like a lack of map detail and low contrast colors. You could download all the maps and use it offline with no cell service though.

Another alternative would be to get one of those wireless screens that support CarPlay and Android Auto (if your vehicle doesn't natively support it). That would let you use a phone app on a larger screen.

But if you already have a navigation system and like it (big "if") then maybe it would be worth payiing for a map update?

I'm not aware of a single web site with GPS reviews. As stated above, most went away years ago.

I sometimes use Amazon reviews to gauge a products merits, or lack there of. The trick is to weed out the vendor sponsored reviews.

Not all handheld GPSr's are available on Amazon, but a fair number of Garmin units are. Take what you see with a grain of salt though, but there is often good information provided by some reviewers.

GPS City is another site with customer reviews, but again, the selection is limited.

At this point, is you want a new Garmin, just select the screen size you want and buy whichever Garmin Drive or DriveSmart has the features you want. I would encourage you to get one with traffic.

At quick glance, Garmin DriveSmart 66/76/86, unless you want a dash cam. In that case it is Garmin DriveCam 76.

I've had great luck getting used Garmin devices on eBay with quite a discount compared to buying new. For automotive devices, I'd look at the nuvi 3597 or DriveLuxe 51. I'm sure the DriveSmart devices also would be good choices.

It may be that a lot of past Garmin users have switched to Android Auto or the Apple app with their cellphones, so they reduce their bevy of devices by selling their Garmins. Especially when an eBay seller is listing a GPS with a "Make an Offer," try offering an amount way lower than what it's listed for. You may luck out...I did.

I have a Nuvi 3550, which was the same device but without some of the fancy features. Was really impressed with it at the time. But that time was 13 years ago! That was the same year the iPhone 5 was released... would you be happy with that today? It's not that there are any "must have" features missing, but it's just an old, slow device by todays standards. And you also have to wonder how much life is left in a used device that old, after baking in the sun and bouncing around in a car for all these years.

But maybe users of old Garmin devices have lower expectations? The OP shows a Nuvi 765T in their signature. I believe that device was introduced in 2008, so if that's your benchmark then sure, almost anything will be better.

If you want to go used, yeah, I'd look for a DriveSmart or DriveLuxe device. I have a DriveSmart 61 and always liked it a lot, although I no longer use. Much better screen and much faster processor than the old 35xx series.

They are fading away. GPS magazine used to have good reviews but I think that stopped years ago. The demand is drying up.