Built To Last........??????

Well, for the cost of the integrated units, they had better last the life of the car! Realistically, I figure anything that I spend less than $500 on has a limited life anyway. Especially electronics. I've had very few items fail on me over the years. I have a 20 year old turn table that I paid $70 for. It works perfectly. I have a cassette deck that I paid $60 for, its almost 20 years old. It also works perfectly.

If I get more than 3 years out of my $180 Nuvi, I'll be very pleased. Still, I wouldn't be at all surprised if you get 10 years out of your 660. In fact, you'll probably get a better one for less money long before the 660's life is over.

If I get 5 years out of any portable GPS that's fine by me. If I pay $500 for the thing it is only $100 per year. Much better than $2000-$3000 for a factory installed unit. After 5 years I would probably dump any car I own.

I sort of see it the way you do. From what I see on the road, people don't keep automobiles much over 3-4 years, then it's a new one. Myself, I go 10 years, and still it's only @ 80k miles. I think people are paying for looks rather than function. Who would want a $65-$70K Hummer with a Garmin 330 stuck on the windshield? . Not many. My son has an older Acura with a built in unit. He prefers to use his Garmin 550 instead of the built-in.

At the rate the technologies are changing, I figure about three years and the units are outdated and it time to upgrade anyways.

I agree with you. I don't really know why I bought the 660, other than it's size, and screen. I don't use all the other bells and whistles. All I want to do is get from point A to point B. I m-a-y use the photos and money exchange section when I go on my cruise. It's a fine unit in my opinion, Glad I got it.

I have a gps III that is over ten years old, was exposed to salt water its whole life and it still works fine.

My Garmin eTrex has lasted over 7 years.
It has been exposed to salt water, hot dashboards, gamma rays, and thin air and still works as well as the day I got it. It's a workhorse.

I'll probably keep my nüvi 200 until it dies. It does everything I got it for. The only thing I miss is the large screen I had when I used Microsoft Streets on my laptop.

Thats funny. That is like a corvette with a cobra radar detector (the worse out there).

The only thing that I can see going bad in the GPSr is the screen and the battery. But like most said here, I will probably be ready to update in a few years.

Talk about roll over, what about cell phones. I believe that most survive 1-2 years before they are dumped for a newer better one. I know that I get a new one every 2 years.

When are Gpsr and Ipods going to made with batteries that are easy to replace?

bet on ever seeing that, even though I would like too. Right now,the battery replacement is a cash cow for the companies. If cameras can have replacement batteries, I see no reason GPS's can't. There are cameras as small or smaller than Nuvi's with them.

3 year life span is not that bad, consisder how fast today's technology improve. I hate my 20 years old tube TV still working today, don't have an excuse to buy a new HDTV.