GPS: take your own or get a rental with the car ?
Mar 27th, 2011, 05:21 PM
#1
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GPS: take your own or get a rental with the car ?
Any thoughts here ?
Looks like the area of Europe that I'm interested in has maps for $69. Am I better off just getting one with my car rental ? Has anyone ever rented a car, wanting a GPS and not gotten one ? Anyone had a bad experience taking their own with the pre-loaded maps ?
The cost is close enough to be a wash, so that isn't a factor.
thanks!
Looks like the area of Europe that I'm interested in has maps for $69. Am I better off just getting one with my car rental ? Has anyone ever rented a car, wanting a GPS and not gotten one ? Anyone had a bad experience taking their own with the pre-loaded maps ?
The cost is close enough to be a wash, so that isn't a factor.
thanks!
Mar 27th, 2011, 05:34 PM
#2
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Well, that kind of depends on you. If you think you may use it on other occasions, like in your home country or on another trip, and the maps are not too expensive, then spending a few extra dollars and owning one comes out ahead.
Just like cell phones. I pick mine up on eBay for very little, then I just purchase a sim card for where ever I am traveling. It also gives me the ability to loan them out to friends and relatives. As an example, last month my DD and DS went to Paris and London. She had her own European phone, but he did not. So, I was able to give him one of my phones and the Garmin GPS.
It would have all worked out great, except eKit, my phone SIM provider messed everything up on his phone, so he had to buy his own SIM (I'll be writing a scathing review on eKit later). That way when he and his sister got separated, they could still stay in touch. She has been to Paris and speaks French. He had not and does not. The GPS allowed them to preload locations and made it very easy for them to get around both cities.
dave
Just like cell phones. I pick mine up on eBay for very little, then I just purchase a sim card for where ever I am traveling. It also gives me the ability to loan them out to friends and relatives. As an example, last month my DD and DS went to Paris and London. She had her own European phone, but he did not. So, I was able to give him one of my phones and the Garmin GPS.
It would have all worked out great, except eKit, my phone SIM provider messed everything up on his phone, so he had to buy his own SIM (I'll be writing a scathing review on eKit later). That way when he and his sister got separated, they could still stay in touch. She has been to Paris and speaks French. He had not and does not. The GPS allowed them to preload locations and made it very easy for them to get around both cities.
dave
Mar 27th, 2011, 05:55 PM
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Lsky, I will use the GPS locally - so the only incremental cost is the cost of the map. We are going to Norway and Sweden, and the cost of the Nordic maps is $69. The cost of all of Europe maps is $99 - I'm not sure I would count on being able to use it another year, so I'd probably only do the Nordic maps.
To rent a GPS is usually $10-$12/day or about $60/week, so it is a virtual wash by the time you add the taxes onto that base cost.
To rent a GPS is usually $10-$12/day or about $60/week, so it is a virtual wash by the time you add the taxes onto that base cost.
Mar 27th, 2011, 05:58 PM
#6
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HUGE benefit to take your own!
1) you already know how to work it
2) you can pre plan routes and add in
literally 100s of Points of Interest ... for example you can tell with a tap of your screen where all the hotels of a certain chain are... or where the nearest bank is that has an agreement with your home bank re ATMs... or any one of
hundreds of other useful things no map can show you.
3) the GPS map will be up to date... who knows about a rental
4) if you can get a new map for $69 it will
cost the same or less than a rental.
Even if you didn't own your own already I think
it's worthwhile to buy one before going. I have been lucky enough to drive thousands of miles in Europe over the years and did just fine with paper maps. I used a GPS in France for the first time in 2008 and wouldn't even think of driving without one again.
1) you already know how to work it
2) you can pre plan routes and add in
literally 100s of Points of Interest ... for example you can tell with a tap of your screen where all the hotels of a certain chain are... or where the nearest bank is that has an agreement with your home bank re ATMs... or any one of
hundreds of other useful things no map can show you.
3) the GPS map will be up to date... who knows about a rental
4) if you can get a new map for $69 it will
cost the same or less than a rental.
Even if you didn't own your own already I think
it's worthwhile to buy one before going. I have been lucky enough to drive thousands of miles in Europe over the years and did just fine with paper maps. I used a GPS in France for the first time in 2008 and wouldn't even think of driving without one again.
Mar 27th, 2011, 06:01 PM
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We always use our own. It's a Garmin Nuvi and my husband is familiar with it so he doesn't have to try to learn a new one on the fly. He can make sure all the settings are the way he wants them. He also preloads all of our hotels and any other stops we plan to make.
Once we get a new map of Europe, we can figure on using it for a couple of years. There may be a few little changes, but not enough to make the loaded one unusuable.
Once we get a new map of Europe, we can figure on using it for a couple of years. There may be a few little changes, but not enough to make the loaded one unusuable.
Mar 27th, 2011, 06:35 PM
#8
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We use our own as well, a Garmin, which came preloaded with European maps. It was our own Fodorite Robespierre, may he rest in peace, who recommended this one a few years back. Miss that guy...
Would definitely agree that it's a good idea to try to load at least your hotels ahead of time.
We usually rent our cars from Alamo/National, and for the past few years, the cars have also come equipped with the GPS already. We've never paid extra for it.
Since we then have two GPS units, it's kind of fun to see which direction each one takes us. They don't always follow the same route. Oh, the names we call them sometimes...
Happy travels!
Would definitely agree that it's a good idea to try to load at least your hotels ahead of time.
We usually rent our cars from Alamo/National, and for the past few years, the cars have also come equipped with the GPS already. We've never paid extra for it.
Since we then have two GPS units, it's kind of fun to see which direction each one takes us. They don't always follow the same route. Oh, the names we call them sometimes...
Happy travels!
Mar 27th, 2011, 07:49 PM
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I'm taking my own (actually my granddaughter's) because at least two people in the car will know how to operate it, as opposed to NO ONE on the last trip with a rental and we got quite firmly lost in the dark trying to get back to our B&B in the countryside.
Mar 27th, 2011, 08:24 PM
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swisshiker,
I miss Robespierre too. The Auto Route program he recommended is the best $50 I ever spent. One smart guy.
We called our gps, "The lady in the box". We would actually blame her when we got lost, as certainly it wasn't our fault!
We will be buying our own gps for our next trip also. That is my husband's one request - gps. He doesn't care of he has to wear the same clothes every single day, as long as he has his gps he'll be happy.
Michele
I miss Robespierre too. The Auto Route program he recommended is the best $50 I ever spent. One smart guy.
We called our gps, "The lady in the box". We would actually blame her when we got lost, as certainly it wasn't our fault!
We will be buying our own gps for our next trip also. That is my husband's one request - gps. He doesn't care of he has to wear the same clothes every single day, as long as he has his gps he'll be happy.
Michele
Mar 27th, 2011, 08:29 PM
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Daveesl,
Oh lordy, I just got two eKits in the mail today for my cellphones. Spent the better part of an afternoon installing them, getting my US number, and programming in the address book. Now you tell me eKit may screw me up in Europe?!
Poop!
I will look forward to your scathing review. Is it to be a separate post, or will you tack it on here?
Oh lordy, I just got two eKits in the mail today for my cellphones. Spent the better part of an afternoon installing them, getting my US number, and programming in the address book. Now you tell me eKit may screw me up in Europe?!
Poop!
I will look forward to your scathing review. Is it to be a separate post, or will you tack it on here?
Mar 28th, 2011, 12:16 AM
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Was happy with the brand new Mercedes we rented in Lisbon which came equipped with its own GPS. Tried it out and didn't work. When we returned the car, we mentioned that it had not worked. "Oh it hasn't been programmed yet," came the response from the attendant.
Take your own!
Take your own!
Mar 28th, 2011, 12:17 AM
#13
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Take your own, but take a map too. Sometimes it is fun to go off on a different route to the ones your GPS suggests. If you get lost map reading the GPS will always get you back on track.
My husband had booked a GPS for a hire car in France but they didn't have it when he arrived. He had no map either so struggled to find his destination, and struggled even more returning to CDG via the centre of Paris where he had to drop off a colleague. He nearly missed his plane.
My husband had booked a GPS for a hire car in France but they didn't have it when he arrived. He had no map either so struggled to find his destination, and struggled even more returning to CDG via the centre of Paris where he had to drop off a colleague. He nearly missed his plane.
Mar 28th, 2011, 07:16 AM
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sounds like the consensus is to take your own for lots of good reasons. thanks everyone for your comments and thoughts.
Now the dilemma becomes... do I just do the map of Nordic countries ($69) or do I do all of Europe ($99)?
Do I have plans to visit anywhere else next year ? No, no plans. But I DO like to travel and Italy is on the list. As long as I can find a way to pay for airfare for free, it become much more affordable, so... you never know.
Now the dilemma becomes... do I just do the map of Nordic countries ($69) or do I do all of Europe ($99)?
Do I have plans to visit anywhere else next year ? No, no plans. But I DO like to travel and Italy is on the list. As long as I can find a way to pay for airfare for free, it become much more affordable, so... you never know.
Mar 28th, 2011, 08:22 AM
#16
This past summer we ended up having to rent a GPS unit for two different rental periods, one in Bavaria and the other in Tuscany, because I foolishly forgot to bring along a major required component of my own Magellan Roadmate unit which I have used all over western Europe.
What we got, both times, was a Garmin unit and once I learned how to use it (and that didn't take long) I enjoyed having it, thought some of the features were better than my own unit, and some worse.
Yes, I think it is worth renting one if you don't have your own...makes things a lot SIMPLER and yes, I have back-up maps, and yes I think a telephone is better than shouting calls, etc.
What we got, both times, was a Garmin unit and once I learned how to use it (and that didn't take long) I enjoyed having it, thought some of the features were better than my own unit, and some worse.
Yes, I think it is worth renting one if you don't have your own...makes things a lot SIMPLER and yes, I have back-up maps, and yes I think a telephone is better than shouting calls, etc.
Mar 28th, 2011, 08:26 AM
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The Nordic maps alone may be more detailed than those in the European maps, but unless you are planning some serious small roading and out of the way touring I would go for the European maps.
European roads don't change that much over the years, and you can probably update them for free, or not a lot of $$, should want to in a couple of years.
European roads don't change that much over the years, and you can probably update them for free, or not a lot of $$, should want to in a couple of years.
Mar 28th, 2011, 08:27 AM
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I'd get all of Europe as well. We used ours last fall in France and will be taking it to Greece in May.
We updated the maps last year and I was happy when it "recognized" addresses for 3 of our 4 hotels. I was afraid the spelling might be an issue with many places in Greece but, so far, so good. Can't wait to hear the pronunciation of the verbal prompts!
We updated the maps last year and I was happy when it "recognized" addresses for 3 of our 4 hotels. I was afraid the spelling might be an issue with many places in Greece but, so far, so good. Can't wait to hear the pronunciation of the verbal prompts!
Mar 28th, 2011, 08:32 AM
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I always take my own Garmin with me. We have two of them. But let me tell you that in December, in Las Vegas, we rented a car from Hertz with their NeverLost system in it. We didn't ask for a car with it I guess the only car available was already equipped with one.
Anyway. Neither my husband nor myself was able to operate that system. After a while we just gave up.
So, if you do not know what system you would be getting I would take my own. Although I rented a car in Croatia in October with a free GPS, a Garmin, and it was easy.
You don't think you will EVER use it anywhere in Europe again?
Anyway. Neither my husband nor myself was able to operate that system. After a while we just gave up.
So, if you do not know what system you would be getting I would take my own. Although I rented a car in Croatia in October with a free GPS, a Garmin, and it was easy.
You don't think you will EVER use it anywhere in Europe again?
