Which GPS would be best for Austria?

Old Apr 28th, 2012, 11:33 AM
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Which GPS would be best for Austria?

We will be spending 9 days on a driving trip in Austria in June, and are considering purchasing a new GPS in US to take with us, vs renting one with our Hertz car. The price to rent from Hertz is about $120 USD. Our current GPS does not have Europe mapping, and is at least 3 years old. Does anyone have any suggestions, ideas, etc? Thanks so much!
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Old Apr 28th, 2012, 11:43 AM
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I am not sure if what I am about to say is going to help you much or not. Two years ago I dragged my Magellan GPS over to Munich for use in a rental car. It has European maps loaded, blah, blah, blah, IOW everything required.

Upon arrival i realized I had forgotten to bring the power cord so ended up renting a Garmin from Autoeurope and that worked great. I also rented a "never lost" (basically another Garmin) from Hertz in Florence and that also worked well.

Are you CERTAIN that the Hertz rental is going to be that much?

If you do bring your own it will obviously have to be loaded with European maps.

I like my Magellan although I don't use it at home since all our cars have built-in navigation but I did like the Garmin.

On another note: how MUCH are you spending on this trip and unless you are going to use a GPS AT HOME I would simply rent it from Hertz and be done with it. I assume you compared auto rental rates with Autoeurope, too.

Have a great trip.
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Old Apr 28th, 2012, 11:55 AM
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Hertz quoted me 93euro for our 9 days. The GPS could not be prepaid, so is on request only. I'm using Hertz ONLY because we're picking up in Salzburg and needing to drop at the Swiss border. We're flying from Zurich, and I find it's cheaper to drop the car in Austria and take the train to Zurich. I found Hertz to be the only rental company with a location west of Innsbruck.
Back to the GPS, we were thinking about just upgrading our older Garmin as it would cost about $80+ to add the European maps. But, perhaps that's not the best choice??
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Old Apr 28th, 2012, 03:11 PM
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Buy a TomTom and take the cord. ;^) I have one in my car, one in my wife's and have found mine worked brilliantly in 2,000 km in France.

I recently sold my first TomTom on Kijiji for 50 bucks and it had European maps. These things are not expensive these days.
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Old May 1st, 2012, 06:47 AM
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Buy a Garmin Nuvi that comes preloaded with US and Europe maps. In their series numbering system as I have been able to tell, there will be a 7 in the middle of the numbers, as in 670 or 1370. That indicates the Europe maps are on board. You can get one on EBAY for a little under $100. I have had mone for year and it goes on every trip. It always knows the way and it has saved us over and over. Have a good trip.
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Old May 1st, 2012, 06:54 AM
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We have a Tom Tom bought overseas with preloaded European maps-easy and no problems.
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Old May 1st, 2012, 06:09 PM
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I have a 2009 Garmin 275T that I just returned to Germany with after installing the second of my updates-for-life. It originally came with NA and EU maps and I have used it extensively in both regions. I have documented my experiences with it on this forum.

I have also tried to use the standalone portable GPS available from car hire companies with mixed success. I think this is what you have been quoted.

The factory GPS systems now widely available in EU hire cars have been problematic. Sometimes it is impossible to get them into a useable language. The French car I had last week was a case in point.

The best GPS to use? It is the one you are most familiar with using. It is stressful enough to drive in a unfamiliar place. Why not have a familiar voice guiding you? I would investigate the addition of the EU map to your GPS. I'm almost certain it will be less expensive than the hire company rental.
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Old May 2nd, 2012, 05:34 AM
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I recently hired a car from Avis in Germany with a GPS that had only major roads installed, making the system completely useless since I had to drive to small towns.

Also, the rental car GPS systems often have strange settings (from the former user) which are difficult to alter. A different language was the least of the problem which I have encountered with rented GPS systems.

If you can get one for a good price, buy a GPS with preinstalled maps. If your old GPS is three years old it makes a lot of sense to buy a new one with American and European maps.

When it comes to the brand, the general rule is: Garmin is better in North America, but has some weaknesses in Europe. With TomTom, it is the other way round - no wonder.
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Old May 3rd, 2012, 11:28 PM
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My Garmin worked flawlessly last time we were in Germany & Austria. Even obscure little roads were no problem for the trusty Nuvi. Since you have an older GPS anyway, why not just buy a new Garmin and you will have it for years when you are back home. Gute Reise!
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Old May 4th, 2012, 12:08 PM
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I think the Garmin North America / TomTom Europe meme is a bit stale-dated and these days it's really a case of which particular unit from which manufacturer you're most comfortable with. I don't know that I'd necessarily agree that replacing the GPS is necessarily called for depending on the model. If there's a small enough price differential between adding Europe maps to the present unit and buying a brand new unit with North American and European maps included, then obviously go with the latter. But I'm a big believer in the 'If it ain't broke, don't fix it' school of thought and if they're using anything newer than a nuvi 750 with the SirfStarII chipset, if there's a notable price differential I think it'd be a wash as to whether they're going to realise any great improvement. That and they'd also be using a unit that's a known quantity.

My two bits. YMMV

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