GPS Rental
Jul 13th, 2009, 10:17 AM
#1
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GPS Rental
We have rented a car for our trip to Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. We are going to be driving quite a bit and I thought a GPS might be a good idea. We booked our car through AutoEurope and they have a GPS rental that ships the GPS to us in the States and then we return it via mail when we get back. The whole thing will cost us about $100.
Has anyone rented a GPS through AutoEurope? How did that go? Is it worth the money to rent the GPS in the first place? Any other ideas or suggestions?
Thank you so much!
Has anyone rented a GPS through AutoEurope? How did that go? Is it worth the money to rent the GPS in the first place? Any other ideas or suggestions?
Thank you so much!
Jul 13th, 2009, 10:27 AM
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You can buy a Garmin nüvi 205 for 90€ incl. tax and maps for those 3 countries locally. And maybe you can even claim 19% tax back when you leave. Is renting really worth it? You're not even guaranteed to get the latest maps.
And you could buy oher maps and use your GPS at home too.
Still want to rent?
And you could buy oher maps and use your GPS at home too.
Still want to rent?
Jul 13th, 2009, 11:06 AM
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Well, if we buy a GPS in Europe, it will have European maps on it and we'll have to purchase US ones when we get home.
We looked into borrowing my father's GPS - Garmin Nuvi (or buying our own), but when we investigated downloading European maps, the cost was around $150. I would assume it would be the same if we bought a European GPS and had to purchase maps when we got home.
Not worth it. If we traveled a lot back and forth, maybe, but I can't imagine we will need European maps very often.
We looked into borrowing my father's GPS - Garmin Nuvi (or buying our own), but when we investigated downloading European maps, the cost was around $150. I would assume it would be the same if we bought a European GPS and had to purchase maps when we got home.
Not worth it. If we traveled a lot back and forth, maybe, but I can't imagine we will need European maps very often.
Jul 13th, 2009, 06:08 PM
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You can buy a TomTom One as low as $69 these days
in the US.
Euro maps are about 70 bucks. So you'll have about $140 in the device but will be able to keep it and use it once you get home.
Better yet, you will have time to get used to it and how to work it before you leave. The rental unit will probably arrive very soon before your departure.
There are all kinds of things you can download from TomTom from specific routes to hotels and restaurants to particular chains of stores or gas stations. Having used one for the first time
in Europe last year I wouldn't drive there again without one.
Rob
in the US.
Euro maps are about 70 bucks. So you'll have about $140 in the device but will be able to keep it and use it once you get home.
Better yet, you will have time to get used to it and how to work it before you leave. The rental unit will probably arrive very soon before your departure.
There are all kinds of things you can download from TomTom from specific routes to hotels and restaurants to particular chains of stores or gas stations. Having used one for the first time
in Europe last year I wouldn't drive there again without one.
Rob
Jul 13th, 2009, 07:18 PM
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We had fun with our GPS last summer. We did not intend to have one but when we turned up in Munich at one of the Avis offices to obtain our rental car we ended up with a free upgrade to a B class Mercedes that featured a GPS.
By the time we got to Switzerland we were beginning to have some questions about its usefulness. We were on route B12 west of Kempten heading for Austria when we encountered a detour. Somewhere along the detour route we either missed a sign or one was not there. As a result we were lost.
The GPS was trying to send us back the way we had come which was totally useless in terms of getting us to Austria.
I had a Michelin map of Bavaria, but I guess I should have known better than to have a French map of a German "Land."
The towns on the map had no road signs pointing to them, and the towns that were pointed to were not on the map.
I finally got my compass out and dead reckoned a course southwest that was either going to bring us back to the B12 or intersect with the Autobahn leading south from Stuttgart to Austria. We got back to the B12.
After we got to Switzerland, we decided to set the GPS to guide us to the mountain village of Saxeten, up in the hills south of Interlaken. Well the GPS began babbling turn here and turn there. It directed us into some guy's garage. Fortunately his car was out so my chauffeur backed in, turned around, and followed the Swiss road signs to Saxeten.
Later we set it to find Muerren, which is car free and no public roads that I know of go there. The GPS sent us up the side of the valley - straight up.
So the GPS was good for amusement. My chauffeur and I are still laughing about it. (Chauffeur = girlfriend of the last 52 years and wife for the last 50 and a half years. Thought I would throw that in just to relieve any anxiety that might be building up.)
By the time we got to Switzerland we were beginning to have some questions about its usefulness. We were on route B12 west of Kempten heading for Austria when we encountered a detour. Somewhere along the detour route we either missed a sign or one was not there. As a result we were lost.
The GPS was trying to send us back the way we had come which was totally useless in terms of getting us to Austria.
I had a Michelin map of Bavaria, but I guess I should have known better than to have a French map of a German "Land."
The towns on the map had no road signs pointing to them, and the towns that were pointed to were not on the map.
I finally got my compass out and dead reckoned a course southwest that was either going to bring us back to the B12 or intersect with the Autobahn leading south from Stuttgart to Austria. We got back to the B12.
After we got to Switzerland, we decided to set the GPS to guide us to the mountain village of Saxeten, up in the hills south of Interlaken. Well the GPS began babbling turn here and turn there. It directed us into some guy's garage. Fortunately his car was out so my chauffeur backed in, turned around, and followed the Swiss road signs to Saxeten.
Later we set it to find Muerren, which is car free and no public roads that I know of go there. The GPS sent us up the side of the valley - straight up.
So the GPS was good for amusement. My chauffeur and I are still laughing about it. (Chauffeur = girlfriend of the last 52 years and wife for the last 50 and a half years. Thought I would throw that in just to relieve any anxiety that might be building up.)
Jul 13th, 2009, 07:30 PM
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PS My brother in law bought a TomTom. First he tried to find my house on Brookwood drive in Athens. It sent him to a short street that was no longer Brookwood Drive in the vicinity of Athens Regional Hospital. Having been to my house before, which is in an east Athens suburb, he made his second move: Find the Georgia Center for Continuing Education. By the time the TomTom got through screwing him up his wife got tired of all the messing around and called me to find out how to get there. Seems like he had been driving all over the UGA campus trying to find the Center.
Ask for directions? No way! I'm gonna make this @%@%@ thing work!!
I, too, have a GPS. We set it once in Cobb County to find the way home. By the time that thing quit gibbering my chauffeur was ready to throw it in the Chattahoochie.
It could not even route us to I 85.
Ask for directions? No way! I'm gonna make this @%@%@ thing work!!
I, too, have a GPS. We set it once in Cobb County to find the way home. By the time that thing quit gibbering my chauffeur was ready to throw it in the Chattahoochie.
It could not even route us to I 85.
Jul 14th, 2009, 04:13 AM
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Bob,
There are always all kinds of "My GPS told me to drive into a brick wall" stories but by and large they work well. In over 2,000 KM of driving in France last summer I had no problems at all with my TomTom.
Don't forget... there have been BILLIONS of navigational errors made with paper maps too!
LOL
Rob
There are always all kinds of "My GPS told me to drive into a brick wall" stories but by and large they work well. In over 2,000 KM of driving in France last summer I had no problems at all with my TomTom.
Don't forget... there have been BILLIONS of navigational errors made with paper maps too!
LOL
Rob
Jul 14th, 2009, 08:47 AM
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I did a driving tour of the Scottish highlands in 2007, and rather than use a dedicated GPS unit, I purchased Microsoft Autoroute with the GPS attachment and used my laptop as a GPS unit. I planned my entire trip before leaving home, saving each day as a separate file. When I got to Scotland, we simply fired up the computer and opened the file for that day. The routing was already loaded and we were ready to go.
The pros: You can plan your route in advance, and see an overview which will allow you to eliminate crazy detours and misinterpreted location entries, whereas a dedicated unit you simply enter the end point and go where it takes you. Bigger screen.
The cons: Laptop is bulkier, probably requires navigator to operate rather than driver viewing screen. Screens don't show 3-D ground view.
It's not for everyone, but I think that a lot of folks who are into maps and want to drive particular routes, rather than simply going where the GPS takes them, will find it better suited to this purpose than a dedicated GPS unit.
The pros: You can plan your route in advance, and see an overview which will allow you to eliminate crazy detours and misinterpreted location entries, whereas a dedicated unit you simply enter the end point and go where it takes you. Bigger screen.
The cons: Laptop is bulkier, probably requires navigator to operate rather than driver viewing screen. Screens don't show 3-D ground view.
It's not for everyone, but I think that a lot of folks who are into maps and want to drive particular routes, rather than simply going where the GPS takes them, will find it better suited to this purpose than a dedicated GPS unit.
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