Has anyone used one of these in Hertz rental? Investigating buying GPS system for "Alwayslost" son for Christmas and website for one manufacturer (Magellan) says this is what is used in Hertz rentals. Especially interested in ease of use and accuracy in unfamiliar destinations.

I've used the HertZ system many times.

It's very easy to use.

My husband rents quite a bit from Hertz and uses the neverlost system frequently and absolutly loves it.

My wife calls it the "everlost" system. It is better than nothing, but my cars all have far superior systems. I can't believe there is nothing better.

We have a Magellan GPS, which is wonderful since we can move it around between our cars or even loan it to friends. It's a very good device if you want to go exploring and get home again

It's also useful since it can help you find gas stations or restaurants.

We call her Emma! and try not to leave home without her

Whoops sorry, forgot to say that she's very easy to use and my in-laws who have one in their car are very impressed with our version.

She warns you of any maneuvre 2 miles before and again half a mile before and she 'chimes' at the maneuvre.

Accuracy is very good unless you are driving in Boston MA

The 'Big Dig' has a lot to answer for

To alya - what version do you have? The website has a confusing number of purchase options.

I have used the Hertz Neverlost for the last 2-3 years when I travel to a city that I'm not familiar with, which is frequently in my business (I travel across the country for work and stay in different cities 2-3 nites per week.)
I have found the system very easy to use and "the lady in the box" gives you plenty of warning before turns,etc.
The only pitfalls are that if you put in the wrong address you're in trouble (like University Drive instead of University Avenue, which I did once!) and that the GPS may not necessarily pick the route that you think that it will. For instance, in large cities there are generally many different choices to get to a particular destination.
Overall, it's great and it gives me flexibility when I am travelling, sort of makes me a little more interested in travelling around than I might be if I didn't have it..
One time in California, I had an afternoon free and I wanted to do something but was unfamiliar with the area. So I typed in Half Moon Bay and let the GPS take me there - it was great!

I have used the Hertz "Never Lost" system on a couple of occasions and found it to be very good. In fact, my wife liked it so much that I bought her the Magellan for a Christmas gift (she doesn't view this site so I think I'm safe posting this here). I got the Magellan 760 which I believe is a fairly new version. The main benefit of the Never Lost is the ease of use. It's so simple even a non-tekkie like me can program and use it.

I didn't find the Hertz system to be as easy to use as my Garmin 2610. I only got the neverlost recently because it was the only car left on the lot when I arrived in the middle of the night. I wouldn't have paid extra for it. When I was researching GPS for my purchase, read from a lot of Magellan owners that it takes longer to recognize the satellites than the Garmin products, particularly if you have traveled more than 500 miles with the system OFF [like packing it in your backpack for a vacation]

Thanks for the responses - seems like a good gift for our son who seems to have absolutely no sense of direction (I think it may be something you are born with or not). He has his car at college, but also regularly gets lost in his hometown.

"...also regularly gets lost in his hometown"

I just bought a Garmin 340 GPS, after doing much research, and just love it. I even brought it on the plane with me to Phoenix and it worked great there too. I'd definitely recommend it. Also the TomTom GO is also another one worth looking into.

Sam - why did you need GPS on a flight - did the pilots not know where they were going? Please let me know which airline this was so I can remember not to fly them.

I wouldn't mind having a Neverlost for my own vehicle....how expensive are they?

Cost that I have found - a few hundred dollars on up - a variety of these are viewable on major electronics websites (Circuit City, Best Buy, etc.) plus individual manufacturers websites. I am still looking for guidance on which one to buy.

As far as cost goes, Circuit City has an "on line" sale for the Magellan 760 for $835 (+-). That's the one I got. You can find earlier editions of this model on Ebay for a few hundred less and can get factory "refurbished" units for around $500 also on Ebay.
I went to the Circuit City here in Sarasota and mentioned the on line price and they agreed to match it even though the price posted on the in store unit was almost $1,000.
I think other manufacturers have units that can be bought anywhere from a little under $500 to well over $1,000.
If you're still undecided I suggest going to a store which carries several brands and take a look at how they work and see which you like best.

Silly Gail, just making sure the pilot knew the way

I thought rather than getting a GPS with the rental car and paying the extra $, I'd bring mine in my carry-on. I called the airline and the mfr. to make sure it would go through security okay and that it wouldn't get ruined going through xray. Worked out perfect!

Garmin makes the sonar/radar units for boats, like the depth-finders.

I went to epinions.com to review the GPS units, then went to bizrate.com to compare prices. I purchased through Amazon.com and had a discount code that saved me more. I ended up paying $639, and I just saw the exact same unit in BestBuy circular for $699.

Amazon has Magellan Roadmate 300 (the bottom the the line but said to be the one Hertz uses) for $340. Circuit City, Best Buy are running big ads with coupons at this time of year - I also keep getting emails from Amazon for percentage off purchase, etc. The said list price for this model is about $700.

This is more than I would like to spend, but would probably be better received by our 19 year old son than socks and underwear!

Have read reviews on on-line electronics review sites and am now thinking of coughing up the extra money and getting Magellan 360 (about $600 everywhere). Will let you know how it works.