are those navigation devices worth the money???

[a kennedy]

Am thinking of getting my husband one for his birthday.....are they worth it??

[AwakeAtLast]

1. I like to the one we have

It's a Tom Tom. Very helpful by giving you the lane you need WAY ahead of time.

[nuxvomica]

2. Hell yeah!

I bought one for a recent roadtrip that was sure to be complicated and it pretty much saved me. The one I bought cost $149 and it was awesome. Even when I made the wrong turn, it got me back on route. That is the real advantage, I think. I plan trips pretty well but one wrong turn and the plan goes out the window.

[NJmaverick]

3. Yes very much so

They also let you know how many miles and minutes you have left in your trip. They make driving highways more relaxing because you don't have to worry about missing exits. As was already mentioned it corrects for missed turns and other mistakes.

[ZoltarSpeaks]

4. Just bought a Garmin Nuvi 265WT at CostCo yesterday

for $219 and it is quite amazing. It has a large screen and hasn't missed a thing so far. This model has bluetooth so that calls can be made and answered on speakerphone from the touchscreen while your phone stays in your pocket or bag (assuming you have a bluetooth phone, of course).

I spent most of last evening just browsing through my hometown and college town. It's like having a highly zoomable atlas of all of North America. It also seems very good at announcing upcoming turns at just the right times.

[a kennedy]

5. That does it.....going shopping in about an hour.....

thanks so much for the responses. :grouphug:

[hobbit709]

6. "Turn left (CRASH) at the next corner!

[dugaresa]

7. I could write a book called "how Garmin saved my marriage"

I first saw how those little buggers worked when I was on a business trip. Egads it was like magic and we drove to Washington DC which I have been repeatedly lost in before. It got us to our hotel in this little trendy district.

From then on, I can not live without it!

[HopeHoops]

8. I have a GREAT navigation device - I call it A MAP!

I've found the online maps to be very accurate, including recent changes. Mostly I use maps.yahoo.com. It is particularly helpful to zoom in tight and overlay the satellite image and roads so you can get a feel for the landmarks. I've found some pretty out of the way places that way.

[annabanana]

9. We have a tom-tom. . . . Mr. Banana (with the traditional aversion

to taking direction either from me or from any passing stranger) actually enjoys having the electronic voice alert him to "turn right, ahead". . We downloaded a gangster voice.

"You have reached your destination, now GEDDOUTA my car. ."

[datasuspect]

10. get him a c.b.

he get directions AND socialize.

[Lars39]

11. We started calling ours U-Turn Laverne

after she started telling us to take U-turns into oncoming traffic. :D They are handy, though.

[lizziegrace]

13. You can go into settings and select as a preference

no U-Turns. But, since you've already named your nav for this feature, it'd be a shame to turn it off. ;)

[Lars39]

15. It sure breaks the monotony of a long trip. :^)

[lizziegrace]

16. Do you sometimes think you hear an audible sigh??

"....recalculating..."

:)

My daughter thinks it's great I have someone to talk to on long trips alone. :P

[Lars39]

17. We just get long silences. lol

[XemaSab]

12. Don't get the $10,000 Trimble

It's a rip-off. x(

[lizziegrace]

14. Yes!!

I get lost backing out my driveway. The stress of constantly getting lost was more than I needed. My parents got me a Garmin about 2 years ago. I don't go anywhere without it.

[Moondog]

18. I have one. It's great.

I think they work really well.

[seemunkee]

19. I would never see my daughter if she didn't have one

She would be lost forever without hers.