Buying Gps In Us

[seders]

I am thinking of getting a GPS principally for hiking and am looking at Garmin Vista/LegendC but I see that US vendors charge about dollars for pounds and I could pick one up when I am there in the near future.

For about the same money I could get a GPSMAP 60Cx (Pacific version) plus worldwide basemap which is really tempting with all the reviews of the new SIRF chipset version .

Apart from the different basemap on the US bought version, are there any other reasons not to buy the GPS in the US? Would I still get garmin support in the UK and would unlock codes work in the same way?

 

Thanks

[+Birders]

I cannot guarantee you would get Garmin support, although I would be surprised if you didn't. About 10 years ago I borrowed a Garmin GPS from a friend - it was about 3 years old and had been bought in Canada. It packed up whilst in our possession so we returned it to Garmin. They immediately replaced it with a brand new version of the same model totally free of charge.

Others will be able to comment on maps, etc. Don't forget that if it's worth £145 or more you will have to paid customs duty and that can be hfty if you get the wrong bloke!!

Edited January 31, 2006 by Birders

[+macroderma]

I'm using a Legend bought on Ebay from a US seller

 

I have had absolutely no problems and it cost £80 (about 60% of the UK price)

 

It has a US basemap, which was useful when I went to the States and Nova Scotia! I have European Map Source which works fine

 

The other option if you are going to the States is to buy a UK spec Garmin duty free at the airport and pick it up on the way back. You'll only save the VAT, plus a bit more if you are lucky, though

[+Sue and Bernie]

I would not concern yourself about the basemap, it is rudimentary at best.

 

When you install hi-res maps from Garmin data discs/programmes, it overwrites the basemap so, if you install maps of your area of interest, you will never see the basemap.

 

I last used the basemap in the Oman - it was pish!

 

If you really feel the need, you can obtain Garmin's WorldMap programme. This has the whole set of "basemaps" at pish resolution and accuracy.

[+Kitty Hawk]

I've got a Vista that I bought from USA on ebay. I did pay some duty and Vat, but it was still way cheaper that UK prices. I then got European Metroguide of Ebay.

 

It all works fine.

[+sTeamTraen]

Don't forget that if it's worth £145 or more you will have to paid customs duty and that can be hfty if you get the wrong bloke!!

If you unpack it, use it a bit, and take it home with the bits and accessories scattered around your luggage, I'd be amazed if they try to stick that on you. The days of proving you took a electronic gadget with you to avoid being charged on your return to the country are surely long gone...

[team tisri]

I would not concern yourself about the basemap, it is rudimentary at best.

I have a UK-spec GPSMap 60CS, when I returned from a holiday in the US and still had US maps loaded into it I watched the UK basemap as the taxi drove me home from the airport. It's very simplistic, it gives you the major roads but routinely showed my location as being substantially off the marked road. With the City Select maps loaded it shows me exactly where I am.

 

On that basis alone I wouldn't worry overly much which base map is loaded, just be aware of the potential liability to pay VAT and import duty when you bring it back into the UK.

[+dibbler69]

I bought a legend on ebay just before xmas. £85 + £15 Del.

Brand new, just didnt have the box. Its got the european base maps.

The seller also said that if I got hit for any duty he would pay for it.

Worked out cheaper than a lot of the second hand ones.

[JackiePenn]

I imported my Magellan Meridian Platinum from the states and worked out much cheaper than paying rip off UK prices even with the Duty/VAT on top.

 

Buying whilst on a visit to the States it could be easily be that its only your concious that will require you to pay the duty/vatif you lose the packaging.

 

At the time it was always said by the ignorant masses that you could not change the built-in basemap of the Meridian range. Within 48hours of ownership I received a copy of all the base maps available and full instruction on how to overwrite the existing basemap. Info researched via yahoo meridian groups. Simple, EU basemap on a once US unit.

 

So maybe with a little research in the darker parts of the internet it maybe possible to ditch the basemap for a EU / UK one.

Edited February 1, 2006 by stonefisk

[+sTeamTraen]

The only time I attempted to navigate on the basemap (in Croatia last summer) it was missing the superb new motorway which they had just opened down the middle of the country. CitySelect is better than a road atlas, but the basemap is far less good.

[+Moote]

Why not buy from the EU, that is what I did, this is what I got. GPS with Europe basemap, Warranty guarantee (Products purchased in EU member states have the same protection as purchased in the UK) and it was about £100 than the UK price, worked out that if I had gone through the US channel I would have paid around £30 less, but would have got no legal consumer protection.