Refurbished GPS vs. New

[+RTechS]

I'm seeing quite a $$$ difference between the two (refurb vs. new) and I'm tempted to go for a refurb. Just wondering if anyone on here uses a refurb unit & what have your experiences been with it. I've been considering the Magellan Explorist 610 or 710.

 

I can purchase a 2-3 yr. warranty (past the standard 90 days) for something like $24 extra/year.

 

Caching season (warm weather) will be soon upon us here in Penna., and I want to be ready! (I have been enjoying the winter caching as well, though - so don't read too much into that comment!)

 

Thoughts/suggestions?

 

Thanks so much!

Edited March 14, 2014 by RTechS

[+Walts Hunting]

Personally I don't see any difference between refurb and new. It's not like there any moving parts to wear out. I have had to send in my 550 and my Montana once each and a refub unit is what you get back not the one you send in and they have both performed fine.

[+RTechS]

That's true - no moving parts. I guess I'm concerned that it might have been dropped a bunch of times and I know that's not the best thing for electronics to be subjected to. I don't know how much testing goes into a refurb unit before they send it back out. I guess that's where a good warranty comes in though

 

The Magellans are a bit cheaper than the Garmins are, esp. for their top of the line models. Anyone with experience with the Magellan units? I know they've gotten some bad rep in the past, have they improved at all?

 

I've read some online reviews (for what they are worth) and it seems that many are 4-5 star ratings. I'm wondering if they load easily from the website and are the features good? Guess I'll watch some youtube vids on them for more research.

[+DonB]

I don't know if it's true or not, but one school of thought is a refurbished unit is given individual attention by a technician so it could be better then a unit that comes off an assembly line.

[+Kolenka]

That school of thought is based on the idea that a refurb has to be repaired first if it is returned damaged or DOA before it can be resold, versus the assembly line where you only get random sampling to check for flaws. They don't actually fully test every unit assembled before shipping to retailers and customers. And in most cases it is true that is what happens. There are many companies I'd happily buy a refurb from. But it isn't always true, which is where the issue gets muddled. When retailers refurb, rather than the manufacturer, that's a problem. And if software is the bigger problem with a model, a refurb won't be any better.

 

I think a good rule of thumb is: only buy manufacturer refurbs, and expect "good as new" not better than new quality. But the odds are usually a bit better of not getting a DOA unit.

 

I'm not a fan of Magellan here. In part because the unit I bought from them ate batteries and bricked itself within a day of buying it. Had to return it. GPSTracklog had theirs break during a firmware update. Buying refurb won't dodge the firmware update brick. That said, folks are using Magellans, and they aren't bad units when they work. I'm just wary due to the defect rate that no in-house testing seems to be catching.

[+BAMBOOZLE]

I used to be the biggest Magellan fan there was until they quit making the Meridian line. I haven't cared for anything they have made since and being an ardent reader of this forum I would say avoid Magellan.

My recommendation would be the Garmin 62S.

[vagabond]

I used to be the biggest Magellan fan there was until they quit making the Meridian line. I haven't cared for anything they have made since and being an ardent reader of this forum I would say avoid Magellan.

My recommendation would be the Garmin 62S.

 

Loved my gold and my 2 explorists 500s, but the triton series sent me running to Garmin

[+Olddffart]

I used a Magellan Explorist 400 and their map software for 6 or 7 years.

I liked it very much - good to use and good performance even under tree cover.

However ...........

When I did finally needed service and also updated maps, their customer service was non-existant.

I even talked to a Magellan Rep. personally at Mega-Event who promised me that he would look after the problem.

Sent him 3 emails over a period of 4 months and never even got an answer, let alone any help.

 

We have since switched to Garmin (Ore. 450 & Mont.550).

Both are good units with very good performance, also easier to interface with your computer.

AND Garmin Customer service is Very Good.

.

[+gpsblake]

The problem with Magellan also is once they discontinue a unit, they immediately drop all support and firmware updates. Triton users really got screwed over by that. With the very low prices on Garmin 62s and Oregon 450 series, I hope you are getting an incredible deal on the 710. They haven't released a firmware update for the 710 in over a year, which makes me wonder if they update the maps on those units.

 

A few nice things about the 710, does voice turn by turn directions and holds 10,000 geocaches.

[+RTechS]

A few nice things about the 710, does voice turn by turn directions and holds 10,000 geocaches.

Yes, that is a very nice couple of features. I'm still on the fence about which brand I want to go with though. I've been doing more reading and I see many unhappy Garmin users as well, experiencing several different types of issues.

 

Seems like quality control issues mostly, and some firmware/software problems... QC should not be a problem at all with the prices they are asking for these units and as long as they been producing them. They've (any manufacturer) has had plenty of time to "get it right" by now. I know I would be extremely unhappy if/when I drop $500 + for a unit that's buggy...

Edited March 17, 2014 by RTechS

[+Egnix]

I bought a refurb nuvi, and while it worked great most of the time, I had an intermittent problem where the device acted like someone was touching the screen when someone wasn't. My belief is that the unit was returned due to this, the repair guy couldn't replicate the problem, and then they sold it to me as a refurb.

The problem now happens frequently enough that I'm looking for a replacement.

 

On the other hand, I've bought other refurb items (no GPSrs) that I've never had any problems with.

[+Styk]

My last 3 handheld Garmins have been replaced under warranty with I assume was refurbs. My take on it now is, if your probably going to end up with a refurb, might as well only pay for what you have. The last one that was replaced was a montana 600, got a smokin deal on it 6 months after they were introduced. Assume it was a refurb but at least the price was in line with what I ended up with. go refurb, get the extended warrant and put the rest into your gas tank for caching trips.

[alandb]

I have purchased two Garmin refurb's ... an Oregon 550T and a nuvi 3597LMTHD. Both were in "like new" condition with full 1 year warranty. I have had no problems with either of them.

[+ecanderson]

Just beware of 'non-factory' refurb units that do not come with the factory's refurb warranty!

 

As someone noted above, there are outlets for units that have been refurbished by 3rd parties, and the units fall mostly into two categories --

 

1) a NPF (no problem found) turn-around process done hastily that did not uncover the issue for which the unit was returned.

2) units that the customer used briefly and returned due to a generous store return policy

3) units that the customer wasn't satisfied with for other reasons

 

#1 can be a real bugger when you uncover the original complaint!

#2 and #3 pose little problem in terms of function, but still pose a warranty issue later

[+BAMBOOZLE]

62S still on sale at Cabelas for $199.99

 

http://www.cabelas.com/product/Camping/Handheld-GPS-Accessories/Handheld-GPS/Garmin174-GPSMAP174-62S-and-62ST|/pc/104795280/c/104731380/sc/104373180/e/8121/Garmin174-GPSMAP174-62S/e/8121/753228.uts?destination=%2Fcatalog%2Fensemble.jsp%3FparentCategoryId%3D104795280%26categoryId%3D104731380%26subCategoryId%3D104373180%26ensembleId%3D8121%26type%3Densemble%26WT.srch%3D1%26WT.tsrc%3DPPC%26WT.mc_id%3Dgoogle%257CAll%2Btargets%257CUSA%26WT.z_mc_id1%3DsRAkPKKTj%26rid%3D20%26gclid%3DCI7qjq2in70CFQsSMwodPkoA8g&categoryIds=104795280|104731380|104373180&WTz_l=PPC%3Bpod8121

[+RTechS]

The 62s is a very popular unit, I hear it mentioned on a lot of podcasts. I've not yet seen one in person, but after using my phone for so long I'm afraid the display on the 62s may be too small for my liking. Next time I'm at a store that sells GPS's I'll have a look at the 62s.