Maps for Garmin?

[JR]

Has anyone tried to download maps to a Garmin Nuvi GPS from a site other than Garmin.com? Their $50 fee for loading the latest maps seems pretty steep to me.

A web search revealed one or two sites advertising free maps, but it seemed too good to be true.

JR

[cabinetman]

According to LOML, the first download is free, and their map downloads are proprietary to Garmin. A quick search does reveal some sites like this one, that offer free downloads. I can't say if they are realistic or not as I haven't tried them. If you do and are successful, that's good news.


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[jbrain]

I have an older garmin and I recall the cost of maps much more than $50.00

When it's time for new maps I will just get a new unit. My friend just bought a cheap $100.00 Tom Tom (which in the past I was told to avoid) and it is SUPERIOR to my old Garmin Streetpilot 3 (over $600.00 new!!!!) The screen is better, the processor is way faster than mine when recalculating. Very impressive.

[Skaning]

L signed up for the lifetime update plan and load the update generally anot once a year. Biggest headache for me is the time to download. With mt satellite internet it's about 2 hours. Better than dialup but still.

[herb fellows]

L signed up for the lifetime update plan and load the update generally anot once a year. Biggest headache for me is the time to download. With mt satellite internet it's about 2 hours. Better than dialup but still.

I used to own tomtom, I now own Garmin. Big mistake as far as I'm concerned.
The tomtom is much more up to date with everything, much quicker to find satellites and much more accurate. I let a few people who loved Garmin talk me into it, sorry I listened.

Two hours? I would feel blessed! The initial download for a 255w was 11 1/2 hrs, as opposed to 10 minutes for Tomtom
On paper, the Garmin looks like it has a lot more poi's, but they are poor in quality. The nearest McDonalds it lists is 1.3 miles away; there are 6 of them that are closer and that have been open a minimum of 5 years and aren't listed at all! I have found this to be a constant problem with Garmin.
Also, the tomtom is functiuonal when connected to your computer, the Garmin is not. HUGE in my opinion!
Sorry, got off the subject. I would be EXTREMELY careful about downloading anything that costs money elsewhere. Unless the source is totally beyond reproach, I wouldn't even think about it.

[LCHIEN]

At the rate technology is changing, when the maps get too old, buy a new GPS unit for not much more than the map update.
The units with lifetime maps may sound like a deal, but I read it is limited to that model, i.e. the maps for it won't work with their other units. That means when your hardware gets obsolete, you can't get mas for it that will work with newer units even from the same manufacturer. So, same problem, you will have free maps to a unit with obsolete features, and we all know that when that happens, even the map updates will become less frequent.

For what its worth, I have two tomtoms (one bought to get newer maps) auto nav GPS units and a Garmin handheld GPS.
They all work OK.

[dbhost]

My BIL has a Garmin Nuvi, I guess a year and a half old, it was cheap, $120.00 @ Walmart. The maps were outdated when he bought it, and Garmin wants $100.00 for the updated maps. I think I'll get a Tomtom instead....

[Kristofor]

I don't think you'll find legit free maps for any of the big players being legally distributed. There are updated maps readily available for "free" online, but only if you're willing to violate copyright to obtain them (I don't recommend this)

With a little willingness to hack it, the entertainment & GPS unit in my car can use a TomTom, Garmin, or its native interface, with the appropriate TeleAtlas, NavTeq, or other map files (though you loose integration with the entertainment portion of the unit if you use anything but the native interface).

At this point general operation and route calculation speed are fast enough (both short and long trips are generally under a second or two) and the system is extensible enough (I use a user developed POI add-on database, speedtrap/traffic camera database, high-data-density UI skins, and a number of other tweaks) that I wouldn't want to replace the system just to obtain new maps. However, if I was talking about a $100 hand-held unit the math makes replacement a more reasonable strategy...

[teller2010]

Occasionally, Amazon has Garmin map updates for $30. That's how I updated my 205 last May.

[smorris]

I have a TomTom, wife has a Garmin

I get quarterly map updates for $50/year with all the other updates TT provides for free.

Wife pays ~$80/year for 1 update.

No brainer, I'm buying her a TT.

[Rand]

Or you could look here: http://btjunkie.org/search?q=garmin

[natausch]

We got skunked on the unlimited map updates from them.

Our Garmin has fits on a daily basis since they still haven't added the two year old enter/exit to Interstate 88 right by our house, shows us driving through a field and keeps insisting we "drive back to the highlighted route."

A street road I can forgive, missing a highway exit is a blunder. Forgetting to keep your Interstate system up to date is pure unexcusable. There are less than 500 total interstate exits in the State of Illinois, and less than 50,000 in the entire United States of America; including Alaska but excluding Hawaii.

Normally I wouldn't complain, but Dominos refuses to deliver to our subdivision because their drivers' GPS doesn't instruct them to use the interstate; street level roads exceed their range. Boo Garmin.

[Dale In Corona]

IMNSHO Forget about Garmin and TOM TOM, et all... I owned a Garmin and paid handily to keep it updated for over three years. I paid good money for inadequate and inaccurate maps that only got updated when they finally got around to releasing an update. And forget about the problems with waypoints. I live in a fairly big city and Garmin couldn't even keep up with the waypoints in my area. But I put up with it for three years because I had spent a fortune on thing and didn't want my investment to go to waste.

Then I saw a friends DROID with google navigation on it and I immediately switched to one myself. I have never, and will never, looked back.

I have NEVER run into a single thing that I can't find on my droid. Local restaurants, gas stations, coffee shops, bars etc are all easily locatable without a problem. I have never been misguided onto a one way street or directed down a dead end like I had been with my Garmin. I have also never run into a situation where the street names and numbers are wrong, like they often were with the Garmin.

My advice, ditch the Garmin and the Tom Tom and get yourself a droid. You'll enjoy the much better navigation and the device will do alot more than just GPS navigation!