Garmin Sat Nav Bargain

[Parksy]

My good friend Sprocket will love this :cheer: :cheer: :cheer:

We were wandering round our local Aldi supermarket after we decided to begin getting some of our weekly shop from there and I happened to look inside the glass display case in which higher value gadgets such as cameras and car stereos are kept when my eyes alighted on a Garmin Camper 760 LMT-D sat nav.

The box was on it's side covering up the price so I asked an assistant how much it was. The cheapest I've seen them so far was around £300 from Halfrauds so I'd decided to put off buying one until next year.

The guy came back and told me that the price is an incredible £199, a saving of at least 100 quid!
I asked if there was only the one in the case left suspecting that it might be returned and possibly damaged stock and he replied that Aldi have several 'out the back', so out came the plastic fantastic and the deal was done.
As I'm typing this on my computer desk in front of me is a brand new boxed Garmin Camper 760l LMT-D sat nav waiting for me to open it and plug it into my computer to set it up. B)

 

[Sproket]

There is nothing better than getting a bargain from :lol: :lol:

With a seven inch screen it will be like having a portable telly on the dash :kiss:

 

[Parksy]

You're right about the screen Sprocket, it's like being at the pictures. The device is voice activated as well so I'll have to train it to understand Black Country dialect :lol:

 

[RayS]

I've had one of the large screen satnavs as sold by Caravan Club but not from them for some years now, done all the updates but still find it disappointing and unreliable. Yes you can set Caravan/Motorhome mode rather than car, and checking the route alter setting it up all appears well. However, at some key junctions on minor roads - just where you need it most - there is neither voice prompt or screen instruction. Similarly, even with current updates, it insists I am 'off-road' on a section of Spanish autovia that has been open for around 7 years to my certain knowledge. The new update says you can navigate by junctions, but this applies only to motorways. 'Forcing' a route by putting in intermediate points is far from easy and you have to remember to cancel the intermediates before you get to them, or you are constantly directed back to them. On one occasion it tried to route me through a pedestrianised street, which, judging by the state of the signs, had been such for several years.

I too check new routes on Google Earth but this is not always up to date either and my old brain will not hold all the details of a I300mile trans Europe trip.

Any views on good basic devices - not smart phone apps.

I'm sorely tempted to go to a simple car grade satnav and rely on experience for the difficult bits - Halfords are selling a Garmin Uk and europe for just over £60 now and new makes are appearing on the market.

 

[BedfordGeorge]

Hello Ray,
I have had the Snooper dedicated Camping Sat Nav for over 5 years and have used it in Europe for in excess of 35 weeks and found it pretty good. Yes we have had a few difficult moments, but probably less than if we had not had it. I think that with any model, a little common sense is required, but being able to input the dimensions of your rig lessons the problems. My only problem is I bought it before life time updates became standard, and they have refused to retrospectively offer me this facility and want about £85-00 to update mine.
Parksy, does the Garmin include all the ACSI sites as this would be most important to me, as we use their sites almost exclusively on our travels

 

[Parksy]

I don't really know yet if all ACSI sites are included George because I haven't installed the Garmin in my 4x4 yet, but internet adverts for the 760LMT-D state that 'This camping satnav system also features the specific directories ACSI and MHF (Auto Camper Service International and Motorhome Facts) which can be searched and filtered to help you find the best campsite in a given area. ' so I'm guessing that the ACSI sites are available for the product.
Obviously no sat nav is foolproof and there will always be less expensive alternatives, but at over £100 off the lowest price that I've found on the internet I decided to treat myself to a top line premium product at a very good price.
My other sat nav, a Garmin Nuvi with a useful 5" screen, is more than adequate for my little Peugot 206 runabout and it will stay in that car from now on, but the dedicated caravanner big screen version will ease some pressure when I'm towing with my 4x4 because I'm the sole driver.
My o/h doesn't drive and would be the first to admit that her map reading and road sign recognition leave something to be desired, :woohoo: and with free lifetime map updates, safety camera alerts and traffic reports I hope that the caravanning sat nav will help to avoid directional mix ups, missed site entrances, wrong lanes, worry and doubt. :lol:

 

[Gafferbill]

...........I always programme the route details into my Garmin and check it before setting out.

I do this with reference to Google maps which have a facility to view and pinpoint the precise spot I need to get to.
In the case of finding a campsite or rally site then this is usually a gateway..........

Locate position of entrance on Google maps and double check by viewing in Earth.
Place cursor on entrance and right click.
Select Whats here? from drop down menu.
This will bring up a box below the search box giving the co-ordinates of the entrance.
These co-ordinates can be fed into your satnav and saved...........
In Google maps place little yellow man on entrance to familiarise yourself with what it looks like.

Check the rest of the route chosen by your satnav with Google maps to see if there is anything that needs avoiding.........if there is create Via Points so that the satnav is forced to follow your preferred route.

 

[Parksy]

Thanks Bill, I'll have a play around using your method before we go away in August.
We go to a music festival every year and the car and caravan probably know the way themselves by now but it's nice to try these things out on something familiar before they are used properly.

 

[SwingLowJim]

I have a map , it works for me !

 

[Parksy]

I have a map , it works for me !

So does mine Jim but the cops wouldn't like me reading it when I'm driving down the road, Herself doesn't drive and doesn't read maps very well and my memory isn't good enough these days to store every turning so I bought a sat nav.

 

[JonnyG]

smartphones are not expensive these day if one doesn't need the top brand top of the range... I have had co pilot for several years , cost me £30 or so and after a year to keep live services cost my £7 ish yearly.its good just read the reviews but of course not perfect nor is anything else one could use to navigate... this year tom tom finally came up with a decent app that's also cheap. £15 a year and updated very regularly. tom tom own tele atlas . with live services which i find a must.. i believe tom tom has finally responded with a decent option.of course it doesn't do caravan but with common sense it works more than fine when I'm driving HGV's and given some of the ridiculous routes the built in HGV sat nav tries to send....of course a paper map has its place, best place for it is in the boot its neither as up to date nor does one singular map carry the detail a single sat nav can.although i do use one to look for places to go for days out whilst on holiday.

 

[SwingLowJim]

My navigator is pretty good with a map , she has had a lot of practice on both sides of the road !

 

[Parksy]

I learned my lesson early on after Herself 'navigated' us along a narrow country lane before we had a sat nav.
She had instructed me to turn right but the road we wanted was on the left, it must be a form of map dyslexia.

 

[Gafferbill]

My navigator is pretty good with a map , she has had a lot of practice on both sides of the road !

..........does that mean she doesn't know whether she is coming or going?

I was going to suggest you could share tips on map reading for those such as yourself who prefer to use a map................now I am not so sure

 

[Sproket]

Have found that they don't answer you back if you shout at it. .... as it's always polite and in a good mood ... the sat nav that is

I have the truckers version of this map book as a backup or incase of having to find a quick diversion & seeing what is about locally to where we are.

 

[Gabsgrandad]

Upto last year, maps were always good for us. Route planning was never a problem for journeys. However we wasted alot of time locating places in towns & cities. In fact we got so frustrated (can't remember where) trying to find an address (It must have cost a bomb in diesel!) I/we decided to give sat nav ago. Only bought a bottom of the range Tom Tom, but have found it is superb in towns cities business parks etc. Whether we want to find Lidl, Aldi, Asda, etc etc. We get the post codes off Google beforehand, make a list of all their post codes for the area we are in and leave it in the car. Haven't failed us yet. For journey planning we always check the route on paper. (Love contradicting 'her who must not be obeyed!' Probably talk more to her than the one who must be obeyed!)

So being anti sat nav now pro.

 

[BedfordGeorge]

Hello Parksy,
I have to say your mate Sprocket, and unfortunately yourself would have been very happy to visit my local Aldi today, as I did earlier, for our normal Friday shop. Following this thread I drifted over to the enclosed glass cabinet to see if there were any still available, and there it was, looking very lonely as it was the last one available, and marked down to £129-99, yes that's correct £70-00 off the original price. Needless to say I called her who must be obeyed over, and she quickly agreed to do a deal. We had intended to spend £85-00 updating our Snooper, for which we were denied updating as we bought before that offer of lifetime updates, so this was a no brainer. We now have both, so if one goes down, we are covered with the other. The Garmin has the ACSI sites, which as indicated in my earlier post is most important to us.
I have to say thanks for making me aware of the Garmin.
Regards,
George

 

[Sproket]

George...

Glad you have got yourself a bargain

A lot of people knock the like's of Aldi & Lidl but as you have just found out they do get some great bargains, don't think that the likes of the major supermarkets or car parts suppliers would have knocked it down by so much....... as they say when it's gone it's gone ....

I think they like the money back in the till rather than being sat on a shelf gathering dust

 

[DeliDave_]

You're very lucky Bedford George,I have been to 3 Aldi's looking for one and no luck

 

[Parksy]

Hello Parksy,
I have to say your mate Sprocket, and unfortunately yourself would have been very happy to visit my local Aldi today, as I did earlier, for our normal Friday shop. Following this thread I drifted over to the enclosed glass cabinet to see if there were any still available, and there it was, looking very lonely as it was the last one available, and marked down to £129-99, yes that's correct £70-00 off the original price. Needless to say I called her who must be obeyed over, and she quickly agreed to do a deal. We had intended to spend £85-00 updating our Snooper, for which we were denied updating as we bought before that offer of lifetime updates, so this was a no brainer. We now have both, so if one goes down, we are covered with the other. The Garmin has the ACSI sites, which as indicated in my earlier post is most important to us.
I have to say thanks for making me aware of the Garmin.
Regards,
George

I'm glad that my post helped, well spotted George. Even the original price represents a good bargain compared to the £300+ charged almost everywhere else for exactly the same sat nav so you had a real bargain at that price. :cheer:

You're very lucky Bedford George,I have been to 3 Aldi's looking for one and no luck

I sent an email to you Dave

 

[BedfordGeorge]

Parksy I only looked because of your thread, so I was lucky, and having played with it, I am also very happy with it. So many thanks for bringing it to my attention.

Sprocket I could not agree more, we have been going to Leverkusen in Germany since 1976, to visit Mary's cousin who married Hans from there. As a result we got to know both LIDL & Aldi very well, and the point which has taken a long time to get through about them in the UK, is that they offer German quality at all times. Aldi opened a new store, 1.5 miles away from us, about 2/3 years ago, and we had it to ourselves for quite a while, but not now. We have saved so much money since then it is quite incredible, the manager works his socks off and often stacks the shelves along with his staff.

 

[Sproket]

The guy came back and told me that the price is an incredible £199, a saving of at least 100 quid!

Just spotted two both are reduced to £149.99 that's another £50 saving

 

[Parksy]

It's a good saving
I got one for Deli Dave last weekend but had to pay the full price of £199.99 even though it was the last one in that branch

 

[merlin1]

Went into Aldi at Pocklington last night and bought one for £150!

Ian

 

[DeliDave_]

It's a good saving
I got one for Deli Dave last weekend but had to pay the full price of £199.99 even though it was the last one in that branch

Still a bargain and much appreciated Thank you