SAT NAV gift Recommendations please as I don't have a clue?

[AllyourGreens]

DH keeps meaning to buy one but never seems to get round to it so I thought I'd take the matter in hand. I know it's probably equivalent to buying a kitchen appliance but I know he will appreciate it
I'd definitely need one that covers UK and Ireland but Europewide would be bonus.

So what make and model would you recommend? Tell me about the one you've got, is it good/bad? Help me decide!

hmm also interested in this discussion. Garmin seems to be the best seler on Amazon

I know herecomesthsun, and I had never heard of Garmin until this morning- There's one being offered at some point today on Amazon lightening deals I was having a brief look and am a bit The only make I'd heard of was Tom Tom and I'm not sure how much better they are, certainly seem more pricey.

Come on Mnetters, give us some guidance please...

Ok, I will vote against Garmin.

Functionally, it's fine, but is clearly American, designed for American roads. They have very different road systems to us!

For example. You'll be on a roundabout, and it will say "take the 3rd exit onto William Brown way". When everyone else, including the signposts, would call that the A621! Ok, not a problem if it's a 4 exit roundabout, but if it's a 5+ exit, it's a nightmare. You can't use the signposts, you end up squinting at a possibly non-existent road sign (usually just as you pass it)

I was all set to get a TomTom to replace our satnav, but actually we just ended up using our phones - if you have fairly decent phones, I'd recommend this, just download an app.

I've heard Co-pilot is good, I just use google maps (iPhone), not sure what app DH uses for his windows phone, but I can find out if you like :)

HuevosRancheros

Thanks a lot for sharing your experience and advice. I like the idea of using a phone actually. I think I will explore that avenue first it might even be cheaper. Sorry if this is a stupid question but does that mean I would need to get him a smart phone? I'd really appreciate it if you'd ask your DH which app he uses

I love my Garmin Nuvi. I've never had a problem with it.

It can be difficult to get advice as most people only have experience of one type.

If you have a smartphone just download Waze. So much better than a satnav (we had a Garmin) and it has real time updates, so eg if traffic frees up ahead/something changes it adjusts your route accordingly.

We love our Garmin Nuvi. Ours is UK Ireland and Europe and it took us all round Spain without mishap.

Just use your smart phone - Waze or Google Maps and a phone holder is all you need.

MONTAR Universal Car Holder For Smartphones GPS - I have this one and I buy it for or recommend it to everyone! Get a car charger for your phone and you will never need an expensive SATNAV

Waze is brill - it's taken me on so many unknown roads to avoid traffic and I do lots of driving for work.

Thank you everybody. Glad to hear Garmin works for some of you, I'm really in a dilemma now.

DH and I use cellphones so if I went the phone route I'd need to buy a smartphone plus find out if you can use one as pay as you go ( I don't use the phone enough to justify the cost of paying by tarriff) would I need 3G or 4G or would a normal internet connection work to get the real time updates? Suppose I need to work out the costs ...

We bought our son a Garmin nuvi 52LM last year and he has used it to drive both locally and further afield (visits to Unis, grandparents) since passing in the summer.

He seems to like it and for a new driver, it has the advantage of speed limits always being displayed, even through temporary speed limits, which is useful as he has a black box fitted for insurance.

His is UK only but I am sure there is a Europe-wide version.