I've been wanting an aftermarket nav system for a while, but I have been holding back since they are too expensive. I came across the Magellan Roadmate 300 today at radio shack for $300. I never knew color touch screen units were this cheap. Is this a good buy or should I head towards something else for $300?

I picked it up and so far the roadmate 300 seems alright. I just need it to keep me from getting lost.

 

I dont know that you'll find much more than that for $300. The roadmates have gotton good reviews, the only thing I dont like about them is they do not look factory at all

 

spend alittle more and get a carputer, and navigation is just 50 bucks for the gps reciever. pm me for more info.

 

Thanks for the suggestion, unfortunatly, I have taken my car appart enough times and I no longer have the patience to do any more projects.


paulm287, thanks for the info. It does look a little out of place, but I dont plan to have it out all the time.

 

You've got the right idea. Not many people are on to the carputer yet. They don't realize how cheap it can be, den toss in Microsoft Streets & Trips 2006 or Street Atlas 2006 with the GPS receiver and you're rolling.

 

agreed...you can get a laptop with a broken screen from e-bay for $250-$300 and a touchscreen for about $185-$200; gps receiver & e-donkey for maps

 

you COULD get a broken laptop but i think it still might be cheaper if you get an epia via m10000 micro itx, 2.5 inch hard drive, and car power supply, which for the mini itx isnt alot due to its low power consumption, laptops have a few drawbacks, they get really hot in an enclosed environment and they consume a considerable amount of power and space, save urself the hassle and get a mini itx and mount it behind your screen that way youll save money on vga and usb estension cables. www.mp3car.com and digitalww.com

 

look at a TOMTOM... or one like it.. you can carry it out with you... You would be hard pressed to find one at that price as an internal unit, unless you get it used and it might have probs??? just a suggestion.. LAter..

 

I just bought a garmin nuvi 350 and I love it....I got it at Best Buy with a discount and the price was 640 compared to 800-900. The main reason why I got it was because of its portability. If you travel a lot, I would suggest the garmin if you can get a hook up somewhere.

 

Thanks for the suggestions. I did some more research and my roadmate 300 model is the same as the current 360 model, but mine doesn't come with the 2 gig sd card which holds all the maps. I dont think I will use it enough to justify spending more than $300. I'm also saving up to buy my own place in a year or two, so $300 is the upper limit.

I definitly agree that carputer is the way to go, but it will cost me more than $300 (even if I already had a computer) to do in addition to my time needed because I would want it to look 100% factory.

 

Save up... For under a grand now you can get a Pioneer-D1 off of e-bay.
Looks like factory-nav after install, and does a fantastic job of what it's there to do!

I looked at carputers and didn't like any of the nav packages available (they aren't really designed for in-car usage)


Happy with my choice of the D1

-Tom

 

I decided to return the Magellan. It was a good unit for the price, but it would tell me to get off of a free way, then in .1 mile expect me to make a right. 95+% of the time it did the right thing. Knowing me, I would grow to rely on something like this so I returned it and I will probably get a much better unit when prices drop - which wont be for a while....unless my work has me travel more often. I really like that Nuvi

hmmm...wonder whats the cheapest price for an avn w/full crossover....arg bad thoughts LALALALALLAALALLALALAALLALAALAL

 

Garmin rules all