Try before you buy

Rampton · Occasional Visitor Joined: Jul 20, 2005 Posts: 7

I am unsure if this Lounge is the best place for this post but I am new to this GPS lark, having made do with good ol fashioned maps for more years than I care to remember. In fact I could probably find my way to 90% of the UK just from memory alone, but even I get it wrong now and again. Anyway I digress.
I am in the market for buying an all in one system for the car (and possibly walking as well) and cannot decide between the Tom Tom Go series (leaning towards the 500 or 700) or the Navman iCN 510 (or should that now be the 520 and higher ?). So far I haven't found one retailer worth their salt that sells both AND has the staff competent enough to tell me the pros and cons of either.

I like to see things working before I buy them or at the very least demonstrated to me. Which brings me to the point of this post (at last everyone sighs).
As GPS systems are about moving around it is difficult to demo them when they are static in a shop so why do they not have say 2 or 3 demo kits that people can pay the full price for, take it away for an agreed period, try it out and if they like it, return it to the store and exchange it for a brand new 'boxed' one or get a full refund if it didn't suit them or meet their expectations of the products. The returned unit can then be 'lent' out to the next potential customer. Making people pay the full (100% fully refundable) price insures against people NOT returning the thing. Obviously the 'lent' out kit would have to be sold off at a discount at some stage but loads of shops sell 'display' stuff off cheap at the end of it's usefullness so why not GPS kit ?. I have suggested this to the Manager of my local PC World store, but I guess I don't have to repeat the answer I got.

If they did as I suggested above it would make my decision a whole lot easier, apart from of course browsing the very excellent Lounges and forums of this website, hence why I registered today.

Pocketgps · Posted: Wed Jul 20, 2005 3:28 pm Post subject:

Hello Rampton

Welcome

to the forum

I tried finding some UK dealers you could actually visit, and this is the post

http://www.pocketgpsworld.com/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=18482

So, not a lot Sad

oddsock · Posted: Wed Jul 20, 2005 4:16 pm Post subject:

What you are sugesting may be great for the buyer but might not be so good from the high street retailers point of view .Just saying, after this demo the item does every thing that you require and you must have one,what would be stopping you shopping around the net and buying at a cheper price so bypassing all the effort gone into arranging the demo Question

which might be why they are reluctant to do it Exclamation

Dave

Rampton · Occasional Visitor Joined: Jul 20, 2005 Posts: 7

To Oddsock,

I agree but there are so many anomolies with the Internet. For example you can look at a product in any PC World shop, then look for it on their website and I think you will find there a lot cheaper, but the rub is you can order it and then pick it up from your local store and pay the internet price. How daft is that. Paying less than the store is selling it for ?. Great for the consumer but just a tad illogical if you ask me.

Anyhow I have now made my buying decision. The PC WORLD Tungsten T5 and Tom Tom Navigator 4 package for less than a stand alone unit. You get a brand new PDA (which I need) plus everything to use the system in the car plus it is a very portable unit for using outside the car. I appreciate that TTN5 is now available but I can always upgrade if I need TTN5.

MarkHewitt · Posted: Thu Jul 21, 2005 8:07 am Post subject: Re: Try before you buy

DavidHobbs · Posted: Thu Jul 21, 2005 4:04 pm Post subject:

I like the idea of being able to test before purchase. I wish I did that more often b/c I tend to get stuck every now and then with something that doesn't work they way i thought it would.

Rampton · Occasional Visitor Joined: Jul 20, 2005 Posts: 7

Oopps, sorry Mark but I have already gone and done the foul deed.

As I have now made the mistake, could you enlighten me as what is so dire about TTN4 and what probs I can look forward too ?. I thought the deal was too good to be true (A Tungsten T5 and the TTN4 package all for £ 299).

Do you happen to know if the upgrade route to TTN5 is possible ?.

Rampton

intertoto · Occasional Visitor Joined: Jun 20, 2005 Posts: 57

Hi Rampton,

TomTom will let you upgrade but it will cost you a little extra. You can do it directly from their website:
http://www.tomtom.com/shop/upgrade.php?action=pda&TT=6f019e6b71636f3212fec376c88cfdaf

For 59 Euro you will be upgraded to NAVIGATOR 5 software and also take advantage of the latest maps for the whole of Western Europe. Not a bad deal!!

Jonathan Bowes
Product Manager
www.globalpositioningsystems.co.uk

YooNoo Ltd

Rampton · Occasional Visitor Joined: Jul 20, 2005 Posts: 7

Jonathan,

Thanks for the tip. I will explore the upgrade route once I get my laptop back from the menders and have setup my T5 with the TTN4 maps etc on it. I only bought the kit yesterday because the guy in my local PC World shop said he didn't know how long the offer would last. I didn't want to risk waiting until I got my laptop back and missing what seemed a good buy so I bought it anyway.

I would still be interested in knowing what is so bad about TTN4 though if some people suggest that the previous version is better.

Rampton

DavidHobbs · Posted: Mon Jul 25, 2005 9:38 pm Post subject:

Is there any way that you could test a GPS device before buying it?

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