Why I Hate My TomTom GPS - Comments Page 1

I think I spoke to the same rep, or her evil twin. TomTom doesn't seem to want happy customers. Just stupid ones. I'll never buy another TomTom.

I have a Navigon. Inexpensive and has all the features of the big names. Love it.

I don't have a TomTom, but rather an 4.3" OmniTech sold by Staples. I did have the 'bad neighborhood' problem, but learned it was because I picked 'shortest' instead of 'quickest'. I'll probably buy a Garmin when this one dies, but for now, it will do. I'd like to see someone come out with a unit that would add new streets to the map if you travel on one the is not in the database. Other than that, for just over $100 18 months ago, I'm happy.

Bob

Haven't had any experience with Tom Tom, but don't think you'd go wrong switching to Garmin. I've had mine for a couple of years now and it performs flawlessly. Garmin support has been fantastic. Any time I've had a question about how to accomplish a task, the answers have been fast and right on the money. Had a Magellan and sent it back. Have to wonder if it and your Tom Tom came out of the same place plus they must have the same support reps. Anyway, go for the Garmin. I've got a new one on order and have no doubt it will be as good as the one I have.

Thank you for all the info you provide. Really appreciate your willingness to give the whole picture, good, bad and indifferent.

Love my TomTom. Mine is the ONE XL. Bought it just a year ago as a store sample for under $100.00 Canadian dollars, and has not let me down. Traveled from Victoria, BC Canada to Alberta in Canada and a few times to California as far as Palm Springs. Three friends, who have Garmin GPS's couldn't find my house that was built 16 years ago in a subdivision. Mine has my address in the database as well as all the other streets around here.

My friend and I both got a GPS at the same time, she got a TomTom while I got a Garmin nuvi 350. I did pay about $100 more than she did but soon after she kept coming to me to ask what's wrong with her TomTom because it doesn't show her bank but shows the store next to her bank and complaining to me about how expensive to upgrade the maps (Garmin charges 59.99 for North America Map with unlimited POIs and you can download updated POIs for free). I still have mine from 3 years ago while she's on to her new Garmin nuvi 550 model.

My $400 Garmin Nuvi is junk. It worked for 13 months and now will only work for ten minutes.

So the question is, which companies' junk is worse? Garmin's support is nonexistent, their warranty illusory.

I don't have a Tom Tom but I think the customer service reps all go the same school as I got almost the same response from the Magellan reps. I asked (in an e-mail as I couldn't get a hold of a live rep) why my Magellan keeps trying to make me turn into an empty field and also can't seem to find any POIs. I wrote tech support 2 times and haven't ever received any response after 3 months. Who makes the best GPS anyway?

This Tom Tom GPS sounds like my MIO 325 that I bought here in Australia. Updated before a driving holiday in Tasmania my GPS directed my wife to 'turn sharp left in 200 meters'. Fortunately I was navigating and countermanded that directive as that would have placed in the ocean!. Second beef is that driving around my local area en route elsewhere MIO insisted that I was exceeding the speed limit. MIO's reading was out by 30KPH! Complaints to MIO's support centre were almost identical to Dan with his Tom Tom. Back to the old paper maps I guess.

I have the same model and and had reasonably good luck with it. But it is the only GPS I have owned, and I have no other devices to compare it to. I did have to call Tech Support once, and they were able to solve my problem, but that was right after I bought the unit.

I use street atlas from Delorme on an older notebook with their gps plugged into a usb. It may not have all the POIs but a few years ago I was 4 wheeling in Death Valley and lost the trail just as it was getting dark. There I am lost in Death Valley and it's getting dark. I fired up my notebook and in a few minute my gps pin pointed where I was and I was able to find where I lost the trail and drive out of there in the dark. The only time I've had trouble getting a signal was when I was in a very thick forest and had no view of the sky. I have been very satisfied with my setup.

I own two TomToms (navigator 6 for the Palm and Go300 for the car) as well as one Magellan.

I don't like the Magellan's maps because they look like cartoons. I gave it to a family member.

I had a similar experience with my Navigator 6 for the Palm on my 4700 mile motorcycle trip. Took me on a "short cut" that took 3 times longer over dirt and gravel roads. To be fair however, as one other poster pointed out, I couldn't tell you if it was set for shortest or quickest route. It sure made the trip more interesting however, riding through a herd of cows!

The thing I don't like is that the Navigator maps aren't upgradable. You have to buy a "new" navigator. If your Palm goes belly-up, you have to re-register, and it's a pain in the butt.

I think the issue is expectations. In general, I don't use POI's (except when I'm trying to find an ice arena or other sports complex I'm taking my kids to), so it isn't a big issue for me.

As someone else mentioned, the tomtom maps are "expensive", but I don't know how they compare to other vendors.

One note - I'm not used to rants in these articles.

I also have the Tom Tom GO720 and love it(for the most part). It has found most places in Canada for me right From BC to Ontario and up into the Yukon and Northwest Territories although sometimes it does use strange routing. My only beef is how often that you seem to be driving "off road". It needs to have an option when the road doesn't sync with the map so that it asks you "are you still on hwy XX" and then sync the actual position with that on the map.

I don't own any GPS but it sounds to me from this small sample of comments that the GPS technology is a work in progress..think I'll just hold off for awhile..

We checked with Consumer Reports and with a PCWorld review before buying about six months ago:

http://www.pcworld.com/article/144125/article.html?tk=nl_hoxhow

We bought a high-end Nuvi and it seems to work fine. I can't give an opinion about their customer service -- so far we haven't had any reason to call them.

But the Tom Tom can give you directions in Mr. T's voice! What more do you want?

The old story here in Southwest Florida was a man driving through his west coast town (near I-75) with his TomTom telling him to turn north on Interstate 95. Only a hundred or so miles away.
I'll keep both of my Garmins. I had one warranty issue and it was solved quickly. My wife travels frequently and swears by (not at) hers.

My daughter recently gifted me a Tom Tom XL330s and I immediately put it to use. It failed to contain the street on which I reside, and also attempted to send me in a very ridiculous route to my home, which would have been nearly impossible to maneuver. On multi-lane roadways, it tells me every 100 yards, or so, to "keep right", After many miles of keeping to the right-most lane, it suddenly tells me to turn left at the very near, next intersection. I was due a map update, which had to be downloaded within the first thirty days. When I attempted to download, it wouldn't load because it said it surpassed the limited memory. No one cautioned that the existing map had to be removed first. By the time I managed to proceed with the upgrade, it had gone past the thirty days, so I lost the chance for a free replacement. There are too many POIs left off of the map information, and it is obvious that no systematic update of information is ongoing at Tom Tom...

My TomTom GO920 doesn't do any of what you have been through. The POI list seems to be as good as my friend's Nuvi 760 ... neither are great, but both are about the same overall. I like the sound and interface far better on the TomTom, but I like the phone support on the Nuvi better. Overall I prefer the TomTom, but I understand their customer service is legendary ... as in bad.

Enjoyed your reader's comments about their GPS problems. A year ago my brother with his new Garmin Nuvi 350 compared to my GPS on my cell phone on way to Fry's in Atlanta.

Maps were comparable, and the announced directions were both the same on both units.

Only difference, he paid a couple hundred for his, I only pay $2.95 for each 24 hour time I use it.

Still don't have a reason to buy a full GPS when I have just as good on my cell phone.