Lifetime Maps - worth it?

[Padowan]

I'm looking to get a bike GPS in preparation of a trip to Europe in the summer. Being a bit of a cheapskate, I want the best value unit that meets my needs, one of those needs is to be able to get the audio hard-wired into my Autocom, that seems to preclude a lot of the cheaper units that from what I can read can only send audio directions out to a Bluetooth headset.

The Zumo 660, does seem to have all the features I want, plus a few that although I don't want but might come in useful. It also seems to be highly rated on here. I've seen the Zumo 660 new on a website with UK and EU maps for £312, but that's without the Lifetime maps option - the version with the LM, is another £75. The Zumo 350LM looks to meet my needs too, but that's only available as a LM model at just £20 cheaper than the 660LM.

So, my question is do people on here think the LM are really worth the money, specially as Garmin have their wheedle-out clauses about what exactly they mean by "Lifetime". In my Car, I'm running an old TomTom, with well out of date maps, and only rarely do I find bits of road that aren't as described and to be honest, I just manage until I'm back on track and the unit picks up where it left off.

On a Biking holiday, surely half the fun is finding new places and the occasional navigational error caused by an out of date maps will just be part of the fun!

 

[Redboots]

specially as Garmin have their wheedle-out clauses about what exactly they mean by "Lifetime".

It means the lifetime of the UNIT.... whether that means how long you can keep the unit working or the length of time they support the unit, I dunno.

On a Biking holiday, surely half the fun is finding new places and the occasional navigational error caused by an out of date maps will just be part of the fun!

The fun, on holiday, is in turning the routing OFF

 

[Pablo1]

I have a 660 , for £75 the lifetime maps are well worth it.

 

[Fanum]

It means the lifetime of the UNIT.... whether that means how long you can keep the unit working or the length of time they support the unit, I dunno.

The drill it down even further.....i think they say 'useful lifetime of the unit' or similar, by which they mean when a new stylee of mapping comes out (EG NT) or a new generation of the same style gps, when they then stop supporting it.

Personally, I wouldn't buy one of the lifetime updates...same way I never go for the stupidly prices 'extended warranties' on electrical goods.

 

[CuzGS]

If we say that you have the unit 5 years, garmin works out at a tenner a year, prob worth it id suggest, plus it increases res value when you flog it.

If youre not too much of a gadget freak and kept it say 10 years then 5.00 a year seems a good deal to me, worth it for the updated gas stations in france alone Id say

 

[araspitfire]

First lets be honest about what Garmin means when they say quartely map updates...

What we think is they update the stuff that's important to us.. (roads) quarterly. However I've not seen any change in the currency of roads... I'm guessing Navtech still put out updates every year or two...

What they mean is you can update your points of interest every quarter. This allows them to sell the points of interest as advertising for more money.. as they can state that people who already own the map will update the POI's...

That said... "lifetime" means you will get free road updates when they eventually come out.

Al...

 

[markie_wales]

If you mainly ride UK and western Europe (France, Germany, Spain etc) then don't bother the roads don't change that quick and are well mapped. If you ride Eastern Europe a lot it makes more sense. As someone up there said quarterly it's the POI's that will mainly change.

I've had a 660 3 or 4 (?) years - don't have LM - mine broke last year (my fault) the replacement had the new maps

cheers

Markie

 

[CuzGS]

If you mainly ride UK and western Europe (France, Germany, Spain etc) then don't bother the roads don't change that quick and are well mapped. If you ride Eastern Europe a lot it makes more sense. As someone up there said quarterly it's the POI's that will mainly change.

I've had a 660 3 or 4 (?) years - don't have LM - mine broke last year (my fault) the replacement had the new maps

cheers

Markie

The POI thing is key here, if that matters to you (as per my prev post ref gas stations) then Id go for it.

In France last year, one bloke had updated maps and allowed us to find a BM dealer to sort a pressure monitor out, it didn't show on mine, as with everything its horses courses etc, I recon second hand its prob easier to sell with updates and thus youll recoup some outlay, overall Id go for it with a deal of e bay

 

[Sleepy]

I use my 660 everyday (in the company vehicle) as i did with my 550.

The Lifetime mapping is well worth the extra.. I find after each update a 'new' housing development my appear, (or new Motorway..!) one update last year actually had the little close on it that I live in.. mind you it was/is a thirty odd year old development..

Also worth mentioning, when my 550 gave up the ghost, garmin sent me a 660 instead of repairing it, for £112... and transfered my Lifetime mapping for free.

 

[Humbug]

Don't pay £75.00 for a lifetime update.

Have a read HERE first.

 

[Deleted account 211025001]

If you mainly ride UK and western Europe (France, Germany, Spain etc) then don't bother the roads don't change that quick and are well mapped..............

............and I'm on a 2610 with 'well out of date maps' - still gets me to where I want to go

You can always update MapSource with 'Openstreetmap'

Andres

 

[grez]

Got it for my 550 for a trip to eastern europe (cancelled due to broken wrist). Lots of problems downloading but when I eventually got it done it updated with loads of roads that were new to me. I had previously riden miles with a low fuel light in France only to find the garage closed down, hopefully new maps would have avoided that. Over 5 years £15 a year is cheap.....29 p a week.....or a fraction over 4 p a day ! ! !

 

[Padowan]

Thanks all.

Reckon I'll not both with the updates and chose a unit accordingly, that £75 quid could go a long way towards a lockable TT mount for it, that's money much better spent in my opinion.

 

[CuzGS]

Buy a used 550 off here, with luck itll have updates, if not 50 quid job done

They come up quite often

 

[Greg Masters]

Reckon I'll not both with the updates and chose a unit accordingly, that £75 quid could go a long way towards a lockable TT mount for it, that's money much better spent in my opinion.

When I first got my 660, I also shelled out on lifetime updates because I thought, and still think, that they were worth it for me.

I haven't got a lockable mount, as I never leave my Zumo on the bike and wouldn't trust a lockable mount to keep it from anybody determined.

Are either of these items worth it to you? ONLY you can answer that!

Greg

 

[Padowan]

When I first got my 660, I also shelled out on lifetime updates because I thought, and still think, that they were worth it for me.

I haven't got a lockable mount, as I never leave my Zumo on the bike and wouldn't trust a lockable mount to keep it from anybody determined.

Are either of these items worth it to you? ONLY you can answer that!

Greg

In my opinion the lifetime maps aren't worth it, I don't feel the need for them on the TomTom in my car, I don't see why it would be different on the bike. I don't use POI in the car, don't think I'll use them on the bike so that reason for the updates is also a moot point.

Lockable mount - for me, that's not so much about security to prevent theft, if I was leaving the unit for any time I'd just take it off, but its more about providing a more robust mounting. I know the standard mount is designed for use on a bike, but I can't help thinking that plastic just isn't robust enough and the metal cage seems a much more solid option.

If I could get a metal cage-type mount that doesn't lock (and was cheaper!) that would be what I would choose!

 

[IainMac]

I took out lifetime map updates when I bought a 660. However that was years ago. If I was looking to buy a current garmin gps I dont think I'd be looking at the 660 zumo. its quite an old design now and has limitations in accepting new map updates (with workarounds ) but I often wonder how much life is left in the old dog now newer mapping units with automotive/bike support are being made by Garmin like the montana range.
History shows even the best of the old models soon loose garmin support once retired from the product catalogue.

 

[pistolpete]

garmin lm updates were £30 of amazon, great price and they work, amazon describes them as used for some reason but they are brand new