Garmin Zumo or Tomtom??
#13
10-19-2008, 04:41 PM
Wanting to get a GPS. I am looking at Garmin Zumo's and the Tomtom's. For those that have had these - wanting your advice.... I do NOT need bluetooth or Voice street names. I have used a Garmin Nuvi (borrowed) on a recent 3500 mile trip, so I understand the Garmin a little... I found the 450 Zumo at a killer price of $349 - Costco. I would need to get the car mount as an extra. Want to be able to go between the car and bike.
1. When powered-on using the ignition switch, the Zumo will not boot unless you start the bike after the Zumo splash screen shows. If you start it too early the GPS will not start, and will only do so with a soft-reset (pushing the power + "+" button simultaneously). Garmin tech support was stumped and sent me a new unit, which did the same thing. I kept the original unit and returned the second.
While on this subject, if you must send your unit in for a replacement, don't let them "cross-ship," or ship a new unit while you retain the old, by charging your credit card. After you return it they will not be in a hurry to give you a refund. My second Zumo was returned and received at Garmin on Oct. 9th, and they still haven't refunded me 10 days later. They are obviously holding onto these funds to gain as much interest as they can legally get away with, and my CC company says the maximum is 30 days.
2. If you load MP3s on an SD card, break them up into many folders with 10-20 files (songs) in each. By loading all in one folder it will delay the start of music playing and the drawing of maps. Mine originally had >500 MP3s in one folder and it took 5 min. to draw the map and play the first song.
3. Don't call Garmin tech support for anything before checking at Zumoforums first. Their support reps are patient and eager, but in my experience short on knowledge. There is no such thing as "Level 2" support, so if you get a dunce like I have more than once you are stuck with him. For example, it took two phone calls totalling 2 hours to see progress with my MP3 problem (#2 above). This is a well-known problem and was very well-documented on the Zumo forums (MP3 section).
4. I had problems with loading Mapsource on the computer at first from the CD, giving me an cryptic error message each time. Downloading the app from the Garmin site lead to a successful install. Upgrading to City Nav 2009 was successful on the GPS, not so on the computer, and that took another hour-long exercise with tech support to get straight.
After these underwhelming expriences with Garmin and their unwillingness to refund my money ($700) for the cross-ship, I have been tempted to return the unit to Costco for a refund, which can be done up to 90 days from receipt. Another reason for concern is that the warranty is one year, and after that any repair is a fixed $200. Reading the Zumo forums there are many people having trouble with these units, so it seems a repair after the warranty is a decent possibility.
Even with all these negatives I may keep it after all, as it is a big improvement over my old Quest, and is a very nice, intuitive GPS for the bike with only a few irritating quirks.
#14
10-19-2008, 05:11 PM
#15
10-19-2008, 05:17 PM
1. When powered-on using the ignition switch, the Zumo will not boot unless you start the bike after the Zumo splash screen shows. If you start it too early the GPS will not start, and will only do so with a soft-reset (pushing the power + "+" button simultaneously). Garmin tech support was stumped and sent me a new unit, which did the same thing. I kept the original unit and returned the second.
I also have a TomTom 720 for my car that you always have to turn on and off manually, every time, plugged in or not. That's just the way they designed it. I like the way the tom tom does street names and Bluetooth but when it came time to upgrade the maps, the Zumo was $69 from Garmin and Tom Tom wanted $130 for it's update. That's too much for me, so my next GPS will be another Garmin.
#16
10-19-2008, 05:18 PM
Club Member
#17
10-19-2008, 06:58 PM
I couldn't pass up the Costco offer ($367 total for me, including thenon-member fee) and received my Zumo 450 about a month ago. I didn't need XM, bluetooth, or the auto mount--so the 450 was all I needed. Overall I'm impressed with the unit, which is much more ergonomic than my old Quest, but it is not without its quirks. Here are some I've encountered, along with some other complaints:
1. When powered-on using the ignition switch, the Zumo will not boot unless you start the bike after the Zumo splash screen shows. If you start it too early the GPS will not start, and will only do so with a soft-reset (pushing the power + "+" button simultaneously). Garmin tech support was stumped and sent me a new unit, which did the same thing. I kept the original unit and returned the second.
While on this subject, if you must send your unit in for a replacement, don't let them "cross-ship," or ship a new unit while you retain the old, by charging your credit card. After you return it they will not be in a hurry to give you a refund. My second Zumo was returned and received at Garmin on Oct. 9th, and they still haven't refunded me 10 days later. They are obviously holding onto these funds to gain as much interest as they can legally get away with, and my CC company says the maximum is 30 days.
2. If you load MP3s on an SD card, break them up into many folders with 10-20 files (songs) in each. By loading all in one folder it will delay the start of music playing and the drawing of maps. Mine originally had >500 MP3s in one folder and it took 5 min. to draw the map and play the first song.
3. Don't call Garmin tech support for anything before checking at Zumoforums first. Their support reps are patient and eager, but in my experience short on knowledge. There is no such thing as "Level 2" support, so if you get a dunce like I have more than once you are stuck with him. For example, it took two phone calls totalling 2 hours to see progress with my MP3 problem (#2 above). This is a well-known problem and was very well-documented on the Zumo forums (MP3 section).
4. I had problems with loading Mapsource on the computer at first from the CD, giving me an cryptic error message each time. Downloading the app from the Garmin site lead to a successful install. Upgrading to City Nav 2009 was successful on the GPS, not so on the computer, and that took another hour-long exercise with tech support to get straight.
After these underwhelming expriences with Garmin and their unwillingness to refund my money ($700) for the cross-ship, I have been tempted to return the unit to Costco for a refund, which can be done up to 90 days from receipt. Another reason for concern is that the warranty is one year, and after that any repair is a fixed $200. Reading the Zumo forums there are many people having trouble with these units, so it seems a repair after the warranty is a decent possibility.
Even with all these negatives I may keep it after all, as it is a big improvement over my old Quest, and is a very nice, intuitive GPS for the bike with only a few irritating quirks.
1. When powered-on using the ignition switch, the Zumo will not boot unless you start the bike after the Zumo splash screen shows. If you start it too early the GPS will not start, and will only do so with a soft-reset (pushing the power + "+" button simultaneously). Garmin tech support was stumped and sent me a new unit, which did the same thing. I kept the original unit and returned the second.
While on this subject, if you must send your unit in for a replacement, don't let them "cross-ship," or ship a new unit while you retain the old, by charging your credit card. After you return it they will not be in a hurry to give you a refund. My second Zumo was returned and received at Garmin on Oct. 9th, and they still haven't refunded me 10 days later. They are obviously holding onto these funds to gain as much interest as they can legally get away with, and my CC company says the maximum is 30 days.
2. If you load MP3s on an SD card, break them up into many folders with 10-20 files (songs) in each. By loading all in one folder it will delay the start of music playing and the drawing of maps. Mine originally had >500 MP3s in one folder and it took 5 min. to draw the map and play the first song.
3. Don't call Garmin tech support for anything before checking at Zumoforums first. Their support reps are patient and eager, but in my experience short on knowledge. There is no such thing as "Level 2" support, so if you get a dunce like I have more than once you are stuck with him. For example, it took two phone calls totalling 2 hours to see progress with my MP3 problem (#2 above). This is a well-known problem and was very well-documented on the Zumo forums (MP3 section).
4. I had problems with loading Mapsource on the computer at first from the CD, giving me an cryptic error message each time. Downloading the app from the Garmin site lead to a successful install. Upgrading to City Nav 2009 was successful on the GPS, not so on the computer, and that took another hour-long exercise with tech support to get straight.
After these underwhelming expriences with Garmin and their unwillingness to refund my money ($700) for the cross-ship, I have been tempted to return the unit to Costco for a refund, which can be done up to 90 days from receipt. Another reason for concern is that the warranty is one year, and after that any repair is a fixed $200. Reading the Zumo forums there are many people having trouble with these units, so it seems a repair after the warranty is a decent possibility.
Even with all these negatives I may keep it after all, as it is a big improvement over my old Quest, and is a very nice, intuitive GPS for the bike with only a few irritating quirks.
THANKS - I have copied and printed this info - you most likely saved me and others a ton of time... Thanks again...
#18
10-19-2008, 07:28 PM
Advanced
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Kitchener, On. Canada
Posts: 76
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
made for bike
I.m sure all the models have good bad features!! Be sure the one you chose is built for bikes. the Zumo 450 that I have had 3years now is not Bluetooth, but does call out turns. Most important is that it is vibration tested and screen adjusts to light outside. It is also waterproof!! All models do not work well on bikes..
#19
10-19-2008, 07:30 PM
Road Warrior
#20
10-19-2008, 08:04 PM
