Tom Tom or Garmin??

[elgerber]

I am looking to get one for my son for his 18th birthday. My nav system is built into my car, so I don't know anything about the free standing units. Can someone tell me if one is better than the other and why? And how much you have to pay for a decent one??

Thanks!!

 

[AmberHeartsDisney]

I like tom tom best having used both. I have this one I like to because it has life time traffic and maps.

 

[LoriNSC]

We have 3 Tom Tom's in my family (my car, hubby's patrol car & DS's car) & love them!

 

[StephMK]

My mother recommended Garmin because that's what she & all her buddies have & love & that's what I got for DD17 for Xmas. I paid $88 at Best Buy on sale right before the holiday. It's been great - we were in complete farmland in NE w/no cell service but we were able to get ongoing directions the whole time. It tells you in plenty of time where to turn & DD has used it on some solo trips out of town w/no issues.

 

[fakereadhed]

Garmin is more user friendly to me than Tom Tom.

 

[logan&tylersmama]

I have megellian and i really like it -- easy to use -- life time traffic updates -- got it for $70.00 at Big Lots.
Jennifer

 

[Swimalie]

I have a Garmin and love it. A lot of their models have lifetime maps and current traffic info now. I love the lane assist and exit view on the Garmin. When I'm approaching a huge exit, it shows a picture of the exit and the lanes and tells you which lane you should be in. I have used this a lot getting on to the Beltway. This is the model I have https://buy.garmin.com/shop/shop.do?cID=134&pID=82601

 

[vettechick99]

I would honestly save that money and invest it in a Droid. I have both the Tom Tom ($100) and the free GPS that came on my Droid X. The X is 10000 times better plus it takes and gives verbal commands. It's awesome!

 

[elgerber]

I would honestly save that money and invest it in a Droid. I have both the Tom Tom ($100) and the free GPS that came on my Droid X. The X is 10000 times better plus it takes and gives verbal commands. It's awesome!

I have a Droid X myself, but I don't want to have to spend another $30 monthly on a data plan for him.

Thanks for all the opinions so far!!

 

[DVC-Don]

We have Garmin, Tom Tom and Magellian and while all seem to work good, I'd give the edge to the Tom Tom. We have a lot of cars.

 

[Bob NC]

Bought a Garmin, took it back and traded for a Tom Tom, love it.

 

[Leajess99]

I really don't have personal experience with this site but it does have a refurbed TomTom on sale today - http://1saleaday.com/. I like the Garmins and just bought a new one today from target with the Lifetime Maps, and that on it.

 

[ready123go]

We use Garmins for our business. Garmin is what we have received in our rental cars. My brother used to use Garmin and currently has a Droid. It looked really cumbersome to use while driving. I also find multi-use electronics rarely live up to their promises.

A GPS will eventually die (like any other electronic) so I decided against Lifetime Maps. We just purchase them for around $90. When they die, out they go, no regrets.

Best of luck!

 

[richmond282]

Garmin is more user friendly to me than Tom Tom.

THIS! I have both so I can honestly say I hate trying to figure out the TomTom. I usually just give up and go find the Garmin. Much more user friendly!

 

[skw444]

We have both a Garmin and a Tom Tom and I prefer the Tom Tom. I think it's more user friendly then the Garmin.

 

[JayhawkMomma]

Don't know anyone that has anything other than a Garmin. Of course, I live about a mile from their headquarters and half the parents at my kids school seem to work there. I personally wouldn't buy anything else.

 

[Kirby]

We've had both and for me, the Garmin is more user friendly. I get real frustrated using the Tom Tom.

 

[DisneyBill]

Yeah, gotta go with Garmin too. Recently had 3 other people in the car that had TTs, and they really favored the Garmin unit I had. Where I travel, there's just no way I would rely soley on GPS on cell phones. It seems cell phones often lose signals at the worst time.

 

[hipchickie]

I used to have a magellan, (which I loved) and then went to a TomTom. I hated that thing...I can not tell you how many times that TomTom took me to incorrect addresses, down paper roads...hours wasted from bad directions. Actually if you put my home address into TomTom, it will send you to a town 20 minutes away.
I now have a garmin, and I love it. I would never recommend a TomTom, but would definitely recommend a garmin or a magellan

 

[las3888]

Garmin gets their maps from a different company than Tom Tom which in my opinion is much more accurate. Also, the Garmin is VERY easy to use. I feel the Garmin is worth some extra $ if that's what it comes to....good luck!