Sat Nav Hire/Purchase in the USA

[TomE]

I'm off on honeymoon on Friday, we are flying into San Francisco, hiring a car and driving down to LA and then across to LV.

I just had to ring Hertz to change the drop off location for the car in LV, and whilst I was on I asked about the cost of hiring a Sat Nav to which the nice lady at the other end replied "Unfortunately Fishermans Wharf don't do portable sat navs"

So.... does anyone know my options? Is there anywhere anyone can recommend to buy one in San Fran? We'll be in San Fran for 3 days before we pick up the car, so I will have chance to nip into a shop during that time. Presumably the alternative would be to take a built in sat nav, but that would limit me on the type of car its attached to!!


Also, does anyone who is travelling to the US later int he year wan to buy a cheap US sat nav off me when I'm done with it?!

[Alex]

What sort of phone do you have? Co-pilot Live USA with North America maps is £15 on Android and iPhone.

[SplatSpeed]

sat nav is 100 bucks in the US

[Roo]

Union Square will have somewhere to buy one, or find the nearest Wal Mart.

Be aware though that it's illegal to stick a Sat Nav to the windscreen of a car in California. You'll also need something like a Nav Mat for it to go on.

[tr7v8]

You wouldn't want a Hertz Never LOst anyway. I swore at mine, then my colleagues told me that the yanks call them "Always Lost"! nI have a UK TomTom with US maps on a seperate card.

[Roo]

tr7v8 said:

You wouldn't want a Hertz Never LOst anyway. I swore at mine, then my colleagues told me that the yanks call them "Always Lost"! nI have a UK TomTom with US maps on a seperate card.

Ah the good old Hertz never lost. Had one of those in Houston a few years ago. Blooming thing nearly drove me into the water on the way to Galveston.

[cjs]

I've driven many times in the US, it is very difficult to get lost, just buy a good map.

[Spudler]

TomE said:

So.... does anyone know my options? Is there anywhere anyone can recommend to buy one in San Fran?

Find your nearest Wall-Mart. Less than 80 bucks.

[bigandclever]

TomE said:

I'm off on honeymoon on Friday, we are flying into San Francisco, hiring a car and driving down to LA and then across to LV.

I just had to ring Hertz to change the drop off location for the car in LV, and whilst I was on I asked about the cost of hiring a Sat Nav to which the nice lady at the other end replied "Unfortunately Fishermans Wharf don't do portable sat navs"

Hertz on O'Farrel definitely had them last year, because I got one. Garmin Nuvi jobby on a bean-bag thing that just sat on the dash.

In fact, in one of my sadder snaps, here it is...

I wonder whether the problem is more related to the different pick-up / drop-off points?

[h0b0]

California have updated their laws on GPS,

The new law, however, has an odd clause that specifies the GPS must be mounted within "a 7-inch square area in the lower corner of the windshield farthest removed from the driver (the passenger side) or in a 5-inch square area in the lower corner of the windshield nearest to the driver (the lower left corner of the windshield)."


I have always put my GPS in the corner of the wind screen instead of in the middle. Just makes more sense to me.

[Norbury90]

TomE said:

I'm off on honeymoon on Friday, we are flying into San Francisco, hiring a car and driving down to LA and then across to LV.

I just had to ring Hertz to change the drop off location for the car in LV, and whilst I was on I asked about the cost of hiring a Sat Nav to which the nice lady at the other end replied "Unfortunately Fishermans Wharf don't do portable sat navs"

So.... does anyone know my options? Is there anywhere anyone can recommend to buy one in San Fran? We'll be in San Fran for 3 days before we pick up the car, so I will have chance to nip into a shop during that time. Presumably the alternative would be to take a built in sat nav, but that would limit me on the type of car its attached to!!


Also, does anyone who is travelling to the US later int he year wan to buy a cheap US sat nav off me when I'm done with it?!

Buy a map you donkey! You surely don't require a sat nav? Sounds like an awesome trip though matey, you have to give me the PG-rated story of the trip when you get back.

PS. Get on GT5 before you go, you haven't been around for yonks!

[TomE]

Thanks alot for all the reply's!

Alex said:

What sort of phone do you have? Co-pilot Live USA with North America maps is £15 on Android and iPhone.

I've used a sat nav on the iphone before (albeit a free one), but I found that it took quite a while to update my location and so I had sometimes missed the turning I was supposed to take!

Roo said:

Union Square will have somewhere to buy one, or find the nearest Wal Mart.

I've had a look and there don't seem to be any Wal marts near the centre of SF, they all seem to be in the outlying areas on the other side of the bay. I'll definitely have a look at Union Square though.

bigandclever said:

I wonder whether the problem is more related to the different pick-up / drop-off points?

Nail - Head I reckon, especially because I’m going out of State.

h0b0 said:

California have updated their laws on GPS,

So does this mean I can attach it to the windscreen then? I would normally put it in the bottom right hand corner of the screen in the UK, would I be OK doing the opposite in the US? If not I'll have to pick up one of these bean bag jobbies.

I think the route I'll go down initially is buying one from Amazon.com and getting it delivered to the hotel we are staying at. The seem to have some for $60-$70 so that doesn't seem too bad! Anyone have any experience of Tom Tom ONE 130?!

I have no real use for it back in the UK and I know this road trip is quite a popular route too, so if anyone has a journey coming up and they would like to buy a cheapo Sat Nav off me when I'm done with it then let me know! It could become the PH US Roadtrip Sat Nav, with customised points of interest.

cjs said:

I've driven many times in the US, it is very difficult to get lost, just buy a good map.

Norbury90 said:

Buy a map you donkey! You surely don't require a sat nav?

I'd be quite happy with just a map (I got all the way to Mongolia from London with rubbish maps) but I'll be driving and Mrs TomE will end up being navigator, so $60 is money well spent I think.... at least for the sake of my fledgeling marriage.

P.s. Norbs - I've been away with work over in the Middle East for the last month and I prob won't get chance before I go away again either, pass on my hello's though! I'll be on as soon as I'm back to kick your ass.

[Captain Cadillac]

There's Best Buys in San Francisco...

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/TomTom+-+Factory-Refur...

There you go, $70, what's that these days, 45 quid? That's plus tax so figure $77 with tax.

You can also buy online and pick it up at the store.

[andrew311]

I saw a few basic units for about $70. There are plenty of small electrical shops down on Fishermans Wharf and they are loads up in the Union Square area which is a short tram ride from FW.

As others have said it pretty easy to navigate around California if you have a decent map and can pre-plan your route or have a decent co-pilot. Only slight challenge I found was driving into LA it's a bit manic (for me anyhow as I live in a rural area). Depending on where you’re staying in LA I’d avoid driving yourself if you can. We stayed in Santa Monica which was fine for taking a few leisurely drives down the coast but for visiting the main tourist attractions we opted for guided tours to take the stress out of it. Drive from LA to Vegas is pretty boring with the exception of Death Valley, which most people just treat as a stop over on the way to Vegas but is a destination in itself (if you like that sort of thing).

[croyde]

Someone suggested using your phone but for gawd's sake think about the data charges.

[steveo3002]

some people take advantage of the easy return policys to get use of one for free

or chances are youd sell it once back here on ebay for a good price to another holiday maker

[Alex]

croyde said:

Someone suggested using your phone but for gawd's sake think about the data charges.

No data charges with Co-Pilot or TomTom; the maps are stored on the device.

[croyde]

Alex said:

croyde said:

Someone suggested using your phone but for gawd's sake think about the data charges.

No data charges with Co-Pilot or TomTom; the maps are stored on the device.

Aaah Thanks for that.

[louiebaby]

andrew311 said:

There are plenty of small electrical shops down on Fishermans Wharf.

Play one off against the other for a bit of a discount, but on a $70 Sat Nav, you'll be talking about a couple of dollars anyway.

I'd go for maps myself, depending on the attitude of your missus, it can be fun to get a bit lost...

[F i F]

Captain Cadillac said:

There's Best Buys in San Francisco...

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/TomTom+-+Factory-Refur...

There you go, $70, what's that these days, 45 quid? That's plus tax so figure $77 with tax.

You can also buy online and pick it up at the store.

How much gratuity will be "expected" by the Best Buys till jockey though....




Seriously though, in the past I've just stick the appropriate SD card map in the Mrs' Garmin, but buying the whole caboodle out there at those prices has to be an even cheaper solution. Impressed!