I used it on a regular basis, even if I knew where I was going, I used it to give me an idea of traffic and estimated time of arrival. I once used it on a trip to the beach (a trip I have made many times over the years) to see if there was another route that I could take to get me there faster. After all, who isn't in a hurry to get to the beach?! :-) While trying to program the unit with the location I was going to, it couldn't find the beach I was going to. It's not a small beach, it's actually a pretty major area. So why could this GPS not find the area? It actually froze while trying to find it. I turned it off and continued my trip. I found the number for Garmin and gave them a call to see if there was an update I was missing. I was on hold for two hours and no one ever answered. I was very annoyed. I hung up and gave up. When I was about an hour away from my destination, it decided to "find" the location. Do you really need to be an hour away from your destination for it to be found?! This happened on several of my trips to this location.
Last month I plugged in my unit to go somewhere and it wouldn't even turn on. Well, it would start up and then the screen would go black, then start up again. Endlessly. I pick up the phone and call Garmin first thing when they open and was on hold again, this time for a total of three hours, again with not one person answering. They recommend you call first thing to prevent a long wait time. I wonder if I should call about an hour before they open to "get in line". Makes me wonder if there are that many customers calling due to the same issues, or if there is one lonely person answering the phone. (Maybe no one at all....)
So I decide to e-mail the company. They respond a couple of days later and recommending doing a reset of the unit. (Thanks, that didn't occur to me!) If that doesn't work, update it by syncing it with the computer. Umm, hello?! How can I sync it with a computer when the thing DOESN'T TURN ON?! So I politely write them back thanking them for their simple but difficult "solutions". They agree to let me send the unit back (on my dime) and they will send me another unit once they receive mine. So almost a month later, I get my new unit.
That was last week. Since I live so close to work, I didn't use the unit this week until yesterday. I was headed to see some friends, and since I moved to a new area, I wasn't sure the best way to get to their place. So the first time I use this replacement unit, it freezes on my en route. It almost caused me to miss my exit. So I have to turn off the unit and turn it back on and hope it turns on in enough time to tell me where I am going. Ok, I think, it's just a glitch. Wrong. It happened again today on the way to my appointment with my client. So I got to write this wonderfully responsive company again. Yay... NOT! I can't wait to see how long it takes this time...
Needless to say, I will not be recommending Garmin to anyone! I'm just saying...
