 "Great GPS for the money" | 2009-07-01 |
| - Reviewed By User: AAO2CK1ZTPGW7 |
After a lot of research I settled on the c530 for the price. I'm terrible with directions, and get lost a lot so this was beginning to be a necessary purchase. This GPS is great!
The screen is easy to see, and the auto-adjust mode is really helpful. This GPS has an amazingly long battery life - mine has been going strong for over 5 hours. I haven't tried updating the maps, and since I bought a refurbished unit some maps were outdated, but in general I haven't had any trouble with it.
I honestly can't say anything negative about the c530. For what I paid I've been extremely pleased. |
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 "Garmin c530 awesome" | 2009-06-21 |
| - Reviewed By User: A1U8ATHEES9WB2 |
| I have owned the garmin c530 for about a year now, and i have to say its quite nice and performs well. I use it nearly everyday as i drive for a living, it never gets me lost no matter how many wrong turns i make. It has a vast amount of points of interest stores in it allready with the ability to add more. It has an excellent battery life, and is also quite durable. i wil say though on the other hand its is bad when i tcomes to picking the best route. I can be on the interstate and it may want to send me down a small highway that would take 20 minutes longer than just staying on the freeway. also drive times are quite accurate also. people complain that they are "optimistic" which its supposed to be as the gps beleive or not doesnt know how many redlights u will hit. also u can program red light cameras into it so it will alert when ur comeing up on one. |
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| "Great value for "just" a GPS" | 2009-04-07 |
| - Reviewed By User: A1SB2D2GMXLBYW |
This is a very good value if you want just a mapping GPS. IT has none of the latest add-ons (I call them distractions!) but the GPS engine is the latest with WAS and the display is excellent. What more do you want from a GPS? I was a little concerned about all the reliability problems in reviews but so far this one is just fine. Excellent SAT acquisition - even in the house. I bought the lifetime North American map update card on Amazon for less than $100. It's $120 on Garmin's site and you really have to look for it to find it. Also a great value. The maps that came in the unit were out of date (they always will be out of date!!! See below. The subscription gets you map updates 4 times a year for as long as you own the unit. It gets Garmin's MapInstall and MapSource software running with full maps on your PC. Excellent for planning trips and other things. Google Earth in integrated. Wow! You then have all of the maps and POIs on your PC. Also you can transfer new POIs and waypoints (favorites) back and forth. Unit has great screen, battery life and windshield mount. It's not "shirt pocket" thin like the newer ones but it's still pretty compact. For the price, I am not worried about leaving it in the car on the floor out of sight. It has 1G of memory which is mostly filled up when you get the No. American maps installed. It has an SD Card slot that takes high density (I tried a 4G) SD cards so it should be able to hold all the stuff you want to store in it. Garmin is the leader and is not taking any prisoners in their markets.
None of the Garmin or other mfg's GPS Navigation units are not infallible so don't expect them to just choose the route YOU would take every time without your help. The map data will always have minor problems so don't expect it to be perfect and 100% up to date. It will NEVER be up to date. YOU are responsible for driving the car and IT is an aid but if you turn over ALL of your navigation decisions to it, YOU WILL NOT BE HAPPY. That's what you bought and that is the state of the art for now. Work WITH it and it will be a faithful and valuable servant.
Try this: When you know you are going to use it, the night before your trip, pop a beer, take the GPS inside and get comfortable in your easy chair, fire it up and program your trip (before you are pulling out of the driveway as you try to remember if you packed your cell phone charger!). Review the route by stepping through it (touch top bar on display to advance). IF you don't like the route, check to see that you have the map preferences set right. IF that's OK, hit Menu and then "Detour". The unit will pick a different route. If you don't like that one, do it until you get the one you want. You can also force it to go by one additional waypoint so you can steer it that way. When you have what you want, turn it off. When you pull out of the driveway the next morning, turn it on and it will be ready to go - the way you two decide was best the night before.
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| "Garmin Street Pilot c530 review" | 2009-01-23 |
| - Reviewed By User: A1WOW52ZX93NM4 |
| This unit works great, it is easy for my wife to use and large enough for her to see the display in all light conditions. Great price and warrenty on the unit. I |
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 "GPS review" | 2009-01-12 |
| - Reviewed By User: A3MYRM2G80FY5Y |
Garmin StreetPilot c530 3.5-Inch Portable GPS Navigator (Purchased on 12/11/2008) by Garmin
I purchased this item as a gift for my son and his family. He used the product briefly one time. On his second attempt to use it, it would not power up. He charged it and tried again. When he went to register it online, he was informed this product was already registered. By whom one might ask? Even if the item was refurbished, Garmin should have wiped the registration clean prior to reselling it. I took the item home with me and after some research at various online feedback sites (not Garmin), I was able to find a recommended proceedure to get the GPS functional again. Again the Garmin website was of no use. Also the GPS is not up to date on structures in my area that have been in place for several years, and the Garmin website has no available updates to improve on the preloaded data in the unit.
I personally was somewhat humiliated by the lack of quality in the reburbishing of this unit. I would be hesitant to recommend another Garmin refurbished product based on this experience.
Sincerely,
Lee Sylvester |
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 "Not Impressed" | 2008-12-19 |
| - Reviewed By jmusser |
I borrowed one of these from a friend for a trip to Myrtle Beach, and thankfully, I printed out directions as well because this thing tried to take us way off course on the way there, and lost us for a good 100 miles around the Charlotte turnpike in NC. The only saving grace about having it was knowing (or hoping?) that if we did get terribly lost, we could eventually get back on track with this thing. On the way home, we missed a turn via the printed directions due to confusion over the difference between what the gps said and what the printed directions said. So we went with the gps and it took us a good hour out of our way.
Unfortunately I had the same problems with a rented version on another trip down there that I was "assured" was updated. If it was, then Garmin needs some updating themselves. I wouldn't recommend this for purchase, and when I start shopping for a gps soon, I won't be looking at Garmin products period. |
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