Garmin Quest GPS

horse27 · Post by **horse27** » Tue Nov 13, 2007 3:11 pm

With the pound looking good against the dollar and a mate in Minnesota it only seems right to get into the 20th (well, 19th) Century ...

Anyone else using a Garmin Quest GPS?

$450 = £220 at present so it seems almost affordable.

Not sure what the Quest 2 does better (at $750).

All I need is MapSource compatability really so any other options considered.

Cheers, Lee.

skiddy boxers · Post by **skiddy boxers** » Tue Nov 13, 2007 3:28 pm

I've had a Quest for about 2 years now. It's ideal for the bike, small & waterproof. I use a RAM bicycle mount attached to the ignition barrel.

It comes with a powered cradle for the car but I don't bother with a powered cradle on the bike as the battery life is sufficient . Garmin quote 20 hours but I've always recharged it after a days use. You don't get the voice commands using it this way but I quickly learned to use it visually by mentally noting how far the display tells me to the next instruction.

BEWARE of buying in the States as it will almost certainly come with USA mapping and you'll end up having to buy the European maps which is expensive. Also I think the USA version has a smaller memory. In any case you should be able to buy it here cheaper than £220. I paid £220ish for mine 2 years ago with the bike cradle included. Also try Ebay.

I think the main differences between Q1 & Q2 are

Quest 2 has larger memory (can take all of europe maps at one go, Q1 can't, you can do postcode searches and can download speed camera locations.

Best thing is the Mapsource compatability for both.

Very pleased with mine.

Hope this helps

Lars1974 · Post by **Lars1974** » Tue Nov 13, 2007 3:29 pm

hi man,

i bought my Quest on ebay for £100 including mapsource software...done spain and germany this year with it....not needed a map once...

have a look on ebay as i think you will get a nice one for less than the money you mentioned...

hope this helps.
Lars

stoney · Post by **stoney** » Tue Nov 13, 2007 4:53 pm

£220 is expensive. The Quest is a very limited model and very old technology. It has a small screen and bird's eye view mapping. I had one for a couple years and only paid £190 brand new. They come up for sale quite often for £120 including bike kits second hand.

For what its worth the Zumo is FAR superior in every way. It has a bigger 'touch' screen, bluetooth function, loads of expandable memory and really easy to see 3D mapping. They go from about £350 last time I looked and are well worth the extra.

soggybottoms · Post by **soggybottoms** » Tue Nov 13, 2007 5:06 pm

FWIW

The Zumo is the DB's

Ram mounted onto the clutch cover keeps your dials clear.
Plug some earbuds into it for music or books on the go, or go Autocomm for full voice comms

The powered talking car mount with the traffic master arial is superlative - operates as bluetooth handsfeee for your moby and takes you around the jams.

SB

Boxered · Post by **Boxered** » Tue Nov 13, 2007 5:30 pm

I have a quest 1 which I find quite useful, good battery life, and can be used on foot or in car as well as bike, but as stoney says, for the extra money I would now go for the zumo 550. Beware of buying a quest 2 from the states, as it wont have the extra memory or euro map pre installed.

Steve

Blackal · Post by **Blackal** » Tue Nov 13, 2007 6:25 pm

The Quest is a great bit of kit, but of course has some limitations.

While the Zumo is a great all-rounder - I am hoping that Garmin will address some of the deficiencies it has when compared to the 2610/2720/2820 series, which offered more instantaneous information.

But............... with the Zumo at £350 ish and the 2820 (no internal battery) at £500+ - it was a bit of a no-brainer.

The quest is great if you can mount it from the clutch reservoir cover - as it puts it in easy reach of your left hand and also brings the screen closer to your eyes. It also displays the information you really need............. the distance/time to the next turning.

I used to have a 2610 mounted from the clutch reservoir cover of my BCR, but have yet to try the Zumo there............. I sense that it will be a bit more obtrusive, but will see....................

Al

Lars1974 · Post by **Lars1974** » Tue Nov 13, 2007 8:49 pm

or you could mount your quest on the left mirror using a RAM Mount...
its very stable even up to top speed...and the view is clear to the mirror and the dash....

here are few photos:

enjoy
Lars

f90x · Post by **f90x** » Tue Nov 13, 2007 10:20 pm

I bought my zumo 550 in June and paid £450 for it. A lot of dough but it's fantastic. I recently drove a car 3000 miles around Europe and it was invaluable for the nitty gritty stuff that a map can't help with (I prefer a map to plan the route with and use the GPS to make sure I'm going in the right direction or if I get lost). I would never have found half the hotels without it. These days (a mere 4 months later) it can be purchased for £350. I say get a bit more cash together and get it. Brilliant in the car too, and it bluetooths to your phone for handsfree. I love mine.

horse27 · Post by **horse27** » Wed Nov 14, 2007 8:38 am

Marvellous - thanks for the advice fellas ... I am so out of date. eBay here I come!

All the best, Lee.

Blackal · Post by **Blackal** » Wed Nov 14, 2007 8:51 am

A word of warning about getting (used) satnavs on ebay...............

You must ensure that the seller is the registered (with Garmin) owner, and that he is selling with unused unlock codes.

This can be quite hard to find out prior to purchase.

I bought a 2610 on ebay, for which I later screwed up the software. I tried to buy an unlock code from Garmin but they discovered that the registered owner had the unit stolen in a burglary

So - one unusable satnav

(I did get 14 months' use out of it, but still lost £240 on the deal)

GlobalGizmos may be the cheapest for Garmins just now - and mine arrived next day.

Al

big rob · Post by **big rob** » Wed Nov 14, 2007 8:50 pm

Fascinating thread people but whatever happened to SOD (sense of direction)

Never had the luxury of sat nav, getting lost is all part of the adventure?
Maybe get round to buying one of these new fangled gadgets one day.

Blackal · Post by **Blackal** » Wed Nov 14, 2007 9:29 pm

Note to self...............Don't follow Rob

Al

boxerpan · Post by **boxerpan** » Thu Nov 15, 2007 2:26 pm

big rob wrote:Fascinating thread people but whatever happened to SOD (sense of direction)
Never had the luxury of sat nav, getting lost is all part of the adventure?
Maybe get round to buying one of these new fangled gadgets one day.

I concur, could have the 'luxury' but don't like being told what to do by anyone/anything. As said previously - come the next good solar flare and all the satellites crash and burn, me and Rob will be the only ones with even the slightest sense of direction.

snavetrauts · Post by **snavetrauts** » Thu Nov 15, 2007 5:48 pm

Here's mine on the clutch reservoir with ram ball and mount... this may help you decide which mount you will go for.

Hope this helps

Stuart