privateer, I'd ask to speak with Garmin's management and explain how you've been a loyal customer for X amount of time, then explain you'd have no choice but to recommend folks don't buy Garmin if they can't make good on this for you.

My post is gone, apparently management decided not to let truthful negative information be posted about Garmin.

Wonder why.

New horror story. On 18 February I paid for lifetime map update subscription for my Nuvi 250W. At the time, I had the Nuvi connected, was in Dashboard on the garmin site, and so it should have applied it to the Nuvi.

But there website is so poorly coded it applied to the first GPS listed, which is my ZUMO 550. So now the Zumo has TWO lifetime map update subscriptions, and the little Nuvi has none.

All I've gotten from Garmin tech support and web support is either I purchased the subscription for the Zumo (incorrect) or they can't see any problem with the account.

If I didn't care about my account I'd give you the password so you could go see for yourself. But here is a copy and paste, so you can see for a fact, the ZUMO has both lifetime subscriptions and the Nuvi has none.

And Garmin won't fix it.

myMaps Loading...Please allow a few moments to gather information on your maps and registered devices.


myMaps
Download History

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Manage Maps
myProducts
Map associated with this GPS
Available Map Updates

Sub-Assy,GXM30A,N.O.

Details
Shop for more maps

No Maps

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

z?mo® 550

Details
Shop for more maps

Activate Gift Card

Free Map Update Policy
City Navigator North America NT 2011.30, Deluxe All Regions, Oct 10

Details

Lifetime Update Available..
Download Again

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

City Navigator North America NT 2011.30, Deluxe All Regions, Oct 10

Details

Lifetime Update Available..
Download Again

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

nüvi® 250W

Details
Shop for more maps

Activate Gift Card

Free Map Update Policy
City Navigator North America NT 2008 Limited, Deluxe All Regions, Apr 07

Details

No update available

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

City Navigator North America NT 2011.40, Deluxe All Regions - Limited, Feb 11

Details

No update available

Download Again

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Close.

* Last updated by: privateer on 2/21/2011 @ 2:25 PM *

My post is gone, apparently management decided not to let truthful negative information be posted about Garmin.

Wonder why.

Interesting... BG?

Sorry 'bout your problems, Privateer. I've never used Garmin's website. I have a Garmin 65csx, that I use up in the hills, and have no complaints... but I've only downloaded to it with a disc.

I use my phone(moto droid) for gps, has constant updates via internet and works MUCH better than my wifes Garmin. All android based phones have a great gps built in. I bought the Motorola gps mount for it and LOVE it.

My ZUMO 550 rocks, Jeff. It has a cradle on the bike, high enough I can see it without looking down, and it is in bluetooth mode. So with my Chatterbox -H hooked into my HJC (like they were made together!) I can listen to my MP3 playlist on bluetooth, when the GPS wants my attention, the Chatterbox pauses the MP3 player, and pipes in the GPS with no loss of sound, then restarts my MP3 where it left off.

Plus, the ZUMO 550 is a motorcyclists dream because it alerts you to turns enough in advance, based on speed, that you have time to actually make the turn. It counts down in 100 foot increments as you get close too. And the icon on the screen representing your vehicle (I use a plain 3d arrow) accurately reflects where you are, instead of catching up after you turn.

In short, the ZUMO 550 is very much real time accurate. Unlike the ZUMO 600 series and the Nuvi series.

So, for instance, when I ride up to Mt. Snow VT this summer, it will stop me at the KOA campsite I am overnighting at with enough advance notice I can be busy watching the scenery and such and not paying attention to the GPS until it says, "In One Mile, Turn Right to destination Campground KOA" and gives me that irritating (good thing) loud attention tone. BONGGGGGG.

And the Chatterbox will even interrupt the MP3 for my BlackBerry if a call comes in, or I say CALL <name> into the microphone.

The phone and the MP3 are safe in the tank bag in their cases in plastic baggies. :)

Oh btw, Garmin finally fixed my account, I think. It took a dozen emails telling me a) nothing wrong, b) I didn't order lifetime maps for my Nuvi, c) we fixed it (and they hadn't).

Not until I told them I was fed up with it and would do a chargeback on my credit card to recover the cost of the subscription did they actually fix it.

Thats what happens when you outsource your customer service to India.

Garmin still rates very low in my evaluation. I just had my Zumo crash on my ride to Vermont, and when I got back I UPSed it in under RMA. They got the RMA today, and sent me an email telling me it would take about 2 weeks to do something.

Two weeks? Horrible service!

Now my RMA status says the exchange unit is "backordered" so I may not have a gps on my bike anytime soon.

GARMIN is a horrible company as far as support and map updates, and since this is the third Zumo that failed on me in about 9 months, it looks like their products aren't so good either.

Get a TomTom !

And the horror story continues. I got the replacement unit, and downloaded maps onto it, and it says "cannot unlock maps" when it boots after a restart. I put in a request to Garmin, and still haven't gotten a reply to my issue. Got a reply having nothing to do with my issue, though.

I'm sure it will get worked out, and the Zumo will be back in operation, but Garmin makes everything harder than it needs to be, and their customer service is almost as bad as Corbin's. Well, not quite because at least Garmin has something they call customer service.

I guess Garmin finally decided to man-up and accept responsibility.

Just got an email. They are comp-ing me a Zumo 665 with model 40 XM smart antenna and all I have to do is return the bare 550 under RMA.

Doesn't make up for all the problems, but goes a long way towards it.

Got the Zumo 665, and did the transfer on MyGarmin account, and they let me keep Lifetime Maps.

So finally Garmin made good on 9 months of failing 550s. Putting it on the ZX14.

VA screwed me on the disability claim decision, and for not very good reasons, so we are taking them to court. Six months or so from now I'll get the money they should have given me last week.

And one thing about CVO Harley's, they make them every year and every year they get better.

Glad I didn't sell the ZX14, need it for the rest of the seasons rides.

But anyway, props to Garmin for pulling their head out of the ground.

Purchased a Zumo 660 a year ago, can honestly say that Garmin would have to be the worst product I have ever purchased, in relation to being supported by its manufacture.

Clearly the most poorly written paper instructions I have ever seen, online and down loaded manuals are a joke.

Garmin and there product support, telephone can spend hours getting to talk to someone who knows less than me.

Even counter sales people know very little of there product and inter related Garmin products

Have spent a good part of 12 months basically writing my own manual on how to use Basecamp to plan trips, routes transfer them to micro SD, Garmin device, computer, etc etc.

I thought it was just Australia

In the end its a great unit, but a shit company

I pretty much agree ethin14.

The 660 has a horrible reputation. But then, the 550 has a great reputation and I had 3 go bad in 9 months or so. So....

The 665s seem to be pretty reliable, and I like the improvements in memory size (all of North America - no problem) and in transferring routes etc. to it from MapSource.

On the 550, I had to do one route at a time. Transfer it, unplug the 550, let it import the new route, plug it back in and wait until it goes back into storage mode. Rinse and repeat.

On the 665 I can transfer multiple routes from MapSource and they all show up for import in the GPS. Nice improvement for serious use of routes.

Not familiar with Basecamp, what is it?

I'm going to Ocean City Bike Week next week with my Legion Riders brothers and sisters. And then the next weekend down to Natural Bridge, VA (near Roanoake) with the mc.

My 665 will get a good workout, I always have a favorite saved for the hotel/lodge/whatever I'm staying at, so no matter where I go during the course of the day, I can always get back to the hotel quickly.

And to think I navigated western Europe from Assan on the North Coast to Nice on the West, and Toledo in Italy and some Spanish countryside before heading back to Calais for the ferry.... all with paper maps and mostly just winging it.

Ah, to be young and stupid again, or better yet, young again and still know what I know. Heh.

Basecamp is marketed as the replacement for Mapsource, were told that Mapsource will be discontinued.

But very hard to get a straight answer from Garmin

When you do your download to update your device you must , click on the download to Computer and Device or you will have fun things happen where your zumo will freeze and not load routes etc etc. They may have fixed this problem on the 665. It would update only the zumo so the maps on computer would soon get out of date, then they couldn't always talk to each other.

Have traveled the East coast of Australia for decades and only with a map, also ship my bike to New Zealand for 6 weeks all with just a map.

But the big cities and the road networks weren't there then , and now zumo just makes it all just quick and easy

* Last updated by: ethin14 on 9/8/2011 @ 4:19 PM *

So far the 665 is being pretty cool about updates.

I updated the map to .20 and reordered my routes and it all worked. I can transfer multiple routes and waypoints to the gps now, and they go directly into mydata and I can then import them all.

No more one route at a time. Heh.

I need routing because otherwise the gps will put me on slabs all the time, and unless I am in a big hurry, I stay off the slabs.

You should see my Avoidances in Mapsource, most of US 81 and US 70 are off limits and all of US 95 is. Any route I make is prevented from using them.

EDIT: Thanks for the 411 on BaseCamp, am going to try it.

* Last updated by: privateer on 9/8/2011 @ 8:25 PM *

Got the 665 and GXM40 XM smart antenna all mounted, just like I had the old 550 and GXM30 mounted. Works a bit different, the 665's motorcycle wire harness has a dongle that you plug the GXM40 into. The 550 you hooked the XM antenna into the cradle the gps mounts to.

I like the new way, I could bury the connector down in the pocket of the right center cowling, where it is protected and out of the way.

Called XM Radio up yesterday, and switched out the old GXM30 from my account and gave them the serial number (radio number, actually) of my GXM40, and it all functioned perfectly 5 minutes later. Tried it again today, and it predicted I shouldn't let my bike sit in the driveway too long, and was dead on the money, as a thunderstorm roared in 30 minutes later.

So I'm all set to leave for OC Bike Week this week.