Don't buy Tom Tom

[fensaddler]

Wonderfully neat little units until they go wrong...  Which mine did about a month ago. It takes hours to find the bit on the site which tells you how to send it back to be fixed under warranty - because of course we are all fools who cannot use our little machines properly, and with some damn fool instructions all will be well - no actually, it doesn't work.

So by phone and e-mail - doesn't switch on, reset doesn't work (feels like its collapsed inside), little green light only comes on when connected to the charger.  So charging isn't the problem right?

Off it goes to the UK repair centre.  Back a week later - battery and charger changed.  And of course it still doesn't work, because they haven't addressed the problem as described.  Back to the (Ahem) customer service   line.  Terribly sorry sir, problem carefully noted down, send back in.  SO off it goes again.

And comes back.  Battery changed. Still doesn't work.  To the customer service   line for a third time.  Yes this is terrible sir, it will now be escalated and sent back to Holland to be fixed, and if that doesn't work you can just have a new one.  You should hear something from us today or tomorrow telling you how to send it back (this was Monday).  By Thursday, nothing on the website, nothing by e-mail, nothing by post (mind you no surprise there as the Trotskyite gremlins are in charge) so I ring up again.

Oh yes that is awful sir, nice lady checks their system, rings me back, supervisor was ill but it is on their system, there will be action, very sorry.  And you know, its Friday evening, and still I have no e-mail and there is nothing on the website...

And I have no satnav for a month (ye Gods I had to find my way into Guildford yesterday unaided, can I please have an emoticon that looks like the Scream...) and no prospect of having one.

So please, don't buy TomTom if you want to keep your sanity...

[Scarpia]

When we bought ours we were advised to go for a Garmin rather than a TOM TOM although I don't really recall why.We have a Garmin nuvi 350 already a year and are very happy with it.Its considerably better than the inbuilt system in my last company car and we just take it in whichever vehicle we wish.

[inthedark]

I admit a lot of these modern systems are un-reliable,
my 1937 road book of Great Britain is almost useless these days
.
'the colonel'
of course I was very very drunk

[Scarpia]

But you just can't bring yourself to get rid of a 21st birthday present. Know how you feel...

[inthedark]

lol

[FanaloneMan]

I've just recently bought an Origin Pogo Drive

An excellent unit with terrific customer support.

And camera updates £50 per annum after 6 months.

Origin are striving to become the best and they listen to their customers

[inthedark]

I actually use Co-pilot, came installed on the mobile phone, camera updates are free from ALK.
seems to be prety accurate ( I think the mapping is Navteq)
.
Geoff

[JohnMillham]

The Navman on the Lambda (when it's not on another car) took us an entertaining way from Dieppe to the outskirts of Paris last Friday, on our way to the Augusta and Belna pilgrimage. I had set it to "most direct way" and it took the instruction literally. Some of the tracks had grass in the middle and were quite like trials sections. Nigel Hargreaves and I left the Lambda at the hotel and had lifts for the excellent event in some very fine Augustas.
      I have found the Navman to be reliable, apart from a cable which doesn't make good contact on occasions. I'm about to send it back, so I'll find out what their after sales service is like.
      Cheers, John

[Dilambdaman]

Have a Tom Tom, very pleased with it and the service provided when it failed.

However, the failure highlighted what for me seemed a very weak point in the design when I first used it, the plug and socket connecting the charger to the unit. Great care needs to be taken when plugging the charger in or the socket disappears into the unit!

Apart from that Margaret and I are totally enamoured with Jane!

Robin.