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Someone said it best ,"talk Nice". I have a 2010c I bought used .Sent it in last year to replace the screen and update the unit. I left the chip in, was not supposed to, lost it , they replaced it for me free. The cover blew off and was lost OB they replaced it free Had some small blotches on the screen after the rebuild, I could have lived with but decided to give them a call, the warrantee for the repair was 3 months (expired 4 months ago) I expressed my disappointment , they are fixing it free. I can't ask for better than that . Talk nice!! Tell them you love there equipment and you are disappointed.
O'D
Thank you for all your comments. The very point of this site is to make boaters aware of all good and the not so good service of manufactures. If you feel that I am wrong to expect any manufactured unit to work as promissed so be it. I strongly feel that Garmin Had a problem and after fixing the problem that they should stand behind their product as advertised and sold. I did not post my experience to have my rear end ripped by a short sighted capt. seaweed. I never asked garmin to Give me any free deal only to expect my unit to function as advertised.
"if you choose to purchase the "first of" of ANY new electronic product, then you should know that YOU will be a field tester for this "first of" unit, and if you think different - well you deserve what you got. "
Are you for real ??
Anyone who purchases a new first year electronic product shouldnt expect a manufacturer to stand behind their product ? They should expect to be charged extra for a product to work as advertised ?
TIMBERTOY - 1/17/2008 6:33 PM
................. The very point of this site is to make boaters aware of all good and the not so good service of manufactures. .................
I don't believe that is the point at all. From the top of the THT page:
Quote:
THE HULL TRUTH is the world's largest FREE network for the discussion of Boating & Fishing. Whether you're researching a new boat, or are a seasoned Captain, you'll find The Hull Truth Boating & Fishing Message Forum contains a wealth of information from Boaters and Sportfishermen around the world.
Posts about manufacturers are a very small part of this forum. And when someone's very first post is titled "XXXXXX RIP OFF" and typed in all caps, the sincerity of the poster is easily questioned.
I'm not saying that you are wrong in your dissapointment, but it may be partly your fault for not making sure the product would do exactly what you wanted it to do. It may be partly your dealer's fault for not explaining the capabilities of the product to you for whatever reason.
I will say that if you had purchased it at West Marine and it didn't do what you expected of it, they would likely have taken it back and given you a refund. Sometimes it's worthwhile to pay a little extra for peace of mind.
If the unit was advertised with a certain capability and didn't deliver that capability, and the manufacturer refused to correct the problem or refund your money, that might be considered a "rip off". If you missunderstood the capabilities, it's not really a "rip off".
Having the same problem with my Garmin 545s, I puchased the g2 chip for the same reason, AUTO ROUTING. It did nor work, I did call Garmin and they tolk me less than 9 foot was a liability issue. I totally understand that. I did stay in touch with Garmin and was told they have corrected from 9 foot to 3 foot......9 foot, no way on Great South Bay.... They did want to charge for update, but just asked how can you when you did have problem..Botton line they did exchange for me NC..... Unit was only a few months old... Maybe you should try calling them again , maybe ask for a manager.
I think caveat imptor comes into play here, regardless of manufacturer. I'm also glad THT has net nannys like Bright Light, particularly one so schooled in appropriate consumer expectations. But like Gamin in the OP, Bright has failed to inform the OP just how many posts he must have in order to "complain". Jeez, Bright, it's a freakin internet forum!
Garmin has changed their Mapsource product licensing from two devices to one device, further putting the screws to anyone who owns more than one Garmin unit and uses Mapsource charting programs.
I purchased a second Garmin GPS/ chartplotter knowing that I could purchase one Mapsource upgrade, and upload to two registered devices. I purchased an upgrade and the software wouldn't update the second garmin unit. I contacted Garmin customer service, and was informed that Mapsource licensing was changed from two units to one. This wasn't publicly announced.
Another example of Garmin putting the screws to its users!
__________________ "Never approach a dock faster than you can afford to hit it!"
Bought a 176c gps/deep sounder owned for about two years then started to turn off with every rough wave Garmin replaced it for free out of warranty!
Had an old Garmin years ago(my first gps) got wet inside after several years and ruined the card and get both replaced under flat rate fix for less money that paying for data update on the card. I love Garmin!
Bought a 176c gps/deep sounder owned for about two years then started to turn off with every rough wave Garmin replaced it for free out of warranty!
Had an old Garmin years ago(my first gps) got wet inside after several years and ruined the card and get both replaced under flat rate fix for less money that paying for data update on the card. I love Garmin!
Garmin has changed their Mapsource product licensing from two devices to one device, further putting the screws to anyone who owns more than one Garmin unit and uses Mapsource charting programs.
I purchased a second Garmin GPS/ chartplotter knowing that I could purchase one Mapsource upgrade, and upload to two registered devices. I purchased an upgrade and the software wouldn't update the second garmin unit. I contacted Garmin customer service, and was informed that Mapsource licensing was changed from two units to one. This wasn't publicly announced.
Another example of Garmin putting the screws to its users!
Any Mapsource or BlueChart product - charting software typical for GarminŽunits
MapSource / Bluechart products provide geographic data in CD-ROM/DVD-ROM format that can be viewed on a PC. Additionally, some GarminŽ units can accept map downloads from various MapSource products to augment the detail already on your GarminŽ GPS basemap.
For those GarminŽ units that accept the map transfer feature, users can either download MapSource / Bluechart CD- ROM/DVD-ROM content to data cards or directly to their units depending on the GPS product they own.
__________________ "Never approach a dock faster than you can afford to hit it!"
These hate post are stupid. I enjoy reading about people questions and people responses. Also asking questions or feed back on something. Viewing bluewaterpirates video's. These Don't Buy - Rip off - Never again threads seem to generate a lot of attention but personally i think that is not the intended use of this forum.
I can understand Timber being upset that the product he got did not perform the way he believed it would. That said the first thing that crossed my mind was the same thing that R220Robalo mentioned - the liability. IMO even with the best currently available vector based charts having any nav software auto route in less than 6 feet of water is just nuts. Auto routes under a bridge? Double nuts!! Don't hold your breath for the under a bridge auto route feature to work. God forbid!!!
I'm glad Timber posted. It still is a question mark for me as to what depth the units will auto route in. I called Garmin yesterday, before reading this post, and asked about this. I was told the 2007 chips would route in 3' of water, but the new (will be available in another couple weeks) 2008 G2 vision chips will be based on 6' of water. But you're saying chips already out there are based on 6' depths. So which info is correct?? From what I was told, you can find chips based on 3' of water if that is what you want. Or 6' if that is what you want. I wonder how one can tell before buying a chip?
Seems 3' or 6' should be a persoanl choice, based on your draft and your own saftety factor. If they're worried about liability, why wouldn't they make it so that the owner can choose his own depth factor? That way, the owner chose himself, and it wasn't a fixed depth selected by Garmin. Seems they would be much more laible by their choosing the depth for auto routing. What if the vessel has a 5' draft? Same as a vessel with a 2' draft in 3' of water. Not alot of margin for error with either.
I'm considering purchasing a Garmin right now. Mainly based on the G2 Vision and the auto routing. Glad I read this thread. Also have found out that Garmin took away the 20 character comment field used to explain waypoints. You only have the 10 digit name of the waypoint on the new units now. 3210C had 20 characters, but the 4208 does not. That really sucks for anyone who has alot of waypoints. Especially waypoints that are a little bit different around one spot. Ex: AR315, you may have one waypoint for the actual buoy, another for concrete rubble 500 yards away, another for the tanker wreck 600 yards in the opposite direction. The name would be very similiar for all three. I used the comments field with the additional characters to explain what they represent. Hard to do with just a 10 character name. Hard to believe my little old Garmin 176 will give me more info on my waypoints than the latest and greatest product. I emailed Garmin and asked if a software update could change this, and if so, would they. All I got back was an email saying no update was currently available to change it. I'm stilling bugging them.
I agree that Garmin has great support overall. They just need to keep that reputation by doing some tweaking with the new stuff and treat the customer right with the exchanges and updates.
JB2sea, I was told by Garmin that they knew they had a issue with the south shore of long island. I assume the change to 3 foot might be for this area, not a global change to the g2 card. I would check with Garmin, They have always been the best to me for support.
JImmy
Arent the temp sensors and ducers from Airmar, just packaged for Garmin? If thats the case - Garmin cant be blamed - and I think that is the case for all of the major manufacturers.
It doesn't matter who manufactured the transducer, Garmin put the package together so they are responsible. I would expect a free update on that also.
I broke my Humminbird transducer a few months after the warranty was up.. an expensive one since it was side beam.. I called Humminbird and they were very nice - they sent me a new one quickly at no charge. I didn't expect that.
Dear boaters,
I contacted Garmin support for the second time. After explaining the problem with the Auto guidance the attendant was fully aware of past problems. he also said that Garmin had corrected this problem and that by DOWNLOADING the lattest free update onling that my issues would be corrected. I hope he is correct yet the past support person I spoke to said that the $106.00 fee was needed because the "vision card" had to be swapped that controlled the auto guidance. so here I sit with winter upon us to find out if it will work. The jury is still out if it will work ? To all the bashers out there that tore me a new a--hole for posting this concern I respectfully ask to them would you like to be a more informed boater before you spend you dollars. Over all I thinK Garmin has a superior product yet if there customer relations "RIPPES YOU OFF" this is the place to inform other potental buyers.
Sincerely,
Wayne
RE: GARMIN RIP OFF 
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