I just saw that Newegg has the NUVI 350 for 109.99. This is the one that MINI sells but without the MINI branding. All the files for changing the screens and cars are available and I don't think these will be available for long at any price. I love mine and I am sure you will too.

NUVI 350 from Newegg

There's also a hardwire pigtail available so you can wire it in. When I get a chance I'll post how I did mine.

Good luck.

Rich

 

Wow...nice find, that's a great price. I paid just about twice that for mine.

BTW, I think the one MINI uses is the 360...basically the same unit as the 350, but with the addition of Bluetooth.

EDIT: I just noticed it says "Recertified"...i'm guessing that means it's not a new unit for that price.

 

Yep - "recertified" = "not new", but with most companies, you'd be hard-pressed to tell the difference between a recertified unit and a new one, and they generally (but not always) carry the full manufacturer's warranty.

Just recently, I've gotten a recertified Amazon Kindle and a recertified Logitech 880 universal remote, and they've both been indistinguishable from new. No signs of wear or even of being used, regular retail packaging, all manuals/cords/software/warranty cards, even the little plastic protective film screen covers.

My personal attitude is that if a particular device has been returned to the manufacturer, repaired, and tested as good, then it's received more personal "love and attention" than a brand-new unit right off of the assembly line, so the odds of getting a faulty refurbished unit are probably lower than the odds of getting a faulty new unit.

 

Sorry, but I disagree and think this is a crappy deal. The Nuvi 3xx series is old and has been discontinued for a long time...it's ancient really in GPS device terms. If you watch dealnews you can get a much better and newer device for the same or slightly more. I wouldn't pay more than $50 for this, especially considering it's refurbished. I give this a thumbs down.

 

IF anyone has any doubts about that seller, this one on ebay is very credible, and ships to door in 3 days. They have free shipping and selling it for only 20 bucks more.......I have purchased a lot of merchandise from these guys in the past and recently a NuVi 260W......

http://cgi.ebay.com/GARMIN-NUVI-350-...3A1%7C294%3A50

 

I think it depends on what you want in a GPS. If you want a nuvi, you're not going to find one cheaper, and it either has the latest maps already on it or Garmin will give them to you free. It doesn't have the up-to-the-minute gas prices or movie listings like some of the newer units, but you can use it with the FM traffic receiver to get traffic data.

It also speaks street names and has the new super-sensitive SiRF antenna, so it's not as out-of-date as some other models you can probably still buy. But, it doesn't have Bluetooth or automatic reorganizing of multiple destinations, so if those are important to you, then this obviously wouldn't be the best choice.

 

That is just plain not true. If you keep an eye out, you can get a newer Nuvi model that does everything the 3xx does and more, plus you can get it in widescreen. I see them reported by dealnews, slicknews, and similar sites all the time. The 350 is old and outdated. You can do better for the same price or slightly more if you are smart and a little patient about it. I stand by my assertion that this is not a good deal.

 

How does you saying that "You can do better for the same price or slightly more" refute the part of my post that you quoted and bolded (that you're not going to find a nuvi cheaper than $110)? If what I said is "just plain not true", then show us a nuvi significantly cheaper than $110.

Do you have a particular model of nuvi you're thinking of, because the 200/200W, 205/205W and 250/250W all lack spoken street names, which is a pretty big minus in my book right off the bat. You have to go up at least to the 255/255W just to get that one feature, and I went to every "price grabber" site I could find, as well as eBay and Woot!, and can't find any signs of them ever being less than $150-160.

I'm not understanding what you find so lacking in the nuvi 350. Portable, rechargeable battery, preloaded maps, voice guidance with spoken street names, and the same screen resolution as the current non-widescreen nuvis. As I said before, if you simply must have Bluetooth or MSN Direct, then the 350 is not the model for you, but now we're talking about features well beyond just navigation.

 

Like the Nuvi 350 under discussion, the best prices for newer units (like 250W) aren't everyday. As I said you need a little patience and keep an eye out.

If the refurb Nuvi 350 is OK to you, then go for it. I just think it's a bit long in the tooth, and would rather have something with the newer chipsets. I have a Nuvi 760 that I like pretty well. It's starting to show up for as low as $200 or so. I paid well over $400 for it about a year ago.

 

Again, it's back to what features you consider important. I wouldn't even consider the 250W because it doesn't speak street names.

I have a 350 and a 660 right now, and frankly, I haven't seen any compelling features in the newer models that would make me want to upgrade. They don't acquire satellites any faster, the accuracy isn't any better, and I can still get the latest maps for mine.

The GPS manufacturers have kind of painted themselves into a corner - since they don't control the actual satellite network, and they don't create their own maps, they can't do much in the newer units to actually improve the navigational capabilities compared to the old units. So they have to add on things like MSN Direct or MP3 players and JPEG viewers to try to get people to upgrade. Even the whole "widescreen" thing is a farce. At least in the lower-end nuvis, it's the same number of total pixels so you can't display that much more information. Plus, if they really wanted to improve the usefulness of the display, making the display taller would be of more benefit than making the screen wider - that way, you'd see more of your route ahead of you, rather than stuff off to the sides.

About the only features I'd really like that mine don't have would be the ability to record "breadcrumb trails" and the ability to automatically sort multiple destinations to find the optimum route. And I'm not going to be able to get those features without spending more than I think those two features are worth.

 

We can go back and forth all night, but I don't see the point since we're not adding anything useful to the discussion, and it just becomes arguing for the sake of arguing. I've said what I'm going to say so I'll leave it at that.

 

Fair enough - no hard feelings, just a civil disagreement between adults.

 

Wow...did you have a 350 and got lost a lot? Maybe it stole your girl or something?
Sorry, it just seems you have quite a chip for this model.

I have a 350 and it has been excellent, and very accurate. For what I want it to do, and for what I paid...absolutely no regrets.

 

I am not familiar with speaking street names feature, What is speaking street name do exactly? Does it say the name of streets as you pass by them or speak the name of street your are approaching to exit onto ?

If it's the latter, that info is already posted in big words at the top of my wide screen.

On the face of it, having a screen that is taller does sound like a good idea, but since the present screen looks ahead about 5 miles anyways, at 65 mph is another 4-5 miles more going to really make it that much better ? Right now I can zoom out in 3D and see alternate routes to my left and right further out than would be available to me on a 3.5.

With the cost savings difference of between buying the 260W instead of the 350 - I purchased a Kuda mount

 

Basically it's the latter. Rather than saying "In 500 feet, turn right", it says "In 500 feet, turn right onto Pocono Avenue". I appreciate it the most in dense urban areas where the cross-streets are spaced close together. It also means that I don't have to take my eyes off the road for anything. My last GPS (Garmin 276c) didn't have the feature, but after getting used to it our 350 & 660, I don't want to be without it again.

I'm glad you found a model that fits your needs. Like the saying goes, "That's why they make different color neckties"!

And +1 on the Kuda mount. I put them in both of our MINIs, and I think they're great. Just last week, I had someone comment that it looks like it came with the car.

 

That street naming can be handy. I see what you mean. I have yet to use the KUDA mount though. It arrived a few days after the Garmin, and before it did arrive, I used the suction cup mount and put it up close to the left of my rear view mrror. In my peripheral vision I can see and hera the Garmin clearly, and it is not noticable from the passenger and drivers side window glass when walking buy. Now if I can just figure out how to make a mount that attaches to the roof area under the headliner, I can eliminate the suction cup mount.

Does the 350 have blue tooth or radio freq transfer of audio to your Hardon Kardon stereo too.

 

Check out RAM mounts. They have every imaginable mounting plate and arm configuration. I use their mounts to attach the GPS to my motorcycle.

They make one that's a flat disc with a RAM ball attachment. You could epoxy the disc to the underside of the roof, poke a hole in the headliner to attach the ball mount to the plate, and then use any of the RAM arms/brackets to attach the GPS to the ball mount. All of their mounts are clean, sturdy, and fairly inexpensive.

 

Just my .02 here. I have a Garmin Nuvi 350 & love it. It does almost everything I'd ever want. The one thing that my next gps must have is the feature to breadcrumb routes. All in all it's a very useful tool for me. Even when I consider I paid more than 2x the Newegg price.

Speaking of Newegg I've bought a few things from them & they ship fast & appear to be a reputable company. As far as the Nuvi being recertified goes I've bought many items that have been recertified & I could never tell any from new.

If the Nuvi does what you want this is a good deal.

 

I have been thinking about getting a new GPS and this does look like a great deal. I have one...but it is OLD! It's a Garmin i3. Has some accuracy problems and you can't get updates for it.

My question is about updating these newer Garmin units. When you purchase them do you have updated maps for a specific period of time or do you have access to them for as long as they are available from Garmin? I was always under the impression that you had to buy updated maps (that's how this old i3 was I think). Can someone educate me?

Using the VZ Navigator on my phone works well usually for what I need, but it's a pain to fiddle with the phone when on the road sometimes...and then there's the issue of taking a phone call right when you are trying to find your destination.

 

Amazon has new nuvi360’s (identical to the MINI branded units) for $154. These have hands free bluetooth. Considering that I paid $700 for the MINI branded one when I bought my MINI, this is a great price, and the bluetooth works very well.

Steve

 

I can vouch for Newegg. I've been buying from them for many years. They used to be mostly computer gear, but have branched out in recent years. Newegg rocks. I always look there first when I need computer stuff.

 

The devices come with maps already pre-loaded, but depending how long the device has been sitting on a shelf or in a warehouse, they may not be the newest version. So, Garmin allows you a one-time free update to the most-recent mapset.

After that, you buy the map updates on your own. They come out with a new version each year. The changes usually aren't drastic, so you don't really have to update every year. I update ours every other year.

 

My best guess would be that Garmin already has the latest maps loaded. But as Scott said you do get to update the latest ones if they are not already on the unit.

 

Thanks for the info guys!

 

Yes. I had a TomTom before I got the Nuvi and one of the things I really like is the text to voice.

When my Nuvi arrived I was planning to make a custom mount. On a lark I stuck the disk that comes with he NUVI to the left of the tach and then used the suction mount on it. It worked perfectly and looked great. I later wired it in permanently as that was easy too. It now goes on with the car and off when I shut off the car. Much better than the TomTom would have done.

It is down low and although it takes a minute or two before it locks on it works perfectly and, again, looks like the Mini OEM install.

Neither. The 360 has BlueTooth but I am not sure of the other specs.

Rich