Product ReviewsGarmin nüvi 205W Automotive Mountable

Garmin GPS - Oldie but Goodie!

The unit is reliable, the battery charges easily and remains charged. Although the maps are a little outdated, it has served us well on a recent 2000 mile road trip.

Verified purchase:  Yes | Condition: pre-owned | Sold by: newempex

New Product without box

I received this unit as advertised new without a box. It looked brand new and all the perrifials were there. However the unit did not work and the battery would not charge up. I gambled that it was only a defective battery so I bought a new battery and installed it following instructions on U-tube. The new battery charged up without a problem and the unit now performs excellently. I'm just disappointed that this unit was not tested before it was sold to me as new without a box and that I ended up with the added expense of having to buy a battery. Lucky for me I'm talented enough to have been able to install the battery myself.Read full review...

Verified purchase:  Yes | Condition: pre-owned | Sold by: nwstcollectibles

A+++++ PRODUCT!!!

I recently purchased the Garmin NUVI 205 the day after Thanksgiving, and got a GREAT DEAL on it at BestBuy. Recently I drove to San Antonio to visit my dad and I accidentally left it in my car, well it was stolen and I was so upset. I am purchasing another on eBay because I love it so much. It is the easiest GPS EVER, even my grandmother can use it, it's that easy! All of the features are remarkable! You can put your own photos on it and view them, view different time zones, use the calulator, change the vehicle icon (TomTom doesn't offer this feature, you just get an arrow), on the Garmin you can have a Sleigh, Boots, a boat, car, RV, motorcycle, RC race car, an Army tank, sports cars, and many many others...and while your driving the maps automatically update themselves, and when it gets dark while your driving the screen automatically is dimmed to a low light state to improve overall driving..you can change the voice to a man or woman also!...it is so customizable..it's great! I recommend this GPS to ANYONE!

PS-----------BE SURE NOT TO LEAVE IT UNATTENDED IN YOUR VEHICLE! ALWAYS TAKE IT WITH YOU EVEN IF YOU GO INTO A GAS STATION TO PAY FOR GASOLINE, A RESTAURANT, OR A HOTEL WITH SECURED PARKING BECAUSE THESE ARE THE TOP THEFT ITEMS! ALONG WITH IPODS! PLEASE BE CAREFUL!Read full review...

Garmin 205W

I used the Garmin 205W that belonged to a friend on a long trip to unfamiliar territory recently. I found it to be very helpful and user friendly and so purchased one for my use. I liked the wider screen and the different mounting options (dash or window). I also liked the fact that it had a battery back up so that we could take it in the motel and program it for the next day's trip. This particular model showed the posted speed as well as my drving speed on the display and the expected time of arrival. I was able to take short detours to resturants or other points of interest by using the via feature. One negative, however, is that when I searched for a motel--it only listed those with "motel" in the name. In other words, it did not find a Holiday Inn. One other concern I have is how easy will it be to update. One mistake it made was in coming to a road that was oneway around a courthouse, it kept telling me to turn left--which I could not do legally. However, once I rounded the courthouse, it picked up correct directions. So, common sense must still be employed when using the Garmin. Until I have more experience with the Garmin, I still take the $5.00 road atlas with me, too.Read full review...

Very nice Gps unit-Highly recommend!!

I purchased this item for my brother and his wife. Although they don't travel much, they wanted something that would help them when they were out of state. Since they didn't need anything "top of the line" this unit was perfect. I had the opportunity to try it out for them before I gave it to them and I really liked it. The unit is small, lightweight, and VERY easy to operate! It is very easy to view even though the screen is not very big. The lighting and the clarity of the screen are wonderful. It even comes in a pale pink color-which is great for us girls-although the color is light enough that it isn't too flashy for the guys. The only poor thing I have to say about the unit, is from my brother when he used it out of state. Although they did make it to their destination, it took them another 3 hrs that they didn't want to use. They tried changing the settings to shortest distance and fastest time, but the recalculation never changed. I'm not sure if this was a fault of the unit, but I am just pointing it out. If you want something compact, inexpensive, easy to program and follow, and stylish, then this unit is great for you!! I am hoping that my husband buys one like this for me:)Read full review...

Garmin Nuvi GPS 205W

I have had several different types/brands of GPS units. I have had an earlier model Garmin which I am very satisfied with. Our family is still using it. Recently I bought my wife the 200 model which for her purposes are just fine. I did have a Nextar GPS unit, but I had nothing but problems with it. The unit kept loosing power even though it was connected to a power source, and the system was terrible at recalculating a new route. It always wanted to send you back to it's original calculation. I bought the Garmin Nuvi 205W to replace the Nextar and am more than satisfied. The system calculates your route fast and recalculates as soon as you change your direction. As with all the units they give ample time to find your destination. I like the wide screen as it is easily seen and you can view more of area around your route. This unit also has a where am i selection that give your exact location and can give you nearby hospitals , police, gas service, etc. I have not needed all the features yet but when I do use them I will add to this review. I did find the price of this model good for what it had to offer. The turn by turn directions are fine for me as it tells you to make your next left or right. I will look on the screen to see the street that the next turn is on. If you want to hear the Name of the street, then you must spend some more and upgrade to the Nuvi 255W. the Nuvi 255W tells you to turn on the street name, (example; Make Your next left onto Main Street) If you shop around you will find a great differance in prices from store to store. There are several E-Bay sellers with good buy-it-now prices too. Good Luck, make sure you research what you are looking for, then you won't be disappointed.Read full review...

Great Garmin!

The Garmin Nuvi is a great technological addition to any vehicle. I use this product at work on a very regular basis and have found it to be incredibly reliable, complete and convenient. I have relied on a Garmin Nuvi heavily and have had a pleasurable experience using it.

As for cons; The touch screen can be inaccurate at times. Unless you make precise selections, the Nuvi ends up selecting any of the on screen options at the time. A little experience with the product usually ends up curing this small issue.

Also, the navigation programming will take you out of your way to avoid making a left hand turn across traffic. While this is programmed out of concern for safety (A majority of traffic accidents occur from left turning traffic. Either rear-end accidents from following traffic not seeing the turning vehicle or the turning vehicle turning in front of unseen oncoming traffic.) This feature can be inconvenient, time consuming and confusing for drivers in unknown areas.

With the success in my use at work, I have decided to buy this product for my wife whose job takes her all over the state. I'm confident in this product to safely guide her to her destinations.

Kudos to Garmin for such a great product!Read full review...

The Garmin Nuvi Experience

This is a very good GPS receiver...for the money. I thought that there will be some common sense extras, but it seems that Garmin does not think these are common sense. For example, when you are following directions and want to see where it is taking you after your next turn, you cannot touch and slide the screen ( move it around like you would with some other map programs). I am not even sure that other GPS receivers have this feature now that I know it does not come in a regular GPS. But it may come handy in a lot of places that you might want to avoid and they do not fall under the 'avoid highways' category.
Another thing that sort of bothers me is the lack of zip code input feature. At least I could not find it so far. When I am going out of state, I realize I have to change the state after several unsuccessful attempts to find the address. A zip code would be much faster option I think. Also, when I get the address from someone, I do not necessarily spell out the name of the city, just write down the zip, it is faster.
So far, it has been taking me places and I enjoy having it.Read full review...

For the price a very good basic GPS

If I was a professional type driver I would spend more money on something with more features or points of interest, but I just needed a good basic GPS for occasional use, and this is it. My wife's GPS is a 3.5 inch 205, and it's nice that, if her's ever quits working, we have a backup. Like a computer operating system, she doesn't have learn a new way of controlling it. If we lose an accessory, they are readily and cheaply available.

Although I can see the 3.5 inch screen just fine, the wider screen 205 has a few extras features that were important to me. For example, when you're looking over a large area of the map, with the 205w you have the choice of having north orientation, or direction of travel. I'm talking about when you're looking at a hundred mile section for example, not street view. Having gotten used to other brands of GPS's that defaulted to north orientation, to only have the direction of travel option for the 205 was disappointing.

I like the way the 205 and 205w display the speed when you're in route mode (some other brands don't) but wish it would also display the entire route stats somewhere on the map (total distance, total time) instead of just the distance to the next turn. You can get this basic info by pressing buttons, but you shouldn't need to.

I don't like the high cost of the map updates, but at least they're available (unlike a Meier Venturer brand I once
had)

Accuracy of finding locations seems to be on par with most low end GPS's, and that may not be Garmin's fault. I once had to go to a county office to correct a mistake they had related to one of my moms properties. The satellite picture company had her address off by an entire property. Another county had a printed map of their county that had non existent streets and bridges on it, (streets planned for but never put in) I saw a very expensive GPS owned by a truck driver that gave him the wrong location once, and even Googlemaps and Mapquest still get one location I know of way off. Usually if a GPS can at least get me in the neighborhood I can find it from there if I have to.

Even when you don't need the GPS for directions, they're nice to have if you break down and need to tell AAA where you're at (they want to know EXACTLY) like I was recently. My daughter's smartphone could only give us an approx. location, not as accurate as a satellite.Read full review...

Garmin Nuvi 205W revies

I bought a brand new Nuvi205W from US. to used in Thailand. I also bought the Thailand street map v8.0(Eng ver.)on SD card from "Garminator" that its working well when do the navigated in Bangkok but only the battery working time that I used while navigation only 2-3 hr when fully charge. I disappointed in the spec that this model can be used "Photo Navigation" because of this feature can be used only "Panoramio Photo" from Garmin website.
I have my own Geotag Photo that take a photo from Nikon coolpix P6000. when I copy the photo to the nuvi 205w, it could not shown the Lat/Long Position and could not do the navigate by Geotag Photo. Someone know about this problem and could help me to find out how it work will be appricated.(skydyman@yahoo.com)Read full review...

Quality & Professional

The entire Garmin electronic product gives nothing but quality, reliability, and convenience. This device is accurate and easy for "the average Joe" make his/her daily and long distance travels more convenient and organized. The satellite reception is truly incredible with 100% reliability. I tried many GPS electronics and all, to my experience, were not reliable. Once I came into contact with Garmin I never looked back. During my employment atmosphere I travel a lot and Garmin GPS made the mobile stress disappear. Garmin is the standard of excellence, professionalism, and quality. I have no regrets and will never do business with any other manufacturer. Thank you Garmin!Read full review...