A week ago I bought a Garmin StreetPilot I3 GPS for the car. All I can say is that it works great and I don’t know how I ever got along without it. I no longer have to print out maps to houses before I leave in the morning.
The thing is the size of a baseball. The screen is about 1.25" x 1.25" which may be too small for some of us. But, I find that it’s okay for me since I just follow the voice commands.
Inputting addresses is a bit different since you use a thumbwheel to input the information. Initially, I thought it would take forever to do this, but once I got the hang of it, I can punch in the address in about a minute or two.
If you got an extra $275 to $300, I’d recommend that you invest in one.
A really nice atlas type city map costs about $30.00. I can buy new maps every 2 years for the next 20 years for the price of a small screen GPS which might work for 5 years (I’m guessing about their lifespan of course).
I’m with Dwight, I would be (and often am) lost without my GPS, I use Microsift streets and trips running on an older laptop in the car, I don’t think I would get along with those real small screens that the Garmins and Tom Toms have.
The Streets and trips costs around $100 including the GPS reciever.
I have both the MS Streets as Gerry has as well as I just purchased the Cobra NavOne 4500 for the work truck…and it is AWESOME…but pricy…$ 750.00 bucks from HSN.
I love not having to worry about addresses…lol…just PUNCH and GO !
The purpose of me getting the GPS was to minimize the amount of preparation time I set aside for an inspection. If I can save 15 minutes in the morning not having to print out maps, then that’s 15 minutes I can shave off of the overhead time I spend on an inspection.
Right now, I average about 15 to 30 minutes of prep time, 30 minutes travel time, 2.5 to 3 hours of onsite time, and another 2 hours of report writing. That works out to 5 hours/inspection. For my standard $400 fee, I average about $70/hour after deducting for expenses (insurance, gas, etc.). I need to get that hourly rate up into the $80’s.
One of the best ways to be competitive is to keep your overhead cost under control.
Now, if I can convince the wife that the FLIR thermal scanner would reduce my field time to a bare minimum, I be so happy!
I wish people would ask me when they are looking for things. I can get this system for $675.00 your cost, shipping included.
Skynav 3000 Mobile Global Positioning System. 5.2" Full Color Display. North America Street Level Detail Maps on board. Gyroscop for Uninterupped Navigation. Infrared Port for Simple Address Data Transfer
Weight: 5 lbs.
If you use an on site computer, use it for GPS. $100 will set you up. If you come across a traffic jam, bail out at the next turn. The program will get you back on track. It knows more short cuts between inspections that I do. Will save you gas money to pay for itself.
I can get the NavOne 4000 for $ 650.00…the NavOne 4500 for $ 725.00 which has the external traffic logic antenna…the reason I went with HSN was because it was FLEX PAY…broken down into 4 easy equal payments…
I get alot of electronics from Petra…I believe that is the name…good prices…the NavOne 3000 is a few years old…the NavOne 4500 is the newest model
I have a Garmin Street Pilot III and a quick search on Google shows a newer model for $279. I don’t leave home without it and love the voice navigation. The only time it has a problem is with new developments and then I just drop back to a major cross street. I can’t use the excuse I got lost going to appointments anymore!!!
I can sell it to you for that price. Just knocks down my profit. But no big deal. I’ve been advised that I should make a profit on things even when selling to people I know, but I have a hard time marking it up very much.
Selling it at that price I would make about $35.00 on the sale.
Wait before you buy. The prices are starting to come down.
As a comparison, I was going to order GPS in my new car (Nissan X-trial) the price was $2500. Then I thought again. So I am going to wait. I think the larger screen 7" is the way to go.
I like my NavOne from Cobra…large 5.5" screen and it can go from the work van to the personal car and so on…and is loaded with features…
Ever since I got that speeding ticket…I set the speed alert option in it so it says " Speed Limit Warning" when I go over 25…lol…everything helps when I am in that freakin Maxima…
I guess I’m missing out on something. Each night when my scheduling service emails me my workorders, I pull the address up on Yahoo “maps” and simply write down the street instructions. Takes about 7 minutes for 3 workorders.
The GPS does save me time getting ready for the inspection the next day. However, the final straw that got me to buy a GPS was when I got a call from a agent that uses me quite often. She had a immediate need for someone to drop by a house that her client was thinking of buying and was sitting on the fence trying to decide. There was a listing inspection that was done by someone else and the report wasn’t making any sense to the client or the agent.
I was in the middle of nowhere at the time and trying to find my way to an house out in the boonies was problem enough. I got lucky and managed to get there to do a quick look at the house and the report.
With a GPS, everything would have been much easier to do. But, in the end, use the approach that suits you.
I use my Dell Axim. The GPS upgrade was about $150 or so and works great. It has the standard features others do: voice, automatic route recalculation is you miss a turn, est driving time, ETA, etc…
It has got me out of many traffic jams. Also, alot of times with printing off maps or travelling by atlas, you can’t foresee construction - then you have to pull off and figure out the best way around. GPS does all that for you. So, in my opinion it is a very good investment.
I can get this system for $675.00 your cost, shipping included.