Sales of portable GPS units for use in cars "have skyrocketed," and according to a CNN video, so have the number of thefts. Portable navigation units bring "about $100 on the black market," and in 2007, about 800 of them were stolen from cars in Nassau County near New York City- and while it's still early in 2008, about 450 have already been stolen. Removing the device from your windshield and locking it up in the car may seem an easy way to prevent theft, but Detective Sergeant Anthony Repalone says leaving the mount in place indicates a GPS unit is likely stashed in the center console, glove compartment, or under the seat. He advises that you remove the mount and wipe off the telltale ring its suction cup can leave on your windshield. If your car does get broken into by a thief looking for your GPS unit, Detective Repalone ticks off the potential costs: "The damage to the windshield, couple hundred dollars, stolen device, several hundred dollars, so the person who owns it is now out maybe seven- eight hundred dollars." While you might question his math skills, it's difficult to argue with his logic.
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Remove the mount and wipe the windshield every time you get out of the car? OEM Nav units are not looking quite so bad now.
We purchased a “beanbag” mount that sits on the dashboard for my wife’s Garmin Nuvi..no suction cups; and it can easily be moved to a rental or lent to son or daughter. We just make sure to put the “beanbag” in the trunk or console when we leave the car…..I have factory Nav in my Accord and I much prefer the built in unit.
I’m surprised how many people leave these things in the car in plain sight.
I’m surprised how many people leave these things in the car in plain sight.
It’s a pain to mount/unmount it each time I drive, and the plastic mount is getting creaky too so it rattles when I drive.
Proponents will still argue that in-dash units still encourage thefts and that OEM units are overpriced and quickly become obsolete. Feh, I say. I loved the one in the Acura TSX — I haven’t found another nav system that will input addresses through voice recognition (except the Pioneer AVIC-Z1, but I’ve never used one).
Just like CB radios and cd players, as soon as these things are 49.95 everywhere the crimewave will end.
hopefully GPS will be ubiquitous soon and won’t be worth stealing.
i can’t remember the last time someone i know had a radio stolen. it seems the black market radio price is about $2 around here. not worth the time. that’s one BIG advantage of proprietary head units.
i’m looking forward to when iphones and other smart phones are as good as a tomtom or garmin unit. then it’s in my pocket and not on my windshield.
on the other hand, i’d rather have a broken window than be stabbed up close and personal like.
My trusty Rand McNally road atlas has always gotten me where I need to go. It doesn’t get stolen and is cheap to update. I used to travel a lot for work before GPS (even foreign countries) and never had too much of a problem. Seems like finding your way has become another art lost to technology.
We should legalize the theft of GPS units, and tax it. People are going to do it anyway, this just creates a black market!
Oh wait, I’m thinking about crack…
Kevin :
March 27th, 2008 at 1:20 pm
“We should legalize the theft of GPS units, and tax it. People are going to do it anyway, this just creates a black market!
Oh wait, I’m thinking about crack…”
seeing as how i love both GPS *and* crack, you’re my new hero write-in candidate.
Nassau County? It’s a grid. With traffic everywhere. Trust me, you won’t miss the GPS.
Still using my free county map.
Whatever happened to planning your trip? If you know where you are going in the first place, a nav unit is unnecesary. They encourage laziness, anyway. A map (internet derived or otherwise) and a compass will suffice.
I too use the ancient folding map technology or the more high tech option of printing directions from a web based map tool (unfortunately, I have found that they, like GPS units, don’t always give the best directions).
I have a Magellan 2000 and a Magellan 3225. When I’m towing my 29′ Airstream, a nav unit is a Godsend. My co-pilot is something less than no help at all. The nav unit gets me prepared for turns well in advance. Lane changes with 60′ of rig aren’t always quick and easy.
I actually use the route planning functions on a very limited basis. The unit will often choose routes not amenable to pulling a large trailer. However, with the destination plugged in, the units will handle shorter term navigation quite well.
My cars used to get broken into routinely in Suffolk where I grew up (and left in 1993). I can’t imagine what it’s like these days. You must be insane (or stupid) to leave anything of any value in plain sight in your car on Long Island.
Detective Repalone ticks off the potential costs: “The damage to the windshield, couple hundred dollars, stolen device, several hundred dollars, so the person who owns it is now out maybe seven- eight hundred dollars.” While you might question his math skills, it’s difficult to argue with his logic.
I recently had my car broken into and in addition to the windshield, there was a lot of damage to other parts of the interior. Noticeable scratches on the door panels, the center console, instrument panel and speedometer face from all the flying glass when they broke the window to get in. Those cheap plastic interiors in modern cars.
I LOVE my GPS. It’s flat out, one of the most useful devices you can buy.
Where ever I travel in the USA, I always bring it along. What I love most about it (besides actually finding my way anywhere) is the absolute confidence I have driving with it on unfamiliar roads. You can not get lost. If you miss your exit or maybe traffic moving at a crawl and you have to get off this road,
NO PROBLEM…”Recalulating”. It’s WONDERFUL!!!
Where is there a Gas Station or a Hospital or a Chinese Take-out around here????? Just ask the GPS, it knows.
I would NEVER buy one of those built in NAV units. First of all, most are $1,000 or MORE for the same thing you can buy for $200 to $300, and most importantly, you can not take it out of the car. I don’t really need the GPS when I drive around my town, but I sure do need it when I’m away from home driving a rental car.
If you think using a MAP is just as good, well I’ve got a real nice bridge in Brooklyn I can sell you cheap…..
What I suspect is that the GPS system providers will eventually sell out and that their “findings” of gas stations, hotels, restaurants, etc.,will be influenced by payola.
For instance, instead of finding ALL Chinese takeouts in your vicinity or ALL gas stations, they’ll “find” just the ones who paid to be “found”.
@zenith – I assumed that was already the case.