Garmin GPS, repair don't replace.

[Owen]

My Garmin Zumo 550 died a slow death. It had served me well for about 2 years and 50k miles. A lot of hard rain and plenty of Texas heat. It started by not responding to the touch screen inputs. Sometimes it would correct it's self and work for a day or two. Finally it started making its own selections and became just useless. I shopped around looking for possible replacements. I could pick one up from eBay but there is always a chance of problems and 4-500 dollars is more than I want to risk. I looked at possibly a new one but that too is just more money than I could spare. Finally, out of desperation, I called Garmin. Turn out they have a refurbishment program for most all of their models. The price varies per model. The Zumo 550 costs $150. Get a return authorization, box it up, (just the main unit), and ship it to them. About a week later I received a replacement unit, they don't repair and return yours, they just want to make sure it is repairable. The replacement unit was shiny like new and worked perfectly. All in all, a simple, price effective alternative to buying a replacement. Thumbs up to Garmin.

[relic]

Mine died last year after 2 years. Wasn't too happy about that considering I paid $1100 when it first came out. Replaced through Garmins Authorised dealer in Quebec,

Canada. Cost was $230 Sent a refurbished that I had to re-register. Still works so far. Fingers crossed

[frogmaster]

Owen,

 

I posted this here before... maybe dollar late or dollar short but this describes exactly what you described above. $150.00 That is a Bargin for what you get. I love my ZUMO

 

$25.00 Home Fix:

 

http://www.kawasakiversys.com/forums/showthread.php?t=7622

 

http://www.kawasakiversys.com/forums/showthread.php?t=7622

 

[Owen]

Owen,

 

I posted this here before... maybe dollar late or dollar short but this describes exactly what you described above. $150.00 That is a Bargin for what you get. I love my ZUMO

 

$25.00 Home Fix:

 

http://www.kawasakiversys.com/forums/showthread.php?t=7622

 

http://www.kawasakiversys.com/forums/showthread.php?t=7622

 

 

Wish I had seen this before! This is the kind of electronics work I do everyday...

[frogmaster]

Wish I had seen this before! This is the kind of electronics work I do everyday...

Owen,

 

I think VR.Org has a new Rick Butler of Zumo GPS Repair Shop. I'm thinking $75 is half of $150

[Owen]

Owen,

 

I think VR.Org has a new Rick Butler of Zumo GPS Repair Shop. I'm thinking $75 is half of $150

 

Hhhhhmmmmmmm... you might have a good idea there.

[RoadKill]

Did the same thing with my Street Pilot 2730. When I got the refurb back it had older maps as I'd just installed and update. They were great! Sent me a link to a new update. Definetely would do again and would never buy anything but Garmin.

[Guest tx2sturgis]

Garmin 200w replaced after 4 years under the battery recall program. Like new refurbished, certainly better than the one I sent in....I didnt even have to pay for shipping either way.

 

 

All my standalone PND's have been Garmins...I wont buy anything else.

 

[BuddyRich]

Did the same thing. I think it was a total of 25 bucks for a new screen and digitizer combo.

That was a simple replacement. Don't know that I would dive much deeper than that into it though.

[Flyinfool]

I sent in a 6 year old unit and the tech said that even though it was way out of warranty, it should have never had that problem. I sent it to them by next day air and in the not I said that I really needed it for a hunting trip on the coming weekend. They transferred all of my data, sent me the newest version of that model, next day air, all no charge.

 

I doubt that I will ever get anything other than a Garmin in the foreseeable future.

[Rocket]

I sent in a 6 year old unit and the tech said that even though it was way out of warranty, it should have never had that problem. I sent it to them by next day air and in the not I said that I really needed it for a hunting trip on the coming weekend. They transferred all of my data, sent me the newest version of that model, next day air, all no charge.

 

I doubt that I will ever get anything other than a Garmin in the foreseeable future.

 

Yesterday I called about my GPSmap 60CX (power button problem), got a RMA# & this morning walked into the Garmin service center. The RMA was not done correctly, for a walk in / take out, so it was cancelled & a new one was issued. They updated my registration profile with the new unit & transfered my waypoints to it. I was told I would need to download the updated maps to the laptop & transfer to my handheld. Also in my case for a 3yr+ gps, no cost warranty replacement.

 

So a 50 mile detour (maybe) off the route to Cody, a replacement gps at no cost. With the exception of a day at a motel (wifi download) to update from the OEM baseline map to the N/A Metroguide, which I have the lifetime updates subscription for the gps.

 

:thumbsup2: Great customer service, in my opinion.

[Sideoftheroad]

Sorry for the hijack.

 

Got a Garmin map question that maybe you all might now. I have a Streetpilot 2730 & 2820. I don't use the 2730 anymore but if I ever wanted to can I just copy the maps from the 2820 and install them on the 2730?

Edited July 21, 2011 by Sideoftheroad

[seabeetom]

The 450 went haywire over the weekend. All the symptoms of the dicitizer screen going bad. Had it for 4yrs and bought the lifetime map updates. Called Garmin and was told they would replace it with a refurb for $175. Been reading posts on ZUMOFORUM web site and replacements for same problems were ranging between $75 and $150. Will have to talk with another Garmin tech and find out why the difference in price. I don't do ebay/paypal or else I'd do it myself.