To Rent or to Buy, that is the question.

Here are some things to consider when deciding whether to rent or buy a GPS Navigation System.

Price and Maintenance

There is a wide variety of GPS Navigation Systems available from very basic for under $100.00 to very advanced with many features for over $2000.00.

GPS Navigation, mapping, features, and technology are changing very rapidly. Like computers and cell phones, they can be nearly obsolete when you buy them.

Most new GPS Systems have maps pre-loaded on them when you purchase them. These maps may already have updates available and should have them installed to provide the latest version.

Updates for maps may take hours and technical savy to download and install. These may be free or you may have to pay up to $89.00 for them.

Occasional software/firmware updates may be required. These are usually free.

Maps are growing so rapidly in coverage and detail that the latest version may require more internal memory than the system has available.

New features cannot normally be added to a GPS System. They require the purchase of a newer model.

Coverage, Usage, and Need

The pre-loaded maps in a GPS System are normally limited to specific geographic areas. This may be a continent such as North America or Europe. Some Systems may even have both, but then there are two maps to keep updated instead of one. Some Systems may be limited to one or two countries or a region. There are a lot of different coverage options, and each requires updates and maintenance to keep them current.

To Rent or to Buy

It is your decision but please consider the following:

• Where will you be traveling?
• Will you travel there again?
• Will you need to update maps when you do?
• Are you tech savvy enough to do the updates?

When you consider a purchase consider the total cost of ownership including maintenance.

Compare the total ownership cost to the total cost of rental.

Rentals normally have the current maps pre-loaded. This is what makes them such a good deal.