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It is a bizarre fact that many purchasers of new cars are ready to pay several times the true value of a satellite navigation system in order to have it fitted by the maker. It is true that the car’s manufacturer normally does an excellent job of installing the unit, but then you are paying a premium for it.

If you bought the sat nav unit separately and had it fitted by a third party, you would buy it for a third or a quarter of the rate. Still, it is part of the image of having a new vehicle to have all the latest gadgets built in to it. Satellite navigation, commonly called sat nav, is a real boon, if you buy a system that is up-to-date and that is regularly updated.

It is not necessary to have the sat nav installed in the car factory in order to have it fitted well. Many third party installers are quite capable of making a good job of it too without having to have your radio/CD player taken out.

Many auto navigation systems are fitted to the instrument panel by means of rubber suction cups in any case. Buying a sat nav unit that does not have to have holes cut for it will also keep the cost to a minimum without having to forgo quality or safety.

An important point to remember is that there are many kinds of GPS systems, each with rather specific uses. GPS for an ocean-going yacht does not need road maps, whereas GPS for a bicycle may not give sufficient advanced warning for the speed of a car.

Even if you purchase a GPS sat nav device for a road vehicle, there are different varieties. The three basic kinds are: stand-alone, such as you see fitted at the car factory; hand-held and systems that are meant to be used with a laptop computer or similar device.

The stand-alone systems are the most popular, because they have certain advantages: they are made for the job of getting you from A to B via C, D and E, if required; they hold a database of landmarks which will help you know that you are on the right road; a voice will give you directions so that yo do not have to keep referring to the screen and it will memorize and integrate previous routes.

Hand-held sat nav systems work, but require more thought and sometimes additional software to be provided by the user. The screen is typically too small to be of much use and some only provide voice directions. Others only provide pictorial directions. However, they are better than nothing if you are hiking or cycling in unfamiliar terrain.

Laptops and PDA’s offer an excellent service, especially if you already had the apparatus for other purposes such as office work.

So, it is not just a question of picking up a cheap sat nav system and thinking that they are all the same, you have to see it working so that you can judge whether it is going to be of any benefit to you in your circumstances.

Owen Jones, the author of this article writes on various topics, but is currently concerned with the Snooper sat nav system. If you would like to know more, please go to our website at Escort 8500.