Level crossing stupidity...

[boxbrownie]

15 hours ago, Richard E said:

 

Mine is in the region of £500 for a dealer update. I can live without doing it ...

Wow…what vehicle?

[Guest]

16 hours ago, Richard E said:

 

Mine is in the region of £500 for a dealer update. I can live without doing it ...

 

That's insane!

My car lived with 2015 maps because the £170 Nissan wanted for an SD card with a map was a colossal rip off.

[Hobby]

10 minutes ago, ejstubbs said:

In my view, built-in satnav for private cars is a technology whose time in the mass market has passed.

 

It rather depends on the type of satnav used by people who don't have inbuilt systems. One major advantage with built in satnavs is that they tend to be in a place that doesn't obscure the view of the driver, before I got cars with them inbuilt I used a fitting that allowed the satnav to be fitted to the air vents so keeping the windscreen free of obstructions. Far too many people have them mounted on the windscreen (as well as other things like dash cams) where they can get in the way of the view out.

[Guest]

1 minute ago, Hobby said:

It rather depends on the type of satnav used by people who don't have inbuilt systems. One major advantage with built in satnavs is that they tend to be in a place that doesn't obscure the view of the driver, before I got cars with them inbuilt I used a fitting that allowed the satnav to be fitted to the air vents so keeping the windscreen free of obstructions. Far too many people have them mounted on the windscreen (as well as other things like dash cams) where they can get in the way of the view out.

 

My current car has no physical factory fit sat nav but it has a factory fit dash-top phone mount and an app so you can bring your own.

The app has off-line maps and updates are free.

 

Google maps is still better though...

[jcm@gwr]

16 hours ago, Richard E said:

 

Mine is in the region of £500 for a dealer update. I can live without doing it ...

 

I think part of the problem here, is  the fact that a lot of modern cars are leased,

therefore, while it's under warranty, the leasing company pay the charge, probably

without question, so that gives the manufacturer the justification to charge what

they like, to everyone!

[SamThomas]

22 minutes ago, ejstubbs said:

  For HGVs and other "special needs" vehicles it probably still has its place (though how many users of said vehicles actually cough up for the additional functionality they need is perhaps questionable).

Another thumbs up for Google Maps.

 

In one of my roles as an HGV driver I have a specific HGV/large vehicle SatNag - it can be tailored for the type/size & weight of the HGV you are currently driving. Costs around twice the price of an equivelent car unit but more than worth the cost. There are also versions for caravans & coaches.

In my view it should be illegal to use professionally a "domestic" unit in anything over 3.5T.

[SR71]

In built sat Nav is a bit of an outmoded idea. With a smart phone most people have access to a free satnav with live updates. I've used Waze, for instance, for some years and it's significantly better than my car's (BMW) own navigation which we occasionally use for a laugh to see what it will get wrong.

 

It also isn't consistent in how soon before a turn it calls or that clear on the display what the junction looks like. I could easily see someone in fog following it onto a railway line. 

[Richard E]

41 minutes ago, boxbrownie said:

Wow…what vehicle?

VAG Group - I have been quoted the same figure for both an Audi Q3 and a VW Golf. The trouble is the update has to be coded to the car and therefore the car has to be connected to Ingolstadt via the dealer intranet.

 

I've got a Garmin satnav as well with lifetime map updates and that does what I need and, at times, is better than the built in unit!

Edited February 7, 2022 by Richard E

[boxbrownie]

1 hour ago, Dunsignalling said:

That's also getting on for twice what you can buy a decent basic Satnav for from Halfords!

 

Free updates whenever I want, just by plugging it into my laptop.

 

John

I was a great exponent of TomTom Satnav a few years ago, they were reasonably priced and had lifetime updates for free, that was until my one when at about 7 seven years old was suddenly deemed “old model line” and the lifetime updates promised in the advertising suddenly stopped, to get more lifetime updates I needed to buy a new SatNav.

 

To add insult to injury they didn’t even support the old Satnavs, be it with updates or tech support.

[boxbrownie]

29 minutes ago, Richard E said:

VAG Group - I have been quoted the same figure for both an Audi Q3 and a VW Golf. The trouble is the update has to be coded to the car and therefore the car has to be connected to Ingolstadt via the dealer intranet.

 

I've got a Garmin satnav as well with lifetime map updates and that does what I need and, at times, is better than the built in unit!

Interesting, our Q3 cost £163 (which is the RRP from Audi) for it’s only update we had done, our dealer waived the “time on the system” cost as we always had it serviced with them (it was only just over three years old and had just one service ), I guess it comes down to how well you can “massage” your dealer.

Edited February 7, 2022 by boxbrownie

[Hobby]

1 hour ago, 30801 said:

My current car has no physical factory fit sat nav but it has a factory fit dash-top phone mount

 

Which seems a backward step, having something that encourages people to obscure the view out through the windscreen!

 

One major plus point for built in systems is that the screen is much larger and easier to read than phones or bought in satnavs. I'm not sure in builts are on the way out as such but the most sensible way would be to have an in built screen that doesn't obscure the windscreen that can connect to the phone's satnav/maps app, which is what someone mentioned earlier?

Edited February 7, 2022 by Hobby

[Dunsignalling]

1 hour ago, boxbrownie said:

I was a great exponent of TomTom Satnav a few years ago, they were reasonably priced and had lifetime updates for free, that was until my one when at about 7 seven years old was suddenly deemed “old model line” and the lifetime updates promised in the advertising suddenly stopped, to get more lifetime updates I needed to buy a new SatNav.

 

To add insult to injury they didn’t even support the old Satnavs, be it with updates or tech support.

I had a TomTom, passed down by my stepfather, who couldn't get on with it. It expired about six months after the guarantee did!

 

I now have a basic UK and Ireland Garmin that (occasional dodgy pronunciation apart) appeared to be fine until "blanking out" whilst in Cumbria on holiday back in July. It happened when passing under some high tension cables, stayed like it for a couple of days, then mysteriously started working again. I had only plugged it in to verify its demise before buying a new one! Been OK ever since....

 

John

Edited February 7, 2022 by Dunsignalling

[Guest]

25 minutes ago, Hobby said:

Which seems a backward step, having something that encourages people to obscure the view out through the windscreen!

 

I imagine the engineers thought of that when they were placing the mount...

[Richard E]

2 hours ago, boxbrownie said:

Interesting, our Q3 cost £163 (which is the RRP from Audi) for it’s only update we had done, our dealer waived the “time on the system” cost as we always had it serviced with them (it was only just over three years old and had just one service ), I guess it comes down to how well you can “massage” your dealer.

 

Interesting - I'll have to do some 'negotiating'.

[ejstubbs]

3 hours ago, Hobby said:

One major advantage with built in satnavs is that they tend to be in a place that doesn't obscure the view of the driver

 

Using Google Maps via Android Auto (or the Apple equivalent, depending on your preference of phone manufacturer) puts the display on the AV head unit, same as built-in satnav.  In the charity's van that I drive I ignore the built-in satnav; Google Maps via Android Auto uses exactly the same built-in dashboard display.  In both the van and in my car, my phone travels flat on the top of the dashboard, tucked right forward under the windscreen edge, with the screen facing down.  That means that it doesn't obstruct the windscreen, and it's effectively invisible to me from my driving position, but it does get good GPS reception.

 

Anything that obscures the view of the driver through the windscreen is basically illegal.  (I once found myself waiting in a queue behind a character who had a 10" tablet in portrait orientation sat plumb upright on top of their dashboard, smack bang in front of them   It was clearly visible on the footage from my dashcam when I checked later.)

[Hobby]

3 hours ago, 30801 said:

I imagine the engineers thought of that when they were placing the mount...

 

Does the phone stick up above the dash when in use? That's the simple test! (I noted that you said "dash-top" so assumed it was on top of the dash, i.e. in sightline when in use, rather than mounted lower like my air vent mounted example?)

[Guest]

1 hour ago, Hobby said:

 

Does the phone stick up above the dash when in use? That's the simple test! (I noted that you said "dash-top" so assumed it was on top of the dash, i.e. in sightline when in use, rather than mounted lower like my air vent mounted example?)

 

It's on top of the dash. It doesn't obscure the windscreen. The mount only expands to fit devices up to a particular size.

Engineers eh? 
 

Edit:

Since I’m in the car… The mount is on the same level as the speedometer.

Edited February 7, 2022 by 30801

[boxbrownie]

1 hour ago, 30801 said:

 

It's on top of the dash. It doesn't obscure the windscreen. The mount only expands to fit devices up to a particular size.

Engineers eh? 
 

Edit:

Since I’m in the car… The mount is on the same level as the speedometer.

SEAT Mii ?

[Guest]

32 minutes ago, boxbrownie said:

SEAT Mii ?

 

That's the one.

[Siberian Snooper]

I've had a couple of Garmin's,  but since I've had phones with Google maps,  that's all I use. With the Garmin's I would sometimes get the wrong junction where there were a couple fairly close together, but not made any mistakes with the phone. Google maps is also good in that it tells me in reasonable time how long it will take to get past Stonehenge, if it's close to or more than 10 minutes in either direction, I know to use the detour, if it hasn't already alerted me.

 

 

[Hobby]

4 hours ago, 30801 said:

 

thanks for that, it's actually quite a good compromise, and low enough not to get in "line of vision"... I was picturing the ones that are mounted next to the windscreen on top of the dash rather than there, which certainly isn't!

[corneliuslundie]

A propos updates etc, a couple of years ago, just after Newtown bypass opened (it only took about 50 years), one of the local supermarkets was selling a new edition of a printed road atlas (I'll not mention the brand, let's just say a well known one). It didn't have the bypass.

Nuff said.

By the way, I assume there have not been any worthwhile level crossing incidents recently (that's tempting fate) as we seem to be well off piste. Rather encouraging really. Obviously not enough lead in the petrol.

Jonathan

[melmerby]

12 hours ago, SR71 said:

In built sat Nav is a bit of an outmoded idea. With a smart phone most people have access to a free satnav with live updates.

 

So your phone is free to use?

I'd like one where I didn't pay for air time..........

[Siberian Snooper]

The Google Maps App doesn't use much data., my usage of data is around 1 gig a month, regardless of whether I use the SAT nav, so to all intents and purposes, free.

 

[PhilJ W]

Not LC stupidity as such but I don't think the Guy prancing about at the beginning got any decent shots.