Garmin GPS - no "free upgrades"

[04ctd]

i got an older buddy, he paid TOP dollar for a Garmin 340 back in the day.

so he wants it updated, i get on Garmins site and they have this deceptive "you MAYBE POSSIBLY get a update for FREE..."

"just register here..."

so 45 minutes later of signing myself for SPAM from every crappy markering org in the world, I find out...

NOT NO...but HECK no...no free upgrade!
but i did get a discount..

Thank You
Thank you for registering your StreetPilot® c340. You are entitled to a 10% discount* on select accessories at https://buy.garmin.com/shop. Enter the promotional code 6741-0268-8801 during checkout. Your promotional code can only be used once and will expire in 30 days.
•
•
• https://my.garmin.com/mygarmin/regis...gDetails.faces
•
Start shopping!


*Discount is only valid for select items purchased at https://buy.garmin.com/shop and does not apply to mapping products including map updates, preprogrammed datacards and MAD Maps or Games. Enter your promotional code at checkout to view discount. Discount may not be combined with other special offers.
Return to myGarmin Home.

[y2kflhr]

when I got my 340, 2 novembers ago, I got 1 free upgrade, but no longer......it still works just fine though, actually better than some nuvi's that you can't hear.....

[04ctd]

okay, so the 340 is still a relatively new model?

this is taking FOREVER....it took ~45 minutes to download, 30 mins to unzip, and now hour or so to load to the device via USB

so that wasted 45 minutes of registering to get SPAM adds insult to injury.

been a long evening..

[Sandhog]

I have the Garmin Nuvi 770 series.You can get a free map update when you register and any software upgrades are free.
You can subscribe to unlimited map packs for the life of your machine for $119.That gets you four updates a year for life.
Like I said the software updates are free,the maps cost a bit after the first update..
To put it into another light,try getting a new Rand McNally road atlas for free each year for life,once you buy the first one.It aint happening.

[trooper113]

I got a free, no-hassle. 1-time upgrade with my Zumo 450.

[KcCrossbones]

First things is that the 340 is in no way a new device. You seem to know this with the "back in the day" comment. Why would you get a free update? There is a numaps guarantee. The website tells you all about this. It is for nuvis and zumos and guarantees a new device will have the newest available maps. That way you dont buy a device today with 2 year old maps and have to pay to update. I registered my zumo and nuvi in like 3 minutes. It takes 45 minutes to type in your info and load the updater program? Maybe some of the time was updating the unit with free software to help it operate better!?!?!

I understand you may be frustrated but your entire post just shows ignorance and inability to read.

You get 10% off something for just registering. The maps, mad maps and games are licensed products from other companies.

BTW I read the website and I found out all of this information.

[strokerjlk]

as stated you get one free upgrade within a year. after that mine cost 75.00. most guys I know get a upgrade every 2-3 years.some of these guys are running 2-3 units and I know of one guy running 4 garmin's on his bike. These are guys that run scavenger hunt rallies and use diff units for the diff features.
Just be glad that you can upgrade it. because others cant be upgraded at all.

[KcCrossbones]

Originally Posted by strokerjlk

as stated you get one free upgrade within a year. after that mine cost 75.00.
Just be glad that you can upgrade it. because others cant be upgraded at all.

You do not get a free update within a year. Free updates are only available if the mapping in your unit when it acquires its first fix is older then the newest mapping that has been released. It is stated very clearly here:
https://my.garmin.com/maps/nuMaps.htm

I don't know where this free within a year came from. Garmin has not offered free mapping within a year ever.
From a letter I received from Garmin:
"In the past if you purchased a unit and within 90 days of registering a new mapping update came out then you would get the update for free. This was not a printed policy, it was an unwritten customer satisfaction offer. Now the devices have the ability to record the date they first acquired a satellite fix. That is the date the numaps guarantee is based on. I guess if you were dishonest you could have waited to register for a year and then called in and gotten an update. That will not happen any longer."

A retailer told me about the 1 year maps thing and it was a rude awakening when I went to get it. The Garmin rep was very kind however and explained it thoroughly. I appreciate that they clearly have it on their website now.

[strokerjlk]

Originally Posted by KcCrossbones

You do not get a free update within a year. Free updates are only available if the mapping in your unit when it acquires its first fix is older then the newest mapping that has been released. It is stated very clearly here:
https://my.garmin.com/maps/nuMaps.htm

I don't know where this free within a year came from. Garmin has not offered free mapping within a year ever.
From a letter I received from Garmin:
"In the past if you purchased a unit and within 90 days of registering a new mapping update came out then you would get the update for free. This was not a printed policy, it was an unwritten customer satisfaction offer. Now the devices have the ability to record the date they first acquired a satellite fix. That is the date the numaps guarantee is based on. I guess if you were dishonest you could have waited to register for a year and then called in and gotten an update. That will not happen any longer."

A retailer told me about the 1 year maps thing and it was a rude awakening when I went to get it. The Garmin rep was very kind however and explained it thoroughly. I appreciate that they clearly have it on their website now.

you are correct it is a unwritten policy as you said
when I bought mine they gave me a upgrade free five months later. There were several of us on another forum that bought them at the same time. We called and asked for the free upgrade that the retailer told us we were entitled to for up to a year. WE all got the upgrade .some were told they couldn't get it that they would have to pay 75 dollars. They said they didn't want it at that price . Then called back untill a rep gave it to them free. That was three years ago and as you said things have changed. to be honest I haven't looked at there web page for a while so I didn't know they were using the method of tracking when they got there first sat fix. I know a lot of guys did just what you said and didnt register it untill a new map came out. They took care of that didn't they!