Garmin nuvi 205 Car GPS Receiver

The Garmin nuvi 205W gets an excellent rating from me. I have been using the 205w (w = widescreen) for almost three weeks. I took it out of the box new, plugged it into the vehicle's power port and began using it without any problems. I eventually read the owner's manual and some other basic reading material. I plugged the 205w into my home computer and registered the unit. During the registration process, I was given a map update for the unit.

Pros: Very simple to use. No fancy extras that I need. She (the 205w) talks the basic language: "Turn right in 1.2 miles" / "Exit left" / "Recalculating" / "Turn left" and some other things. She doesn't try to say the street names (like more expensive Garmins) which is fine with me. The touch screen works very well and is easy to see. I have placed my unit on the dashboard 'down low' by the windshield. I have a Dodge Grand Caravan and there is plenty of room on top of the dashboard. It almost reminds me of a "Heads Up Display" used in the aviation industry. I also like the idea that I can plug an actual street address into the unit and get directions to that place.

Cons: I don't always like the way the 205w trys to send me. I have a normal route from my home to work and the 205w likes to send me into town (with all the redlights) instead of trying to get to the by-pass street. Even when the 205w recalculates the time - it's almost always the same. Maybe it's right - if I catch all the green lights! Overall, that a minor problem/issue that I can live with. Really - who uses a Garmin between home and work?

The GPS is not extremely accurate - and it's not designed to be. Sometimes, in multiple lanes with multiple exit lanes (4 or more lanes total) the 205w may get a little lost and try to put you on a road that you're not on. It's only for a second or two - but then it comes right back to the normal. The unit does provide plenty of warning when the turns or exits are coming up (that's a plus!) and therefore you shouldn't be driving by looking at the map.

I have also notice that sometimes, when you aren't directly on the mapped street but a parking lot - the unit may try to put you on a street. Eventually, things shake out and the unit does its job.

Would I buy another? Oh, heck yes! Granted, there are not a lot of features and do-dads like some of the more expensive units. But, if you need just an inexpensive basic GPS to get you to and from places - this is the one. Overall, I am very satisfied with the unit. I gave it an excellent rating because of the great job it does and the best money value for the unit.

SO SIMPLE TO USE. THE WIDE SCREEN IS A GREAT FEATURE. If you are worried that a gps is hard to use ,this unit will having you feel good about getting it.

Garmin's nüvi 205 improved GPS receiver, faster screen redraws, support for traffic receivers, and, perhaps the most significant improvement, an upcoming turn arrow on the map. the nüvi 205, I can confidently recommend this capable GPS.very simple used. Currently priced well under $130, you won't find a better GPS at that price.

It was great for about the first 8 months we had it, then the voice stopped working on it. Not something I'd expect from Garmin.

I love it because my job requires I drive around to specific addresses, and without the gps, it would take me forever. Also, being able to find food places, or stores, is awesome. I originally bought it for my job, but now I use it all the time.

My cousin has the same Garmin and he highly recomended it so I bought it on ebay. It is easy to use and helps my wife find her way to garage sells.

works great love it it takes me almost every where better than the tom tom that i use to have. all i have to do is type in the address and it takes me there no problems at all. and it also has a where am i option which tells you where you are if your lost. i love the fact that it has an option to take you to the nearest hospital or police station which most other devices dont have.the garmin is a great thing to have if your bad with directions like me or in a new place and have no idea where to go. i would recommend this device for anyone.

I didn't realize when I bought it but showing the speed limit of the road you are on and your speed is a nice feature. I'm also amazed by how accurate the placement is. It has to be within very few feet of perfect. Easy to use, great display. Nice product.

I tend to get really nervous about driving long distances to places I've never been before, so I purchased this GPS receiver. The seller was amazing and it shipped quickly; I couldn't have asked for better service.

The receiver does announce upcoming turns and is fairly quick to correct the route if you've overshot or missed an exit, which is handy. For smaller distances (less than a mile) between turns, it sometimes guesstimates (I think) incorrectly -- there doesn't seem to be much difference between "turn right in .5 miles" and "turn right in .2 miles" but this just means you need to pay attention to street names as they appear on the screen. It would be nice if the navigator spoke the street names out loud along with the instructions ("turn right on Miller Avenue in .2 miles," for example), but if you can glance at the screen it's usually displayed, which helps.

All in all I'm quite satisfied with it. It got me through a thousand-mile road trip without any hitches (except that I had to fiddle around with it a bit to get it to recognize the route I wanted to take instead of the route it suggested). I'd recommend it to anyone looking for a car GPS receiver -- if I can use it (and it's my first GPS receiver), anyone can.

This is a very good GPS receiver...for the money. I thought that there will be some common sense extras, but it seems that Garmin does not think these are common sense. For example, when you are following directions and want to see where it is taking you after your next turn, you cannot touch and slide the screen ( move it around like you would with some other map programs). I am not even sure that other GPS receivers have this feature now that I know it does not come in a regular GPS. But it may come handy in a lot of places that you might want to avoid and they do not fall under the 'avoid highways' category.
Another thing that sort of bothers me is the lack of zip code input feature. At least I could not find it so far. When I am going out of state, I realize I have to change the state after several unsuccessful attempts to find the address. A zip code would be much faster option I think. Also, when I get the address from someone, I do not necessarily spell out the name of the city, just write down the zip, it is faster.
So far, it has been taking me places and I enjoy having it.

The 205w is the third gps unit I bought and I returned the two other because they did not have a tollraod that had been completed over a year ago which I use since it is five miles from my home. The great thing about garmin is they let you update to the most current map on the nuvi series within the first 60 days. I have since bought a 200w and it is very simular but it lacks the feature that the 205w has it lets you know what the speed limit is on the road your on.

The Nuvi 205W is a great choose!!! It is very compact, the batery life is excellent and have easy operation.

I used the Garmin 205W that belonged to a friend on a long trip to unfamiliar territory recently. I found it to be very helpful and user friendly and so purchased one for my use. I liked the wider screen and the different mounting options (dash or window). I also liked the fact that it had a battery back up so that we could take it in the motel and program it for the next day's trip. This particular model showed the posted speed as well as my drving speed on the display and the expected time of arrival. I was able to take short detours to resturants or other points of interest by using the via feature. One negative, however, is that when I searched for a motel--it only listed those with "motel" in the name. In other words, it did not find a Holiday Inn. One other concern I have is how easy will it be to update. One mistake it made was in coming to a road that was oneway around a courthouse, it kept telling me to turn left--which I could not do legally. However, once I rounded the courthouse, it picked up correct directions. So, common sense must still be employed when using the Garmin. Until I have more experience with the Garmin, I still take the $5.00 road atlas with me, too.

Everything was perfect, thanks! I decided to buy it because of the price and the good reviews. The shipping was on time.

The item was exactly as descibed. It was also shipped very quickley and was recieved safe and sound.

Great GPS and the wide screen makes it very easy to view in the car. For the cost it is a real bargin and I would recommend it to anyone.

I have a Garmin 200W and saw this on EBay and knew it was the perfect gift for my daughter's birthday. She called me yesterday and let me know that her Garmin got her to Target! Gotta love that!

Using Pay Pal was easy. Ordered and shipped promptly. Received in good condition.

The new NUVI 205W is a very nice tool to have in your car, especially to get in or out of big towns.
The NUVI 205W is well done, screen is bright and perfect visible on different angles, slim design make it perfect to handle, speaker has a amazing clean voice.
If you are inside the house it take about 15 to 30 seconds to pickup a satellite signal, but outside or in the car is almost instantly.I just went for a two hours trip to a big city, the unit was very very precise and letme at the destination door with a 4 minutes different from the starting point (home),I LOVE IT!!!!!
Windshield holder is strong and perfectly adjustable. I have this holder attach to the windshield for over a week and still there.
Very simple to use which it made this unit 100% recommended, you won't be disappointed.
Thank you of all.

Great product, by previous experience better signal than tom tom gps. The device is alot easier to turn on than other gps's, what I dont like it doesn't give me the best routes to take, little software for customization. Overall I enjoy using my gps, recomemded because its affordable, comprehensive and good signal.

Great service, needed delivery by 1/29. It came 1/19 and it helped my daughter get around the road closeures around D.C. on 1/20.. Thanks Again. George

I did not want a GPS with Bluetooth or lots of other features. I wanted one to get me from point A to point B. The nuvi 205W does just that. It is very intuitive and I like the wide screen format. Even when I decide to take a route other than what it recommends, it is quick to reroute and recalculate. The only downside I have found so far is that sometimes if I don't put in a highway (state or county road) in the format it expects to see it in, it will not find the road. I think this is the best value for the money.

I was very satisfied with my Nuvi. It has found some rural area locations that surprised me. I would definetly recomend this product.

The garmin I puchased was exactley what I wanted, shipping was fast and the prices was great. Accepted my bid and responded quickly.

Will do business again. AAA