Sat Navs..?

**raj** · 23-03-2009, 18:28

ok as ive just got my taxi licence i thought id invest in a sat nav

id like to go for a well known brand ie garmin, tom tom etc

i lke a big screen, 3d maps, bluetooth etc that some do now.

so, any recommendations.? i dont mind spending abit on one.
my limit is around £400 but obviously dont want to spend that if i dont have to but i am looking for a quality brand as i will be using it as part of my job.

**clee** · 23-03-2009, 18:37

Not got a clue what is best etc as I rarely use them but this site is worth looking at once you decide on one .We got a refurbed TomTom1 for £50 and it looked like new ,in the box with all the bits .
http://www.totalpda.co.uk/

**Penfold aka The Dealer** · 23-03-2009, 18:40

Yeh i must admit i use a basic tomtom with europe map.

Does me, i use it every other day or so...

Well dont on passing your Taxi test, gonna do mine when i am 25 just so i have that option open to me.

**raj** · 23-03-2009, 18:46

hmm, im thinking maybe the garmin nuvi 775t or 885t or tom tom 940.

**raj** · 23-03-2009, 18:50

Originally Posted by Penfold

Yeh i must admit i use a basic tomtom with europe map.

Does me, i use it every other day or so...

Well dont on passing your Taxi test, gonna do mine when i am 25 just so i have that option open to me.

thanks

it was hard but glad im through it now. i dont know if all councils have introduced this but i had to take my driving test again

and also do a taxi knowledge test. even the oldskool taxi drivers MUST take there driving test by dec 09 or they are stripped of the licence

its been abit of a nightmare. all good now though

**MR TURBO** · 23-03-2009, 18:51

well done raj mate

**Penfold aka The Dealer** · 23-03-2009, 18:52

Originally Posted by raj

thanks

it was hard but glad im through it now. i dont know if all councils have introduced this but i had to take my driving test again

and also do a taxi knowledge test. even the oldskool taxi drivers MUST take there driving test by dec 09 or they are stripped of the licence

its been abit of a nightmare. all good now though

That correct, i am getting a few taxi drivers asking for brush up lesson's etc. Also all professional drivers need to do extra training throughout the year... more money for the goverment/DSA/dvla.

**Adam 005** · 23-03-2009, 19:08

i would say that a tomtom 730 will do every thing you need.Best place to buy sat nav is halfords.

**MikeA** · 23-03-2009, 19:32

Congrats on the liscense Raj!

From my experience, the whole bluetooth sat nav thing is a bit of a gimick. We used one, cant remember which, but is was around 350.00 and the phone speaker and connection were ****e! Kept dropping the line and people couldnt hear us well. Also, they sell it as if you would use it with mp3's but the speakers are just too rubbish. Id concentrate on one with great core functions rather than one with all the bells and whistles but comprimises quality. You know what I mean?

**MR TURBO** · 23-03-2009, 19:43

Sod em all they are all

i've got a tomtom one somewhere with dust on it. I've got smartnav fitted into my tt it works a treat no screen to watch just some biyatch talking

**J$£5GTT** · 23-03-2009, 20:02

tom tom with the europe,ideal for those little trips to the ring!

**Leigh** · 23-03-2009, 20:28

I was looking for a new sat nav today and found tesco cheapest on the Tom Tom XL Europe http://direct.tesco.com/q/R.203-8920.aspx or Aldi sent me a email today with this one on offer on Sunday with lifetime traffic http://www.aldi.co.uk/uk/html/offers/2867_9287.htm

**Blick** · 23-03-2009, 20:30

ive been to the south of france and back with a garmin!!! no problems with it at all.

**scratcher** · 23-03-2009, 21:57

Well done Raj

You've done well there mate.

I've got a Road Angel sat nav and its always found where I want to go. And shouts at me when there's a camera coming up. Its very simple to use too.

**raj** · 23-03-2009, 22:19

thanks

i think im going to go for the garmin 765t.

**JRP** · 23-03-2009, 22:32

Nice one on the taxi front raj.

Im seriously looking at doing the knowledge asap

hehehe gonna be fun

**Nayls** · 23-03-2009, 22:35

Originally Posted by raj

thanks

i think im going to go for the garmin 765t.

looks a good choice & not bad priced at £239.

im still using an old navman that i've had 3-4 years,absolutely faultless so no need for me to upgrade to a modern/better looking one.

**Moggy** · 24-03-2009, 06:58

Garmin!

as a HGV driver its all i'd trust

I've tried all the others and they try taking you every way you don't want to go

Garmin has always taken me the best way, first time out of the box!

(and all our fleet of 40 trucks now have garmin installed!)

**Sparkie** · 24-03-2009, 09:04

werent Garmin one of the first GPS units, originally for walkers/ climbers?

Raj-> what did you have to do for your 'knowledge test' - i always thought it was London black cab drivers who had to do that.
interestingly all the nice expensive houses on our road have been bought by private hire taxi guys.....

**JRP** · 24-03-2009, 11:14

Originally Posted by Sparkie

werent Garmin one of the first GPS units, originally for walkers/ climbers?

Raj-> what did you have to do for your 'knowledge test' - i always thought it was London black cab drivers who had to do that.
interestingly all the nice expensive houses on our road have been bought by private hire taxi guys.....

when i said knowledge i ment doing the london cab one, i was not aware of another one hahah except the black cabs in edinburgh etc they must have to do one.

**raj** · 24-03-2009, 11:21

Originally Posted by Sparkie

werent Garmin one of the first GPS units, originally for walkers/ climbers?

Raj-> what did you have to do for your 'knowledge test' - i always thought it was London black cab drivers who had to do that.
interestingly all the nice expensive houses on our road have been bought by private hire taxi guys.....

for the knowledge test it all varies from council to council. basically mine asked me a few road sign questions, also the terms and conditions of being a taxi driver ie,
when should you put the meter on when collecting a passenger?
where should you put no smoking signs in the cab?
whats the minimum age to qualify as a taxi driver?
how long should you have held a driving licence for to qualify as a taxi driver?
when should you be re-applying for a new taxi badge?

thats just a few. there are a few more sneaky ones that were in there.
the test was 40mins long and consisted of 4 pages. also we had to get 70% or more to pass so that was abit of a relief. i got 86%.

bear in mind it is different from county to county. or so i have been told.

just got to figure out how to become self employed

**Sparkie** · 24-03-2009, 14:16

don't they basically work freelance for a taxi firm? - i know you can rent a car for the job...

**raj** · 24-03-2009, 22:00

Originally Posted by Sparkie

don't they basically work freelance for a taxi firm? - i know you can rent a car for the job...

im unsure of all this yet

i went to a taxi base earlier and asked them for some info.... im unsure if they were fobbing me off or not

as i havent got a 4 seater car less then 5yrs old i cant use my own car.

so, they tell me they will supply the car and i have to refuel it, they sort the maintenance and they want 50% of my weekly earnings

WTF!!

my instincts tell me that percentage is abit toooo much..?

is anyone on here a taxi driver.?

**Sparkie** · 24-03-2009, 22:03

someone else told me today you rent the machine that shows the cost of the journey!

**Scoff** · 24-03-2009, 22:26

Originally Posted by Sparkie

someone else told me today you rent the machine that shows the cost of the journey!

unless it's chaneged a lot recently you usually rent the meter stuff, radio and any other odds and ends the firm might need you to have, plus you'll pay a settle to them each week or month since they are getting you the work and they want paying ofcourse.

**raj** · 31-03-2009, 19:18

well i bought the garmin 765t. its really easy to use although i havent yet done alot with it.

where can i get hold of 'free' voices for the sat nav? can anyone recommend any good ones?

**J$£5GTT** · 31-03-2009, 19:22

Originally Posted by raj

well i bought the garmin 765t. its really easy to use although i havent yet done alot with it.

where can i get hold of 'free' voices for the sat nav? can anyone recommend any good ones?

some choice here my man...not free tho...ya tight wad....

http://www.nav-voices.co.uk/Scripts/...FQZeswodJXOFug

**raj** · 12-04-2009, 22:37

the garmin 765t seems to have some issues with the system freezing

and im having to reset it by holding the power button for 30seconds! not really good when with a customer

also sometimes the maps dont load up when i turn the system on and i get a plain white screen. so not really a good stert on the sat-nav side of things

the good outweighs the bad though--
ive just finished my first full week (7days) as a taxi driver doing around 8/9 hrs a day, i wasnt rushed off my feet,infact far from it and i was in disbelief when i totaled up my first weeks earnings which came to £460

WTFFFFF!! end of the first week and im happy with the results

**raj** · 26-06-2009, 11:02

well this garmin 765t hasnt lasted that long, 3 months in all

its just gone kaputt, and to top it off ive been put on hold for 30mins so far

its still under warranty thankfully

.
wont be going with garmin again, ive notice that it freezes once i get into a certain area of nottingham and various other places.

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