Garmin - a lengthy rant

HollisHarri

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Matthewfalle

The question you really have to ask yourself, though, is do you really need it? Ride retro dude, it's the way forward.

themogulman

So you got the unit in Jan 2012. They have replace it twice and now have offered to repair the unit for £74.40.

Cant see how that is that bad.

Feeling your anger but you need to understand their legal position and the goodwill gesture.

Good luck

HollisHarri

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bianchimoon

Personally I wouldn't have accepted a refurb unit first time round, they're refurbed for a reason!
If you bought on a credit card try that route, a friend of mine got his money back on a TV that was 30 months old and went faulty.

keezx

Matthewfalle wrote:

The question you really have to ask yourself, though, is do you really need it? Ride retro dude, it's the way forward.

Really cool indeed to ride without any figures in front of your nose.
Might be frightening first but adaptation comes soon.

Matthewfalle

Keezx wrote:

Matthewfalle wrote:

The question you really have to ask yourself, though, is do you really need it? Ride retro dude, it's the way forward.

Really cool indeed to ride without any figures in front of your nose.
Might be frightening first but adaptation comes soon.

Yup - no Garmin, no power meter, no MP3 player, just you, your bike, the wind and your mates having some banter.

Retro is the way forward.

Matthewfalle

and absolutely definitely no Strava (or equivalents) 'Phone switched off.

HollisHarri

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Matthewfalle

Top stuff - get back to basics. Some things in life should be.

Lose the emergency map on the 'phone as well - you'll find your way home eventually and meet a lot of new places and people on the way.

keezx

Matthewfalle wrote:

and absolutely definitely no Strava (or equivalents) '

Never liked it.
Competing with guys stayering behind mopeds or wait for a storm.....

keezx

HollisHarri wrote:

It's not really the stats I want it for, it's the maps. I have a terrible sense of direction so I like having a route in case I get lost (I ususally get lost following the route too: I'm not kidding).

In regions where I'm not familiar I carry a Garmin Etrex with maps in the back pocket.
Sometimes with a few waypoints on crucial point so I never get lost and I'm stll free to choose my own roads, that's all you need.
When my Bryton Rider 20 broke down I first was pissed off, but soon I liked it.
Bike looks soo much cooler with no tablet on bars or stem.

thegreatdivide

How many other forums did you post this on?

HollisHarri

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ronnierocket

themogulman wrote:

So you got the unit in Jan 2012. They have replace it twice and now have offered to repair the unit for £74.40.

Cant see how that is that bad.

Feeling your anger but you need to understand their legal position and the goodwill gesture.

Good luck

Not sure I agree that getting less than 3 years out of an expensive piece of electronics is somehow not bad, with 3 faulty units. I would write a letter to Garmin about it. e.g. http://www.which.co.uk/consumer-rights/ ... ty-product

rolf_f

ronnierocket wrote:

themogulman wrote:

So you got the unit in Jan 2012. They have replace it twice and now have offered to repair the unit for £74.40.

Cant see how that is that bad.

Feeling your anger but you need to understand their legal position and the goodwill gesture.

Good luck

Not sure I agree that getting less than 3 years out of an expensive piece of electronics is somehow not bad, with 3 faulty units. I would write a letter to Garmin about it. e.g. http://www.which.co.uk/consumer-rights/ ... ty-product

It isn't good and it misses the point. The warranty isn't (or shouldn't be) a guarantee that the unit will last that long and then fall to bits - it is just a guarantee that any manufacturing fault will take no longer than that time to show up. Which is why, even if you get a replacement item on the last day of your warranty, you should expect the warranty to be reset and started from that day. If the product is so crap that it means they have to keep supplying you with new ones then that is the manufacturers fault for making crap things in the first place. Sale of Goods Act I think covers it.

bianchimoon wrote:

Personally I wouldn't have accepted a refurb unit first time round, they're refurbed for a reason!

And what reason is that? Have you checked? FWIW, Garmins blurb on this does explain what happened with the OP but it doesn't mean they are right.

Please note that newly overhauled (NOH) devices received as replacements for servicing will have either a 90-day warranty or the remainder of the original device's warranty, whichever is longer.

They can say this as regards their warranty but it doesn't mean it isn't over-ruled by Sale of Goods Act.

I bought a desk lamp from Argos. Had it replaced about 8 times in 3 years as the electrics kept failing. Finally I got a good one and it is still working fine 10 years later.

cuichulain

I understand that I have no legal ground to stand on,

I don't know about that... someone above mentioned the Sale of Goods Act, and that states that merchants have a duty to provide goods that are of satisfactory quality and fit for purpose. Might be worth asking Garmin if the purpose of their units is to last a year then break, and if they'd like to be quoted on that. I tried it on Nikon once... it didn't really work (there were other factors involved) but it got me half off the repair costs.

(Not a lawyer etc etc)

Ber Nard

HollisHarri wrote:

I'm just going to sell the unit as spares, recoup what I can and forget about it.

I doubt you'd get much sold as spares or repair. I can't imagine it being economically viable to buy a dud one and get it fixed so a buyer wouldn't want to pay much at all. Could be wrong.

Personally, I'd stump up the £74.40 to get a replacement and sell that. Bundled with your other accessories I'd expect you to get at least twice that back on ebay or the likes. Up to you how honest to be in the description.

tyred&weary

Download Viewranger for your phone - the app is free. It does everything a Garmin will and you can use free maps of any area as well as the OS ones they sell.

johnboy183

Plus today's Giveagarmin competition isn't working for me

jonny_trousers

I have an 800 and so far it's working fine, but I do wish there was better competition in the market. I'm not the most technologically astute, admittedly, but I do feel Garmin bike computers are a little behind the times where useability is concerned. My prediction for the future is that someone will produce a unit that links to your smart phone, much the same as the iPhone watch supposedly will. I wouldn't be surprised if Strava got in on the hardware action too.

Oh, and Garmin Connect is bloody awful.

Mikey23

the refurb thing does seem to be the garmin way... Apple too now i think of it. Cant help feeling that we the consumers are losing out somewhere...

HollisHarri

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itboffin

Jonny_Trousers wrote:

I have an 800 and so far it's working fine, but I do wish there was better competition in the market. I'm not the most technologically astute, admittedly, but I do feel Garmin bike computers are a little behind the times where useability is concerned. My prediction for the future is that someone will produce a unit that links to your smart phone, much the same as the iPhone watch supposedly will. I wouldn't be surprised if Strava got in on the hardware action too.

Oh, and Garmin Connect is bloody awful.

It already exists google Wahoo RFLKT Bike Computer

wongataa

HollisHarri wrote:

I did some googling on how capacitive screens can be fixed. The consensus seemed to be that they can't but I found a couple of posts suggesting sticking it in the freezer might do the job. So I popped it in a sandwich bag and squeezed all the air out and left it in the freezer overnight.

I would like to point out that a Garmin Edge 800 doesn't have a capacitive screen. The only Edge device with a capacitive screen is the 1000.

HollisHarri

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ben@31

I have a Garmin 800. Works great....

.... Garmin Connect ? Don't get me started on Garmin Connect :evil: S.N.A.F.U.

rickwiggans

I've just had a Fenix 2 replaced after a month, thankfully with a new one. I've also just had an 8 month old faulty 800 replaced by a refurb. After 2 weeks, the refurb is faulty, and is going back.
Regarding sale of goods - a thought has occurred to me. The accepted way to resolve the these faulty units is to deal direct with Garmin. However, our sales contract is not with Garmin, but the retailer. If we accept a replacement, new or refurbed, direct from Garmin, we no longer have a device that was supplied by the retailer. Have we therefore lost any rights we may have under sale of goods etc? Any legal beagles out there know? FWIW, my Edge was replace by Garmin, but via the retailer, CRC. It took a month to turn round.

itboffin

Garmin connect all I can say is really!?! :twisted:

BrandonA

Matthewfalle wrote:

Keezx wrote:

Matthewfalle wrote:

The question you really have to ask yourself, though, is do you really need it? Ride retro dude, it's the way forward.

Really cool indeed to ride without any figures in front of your nose.
Might be frightening first but adaptation comes soon.

Yup - no Garmin, no power meter, no MP3 player, just you, your bike, the wind and your mates having some banter.

Retro is the way forward.

But you have a modern bike, modern clothing and probably a mobile phone in your pocket. Nostalgia is for people who are not happy with their life and refer a time when they were happy.

My two Garmin Edges are two of the best cycling things I've ever bought. They allow you to follow routes from others which has enabled me to find some excellent roads I didn't know existed. They also help you train and improve your fitness which ultimately means I enjoy cycling more.

No devise built nowadays is built to last. My 800 haits getting wet now, as a result I only use it when riding the Kickr indoors. Did I get upset and complain when it broke, no I used it as an excuse to by the newer 1000.

meanredspider

The 800 hates rain. A friend of mine went through about half a dozen and will now only ride with it wrapped in cling film. I went out in the wet in mine the other day and at 10k the pressure port obviously got waterlogged as my ride went "virtually" flat. It also refused to connect to my computer too and now, several days later, thinks my house has dropped 100m to sea level.

I upgraded last summer to a 1000 but I was too early and the POS that Garmin released wasn't finished so it went back. I will upgrade again when I have the navigation need.

Riding without technology is nice but, if you want to improve and use this to maintain motivation on the crappier days, you need something. I also find the technology encourages me to be far more creative with my routing and explore places without needing a big map in my back pocket.