Customer Reviews: Read 62 more reviews...
 Magellan Maestro 4250 Purchase December 2, 2008
I purchased this GPS to replace my Magellan Roadmate 760 that stopped working. I paid about half the price that I would have paid in the store for a new one. When the Amazon GPS arrived it appears to be NEW. It functions great but you do need to update the firmware using the internet and the supplied USB cable. This systems is very easy to use and was orginally designed for use by Hertz rental cars which is where I first started using the Magellan systems. The new unit is much smaller, lighter and easier to mount. Included computer disk allows you to program your own locations via the USB using coordinates from programs such as Google Earth and such. This unit also has a rechargable battery so that you can use the GPS out of the car which I could never do before.
 First GPS a disappointment November 30, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I was very excited after buying this. I was a bit alarmed when I had to hold the power button down for a long time for the machine to start up. This happened all the time. Sometimes I would have to press the power button several times for it to turn on. Once it was on, I was happy with it but didn't care for the "AAA" icons on it. The final straw was when the device would not turn off. It simply would not turn off no matter how many times I pushed the power button. I was very glad I kept all the packaging, as I returned it and Amazon gave me credit.
Excellent GPS - buy the refurb & use saved money for map update November 28, 2008
I bought one of these refurbished 4250's about 2 months ago. When a friend saw how great it worked, she bought one the next day. Since it's so easy to use, I just ordered another one for my parents who are over 65 and very analog-minded. The maps are outdated and very expensive to upgrade ($79.99), but I kept checking the Magellan site and last week the 2008/2009 map upgrade was on sale for $47.99 and I bought two copies. So, even with the cost of the upgrade, I still haven't paid as much as the "new" ones cost, and even they don't have this most recent map update.
The 4250 has many great features, but I'm going to skip all that and focus on some common misconceptions about the unit, and why it really is a terrific GPS that you shouldn't think twice about buying:
Misconception #1 - Some reviewers have speculated that other brands might be better. The fact is, ALL GPS units are inaccurate sometimes, give bad directions sometimes, and are hit or miss with POI's. One brand may work better in Metropolis, while another brand may work better in Gotham City. There IS one Garmin GPS on the market that has better voice recognition (say "1313 Mockingbird Lane and it will take you there - Magellan only recognizes voice commands like "home" or "nearest gas"). Otherwise, there is NOTHING on market that guides, routes, re-routes, finds satellites, stays locked onto signals or displays directions better than Magellan.
Misconception #2 - Some reviewers think it's full of glitches. It's very important that you update the firmware. That eliminates all those bugs other reviewers complained about. Mine came with version 2-point-something, and I immediately updated to the current 4.6.
Misconception #3 - The touch screen doesn't always work. Find a stylus for the touch screen. My screen was a bit troublesome at times, not responding to some of my taps, but then a friend gave me a stylus for it, and my problem was solved. It has NEVER failed to respond to just a gentle tap with the stylus. I attached my stylus to the bottom of my Bracketron UFM-100BL Nav-Mat GPS Friction Dash Pad (which I also highly recommend) with adhesive Velcro. I should mention that even without using the stylus, my touch screen still works very well most of the time.
I am a musician and a photographer, so I travel a lot. I have used my Magellan Maestro 4250 very heavily in the last two months, and it has proven itself to be a wonderful product.
Magellan 4250 refurbished November 28, 2008
Works great, no problems. Buying refurbished products has saved me a lot of money over the years. I have never had a problem with buying products from Amazon.
 Don't buy it 'refurbished' November 27, 2008
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
I had this identical magellan unit stolen from my car (smash and grab) and since i loved the product so much (my 4th gps by the way), i bought it again, only this time, i bought it on amazon 'refurbished' cuz i wanted to save a few bucks (first time i bought it at costco for $499 after rebate!!) I read the reviews online regarding the refurbished units and considered myself smart to buy it "factory refreshed new" for $150 cheaper. i mean, come on, the factory brought it up to brand spanking new, right? nope. when i got the unit it was clear that the past
user had dropped it, causing the fluids to leak out from the glass and get trapped between the glass and the plastic touchscreen facade. consequently, i couldn't get the thing to work and since it was clearly broken and NOT the result of my "user error", i returned it the next day. i think what happened is the initial owner returned it to the factory, deceitfully got their money back for a "defective" unit and the guys on the magellan receiving dock making $8.60 an hour took in the defective unit, held hands and formed a circle around the broken gps, chanted a few times and VOILA! the unit was as good as new and ready to be sent back to the retail stores as a factory refreshed unit. bottom line: great product but don't buy it as a refurb. and yes, the one star is warranted in this case because i blame magellan for sending out a damaged unit and passing it off as factory spec renewed. buy it. but buy it NEW!
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