Garmin nuvi 2597LMT 5-Inch Bluetooth Portable Vehicle GPS with Lifetime Maps and Traffic 2597LMT (Renewed)

The product I ordered and received was one that had been refurbished to like new condition at the factory, and indeed it was. The only thing I had to do was update the maps on this GPS, which I did via an app called, "Garmin Express" which I already had downloaded on my computer and have used for another Garmin GPS I have. As soon as I plugged this unit in to my computer, and opened the Garmin Express app, it immediately recognized this new GPS, automatically updated the firmware and drivers, and then gave me a list of "updates" to choose from including all of the new maps. However, this did take some time to accomplish. At first, it said it would take three hours to do, but the actual time was closer to one hour all together. Be aware that this could tax your "fair share" usage time depending on your internet service provider. In my case, I decided to do this during the wee hours of the night in order to avoid this. (I have Hughesnet here. No other choices out where I live) There is also an app you can download to your cell phone called "Smartphone Link" that works perfectly in conjunction with this unit, and has lots of nice features.Another reason I bought this particular Garmin (other than the price) was that it comes with free life-time map upgrades, and a one year warranty. and it works great with Blue Tooth capable devices such as my Samsung Galaxy S3 smart phone. I have two other Garmin GPS units that are around 5 years old now, and I've never had any problems with either of them. I bought this one particularly to keep in my tour bus.Everything considered, I am very pleased with this unit and highly recommend it. It will do everything it was intended for and then some. Although I suppose I could use my cell phone to accomplish much of the same thing, I prefer to have a dedicated device for this purpose. I can even answer incoming calls either directly or via my Bluetooth with this unit, which I think is great!

See udate:After receiving this refurbished nuvi 2597 I opened the box removed the product. Then went to plug it into the computer and found that it comes with like a 16 inch usb cable. Fortunately I have an extension. So I plugged it into my pc with 16 MB high speed cable internet. It took nearly 3 hrs to download the map updates because the unit keep restarting. After downloading maps and attempting to transfer my saved favorites from an old c580 unit. Garmin express stated the transfer was complete but afterwards they were nowhere to be found on this new unit. I then attempted to adjust various settings and the screen would flash to angled hyphens with a blue background and restart. Tried to pair the phone with the Bluetooth same thing. Totally unreliable. Refurbished apparently means they plug it in and it powered up so it was certifiable"working as new.". It did come with a protective screen cover sad was wiped clean but totally none functional. Contacted Amazon and they immediately created an advanced replacement order but I don't have very high expectations. They are giving me a month to return this unit. No doubt to “refurb" it again and sell it to another sucker. If you can afford the extra $30 get the new one. This is not worth the aggravation. If the replacement is also a dud that's my plan...Garmin's re-certification process is horse hockey..A.K.A. BS.Amazon shipped an advanced replacement in short order which arrived in seemingly good shape. It updated in under a hour and took a charge with no problem. This second unit appears to work well thus far. Voice commands do work and Bluetooth synced up with my tracfone and works well. So far so good on the replacement unit. Updating to 4 stars. actually pretty happy with this

Extremely happy with this. Clear directions, got to choose a nice Australian voice ... no screechy women yelling 'recalculate'! I took it on a road trip, out-of-state and was able to use it in the car I was loaned. My husband, who drives the same semi-truck route for 10 hours each day, uses his similar Garmin to keep track of his truck speed and the ever-changing speeds of various roads and highways he has to drive. I use this a lot when I drive 2 hours to my daughters ... same route each time ... but speed zones change constantly. I just turn the sound off and just use the visual. Works great! I appreciated the 'reminder ding' of where school zones were, plus it cautioned me a couple of times when there was going to be a 5 minute + delay due to traffic issues ahead. I REALLY loved that I was able to use it at night, in unfamiliar city streets and city interstate highways, as it also indicated which lanes turned, how many miles or feet before I had to turn, etc. Of course, I've only had this about a month ... and it was reconditioned, so I am aware that things might change as the year progresses, but I am thoroughly happy with it now. It did come with the plug and holder to attach to the window, but I bought the Garmin Portable Friction Mount (which my husband also has on his truck) and that worked GREAT since it truly made it a portable GPS. I also bought the AmazonBasics Hard Carrying Case for 5-inch GPS, since I would be carting the Garmin around in my suitcase, various other cars, etc.

I bought what I thought was a new Garmin. It turned out to be a refurbished unit. Because we were buying from Amazon, we elected to keep the product. We used it the first day and it worked great. The next time the unit was used was on a trip in Florida. The unit wouldn't boot up despite numerous attempts. We contacted Amazon and learned that on refurbished units, we had 30 days to return for a refund. Our unit was 32 days old and we ate the cost. I went back onto Amazon and ordered a different Garmin. I read all the information to see if it was a certified reconditioned product. No such words existed so I reordered and received a refurbished unit again. I returned this unit on day one and learned from the customer service agent that none of their garmin products are new. Beware when buying refurbished equipment. It was broken before and apparently it breaks easily.