Is that a good deal, or should you stick to the new models? These are great questions, and I’m going to attempt to shed some light on them in this article.

I’ll just go ahead and let the cat out of the bag and let you know my general answer to this question. No! For what GPS receivers cost new and for the amount of money you’ll save, to me it doesn’t make sense for you to buy a reconditioned unit.

Let me explain my reasoning.

Right now, on Amazon, you can get a Tom Tom 3rd Edition, brand new!, for $119.49. If you want to buy a reconditioned unit, that will cost you $109. Personally, I just don’t see saving $10 as a reason to buy a used unit–even if it’s reconditioned by Tom Tom themselves.

Well, maybe I picked the wrong example. Maybe you can save some real money on other models. Let’s see…

A new Magellan Maestro 3100 will cost you $109. Used, you’re looking at $99! Again, a $10 difference.

Even in the higher prices, there’s not but about a $20 difference between a new unit and a refurbished unit. The Garmin nuvi 660 (a great GPS device, by the way!) is currently selling for $329. Refurbished it’s $309.

$10 to $20 seems to be all the difference there is currently between new and refurbished GPS receivers.

Maybe you think differently, but to me that’s not enough of a savings for the potential hassles of buying an older, used unit.

If you’ve been looking for a reconditioned GPS for sale and found price differences that are larger than what I’m quoting you, then I suspect I know what the issue is.

Prices for GPS recievers of all kinds have dropped a lot over the past two years. What cost $400 or so dollars a year or two ago, only costs $200 or so now.

I’ve seen price comparison websites where they show you the low, low reconditioned price compared with the price for a new unit. What they’re doing, though, is using prices for the new units that are at least a year old–sometime older.

They’re doing this to get you to think you’re saving $300 to $400 by buying a reconditioned GPS. You’re not, because the new GPS’s don’t sell for those higher prices any more.

Part of the issue is dealing with unscrupulous businesses and internet marketers who are willing to skew their prices in order to deceive you. This is why (at least to my mind) it’s so important to deal with really reputable companies like Amazon.

There are others, and I’m not trying to say Amazon is the only reputable company on the Web. They do enjoy a very good and very well deserved reputation for fair dealing, and because of that I’m using them in my example.

If you’re looking at someone’s website that’s selling other companies’ products (called affiliate marketing), make sure the company that you’re actually buying from is someone with a good, customer friendly reputation like Amazon.

Just as an example, I have a number of websites that sell other companies’ stuff. But the companies I work with are only the best ones–the ones you can trust to quote you fair prices on their merchandise.

So, with prices as low as they currently are, to my mind, a reconditioned GPS for sale just doesn’t make sense. Go ahead and spend the extra $10 to $20 and get a brand spanking new unit.

By: Rick Cole