Customer Ratings & Reviews

I love it, it is pretty easy to use. I am not a tech person and I figured it out. The screen is big and easy to read. I like that is has my speed and it sometimes has the speed limit. I think it has a traffic thing, but I live out in the middle of a wheat feild and have not been to the west side yet. Spokane is the only big city that I have been to since I received it, and they don't really have traffic. Next time I go over the mountains, I will have to check it out.

This is the 6th Garmin I have purchased. We have a service business and they really cut down on the time it takes to find residences via mapquest. I have tried other brands and have found that Garmin is so much more accurate. The GPS technology have really changed the way businesses are run - more productive, less travel time. No more wall maps and street books - AWESOME!

Overall, good for directions but makes occasional blunders. Like all other GPS units I have used, I recommend that when you are in unfamiliar territory, check a map first --- and take the paper map with you for backup. Traffic feature is almost worthless around Minneapolis, but it has been very helpful in Florida --- even re-routing automatically around traffic problems. Unit was invaluable guiding me on intricate route on mountain roads from Dulles Airport to West Virginia after midnight. Worked very well in Hawaii, Washington state and Vancouver, B.C. Sometimes takes 10 minutes to acquire satellites --- other times it takes 10 seconds. Definitely needs to be mounted on dashboard. I updated the maps in the unit as soon as I bought it --- strongly recommended. But I still find the unit's "points of interest" surprisingly outdated. Sent me to a Target store that had closed 3 years ago. I look to a GPS unit as more of an assistant to getting me to a destination in unfamiliar areas than an infallible director, so this unit works well for me overall. I also recommend it to my geographically clueless friends as one of the best deals for the price.

I received this GPS for Fathers Day 2010, and it has performed adequately up until this week, when it just quit and would not power up, either on battery or plugged into the car charger. Best Buy, as usual, stood behind the product, took it back and replaced it with a new one. When it comes to good service, Best Buy stands out. The unit works well when it worked, and is easy to input addresses. I used the "find a hotel" and "find a restaurant" feature many times and it also worked well. If there is one thing, beside breaking, that I don't like is the time it takes to locate satellites. It can take 5 minutes for the NUVI to locate itself and when you are leaving the airport and have to get to your destination, sitting on the side of the road waiting for the GPS to locate the satellites is very frustrating. I don't know if this is typical of all GPS units, and if you leave it in your car and use it all day long this would not be an issue, but if you travel by air, and use it in rental cars, in different states, the delay in finding the satellites should be a consideration if you want to buy this model.

I have experience with Garmin GPS receivers, as I still own an i3 (amazing how much they've come down in price!). Therefore, it was easy for me to become acclimated with the new model. Best Buy had a fantastic deal on the 255WT - hard to pass up. The 255WT builds maps and calculates/recalculates routes very quickly. The display is bright and easy to read, and the touchscreen is very responsive. The feature set is very good, with various trip data available, a picture viewing application, and gas mileage info. It even tells you speed limits! Various settings (such as spoken language and even the map's car icon) allow the user to set up the 255WT to their liking. Perhaps the best feature is its ability to speak street names - very handy. Unfortunately, the GPS did not come with a USB cable - however, my old i3 had one, so I just used that to transfer pictures from my computer. The mounting bracket suctions the GPS to the windshield very securely, and allows for easy removal (to prevent theft). The casing of the unit itself seems very sturdy, and the battery life is very good. Unfortunately, you do have to have the 255WT plugged into the vehicle power socket in order to receive traffic updates (it receives a signal via the antenna built into the cord). The only real problem I've encountered is that the unit's text-to-speech voice isn't quite loud enough in my admittedly not-so-quite car. If you turn the volume up too much, the unit will buzz with some spoken syllables. This 255WT is very useful and lives up to Garmin's reputation as a satnav leader. I wish it had a few more features - such as Navigon's pictorial lane information, but Garmin's straightforward controls seal the deal for me.

Love it, We bought two. One for my husband who travels, one for me who doesn't. He recently had his stolen from his vehicle while on a trip and he replaced it with a Nextar device. When he got home from the trip, he claimed MY Garmin because it is so much nicer. The screen is larger and easier to read, and it is in general much easier to use than the Nextar. I am planning on returning the Nextar and replacing his (or rather, MY) Garmin.

This was my first GPS (other than iPhone) and I wanted a unit that would speak clearly to me while driving, actually tell me where I was all the time, and be easy to use when going somewhere new, making a wrong turn, or avoiding traffic. I was able to purchase this at the $130 discount and am happy that I got one for myself and my fiance. Other than the plug being in an awkward position on the back, I have no complaints at all.

This was my second GPS, so I had a better idea of exactly what I wanted, and the 255wt has filled the bill. Mine came with a neat little friction mount as a part of a package deal which closed the deal for me. Sometimes hard to read in direct sunlight. Otherwise, efficient and economical operation. Took it on a trip out West, and it did not fail us once. Not as sophisticated as the more expensive Garmin units, but does not pretend to be. It just gets the job done.

I'll preface this review with a quick comment on many of the posts I've read pertaining to this particular product: Let's not forget that this device is intended to supplement driving skills and navigating acuity, not replace them. That said, the 255WT is a good product for the price. Like any GPS unit, it can sometimes be off by a couple hundred feet or so, but this is relatively unimportant. If it's an issue to you, you can always save your true location upon arrival via the "Where Am I" function. To date, I have had no problems with accuracy. I think that what many of these reviewers don't understand is that when real-time traffic is enabled, by default the unit attempts to route you around any significant traffic delays. Two complaints: One is with the quality / reliability of this product. It does freeze up, sometimes frequently, requiring restart. Sometimes it will shut down and restart when the processor appears to be overworked. However, this only happens when the traffic receiver is attached and traffic is enabled. No real-time traffic, no problems....unit works fine. Second complaint is that this is a known issue, discussed here and in many other forums multiple, multiple times, yet as of this writing, still no firmware updates or any other resolution from the Garmin camp. C'mon guys....dip into that co-op money you receive from the onslaught of advertisement pop-ups we're exposed to when traffic is enabled and fix this problem! If you're considering this product, I would absolutely recommend it. However, my advice would be to put your money towards the 255W.....you'll save about 10.00 and alot of annoyance.

I've used a couple different Garmin products before (StreetPilot, Nüvi 350) and would highly recommend this unit. Features like the EcoRoute are definitely an upgrade from what I've had in the past. It actually helps you learn about your own driving and ways to save on fuel, such as smoother breaking/accelerating. Very easy to set up as well, with the ability to individualize to different cars and ever-fluctuating gas prices. A few minor downsides to this unit: No Bluetooth, but I knew that when I bought it. Also, the touch-screen sometimes doesn't register with my finger unless I push down harder, but oddly enough when I wear my leather gloves it's much better and more precise, which is actually nice in the winter since I wear them all the time. My only other minor complaint would be that the speed limit indicator isn't always 100% accurate, but it's at least nice to have it and is usually correct. I find it odd that there is no USB cable included since that's the only way to update the Garmin, but luckily I had one already.

I got this to replace our older nuvi 205w and my wife liked the features on it . She wanted one that announces the road names. This one also came with traffic updates. We have not used this feature as of yet, but when the weather breaks, we hope to find out how it works. We tryed a Tom-Tom brand with the same features and returned it. Our older nuvi 205w which still works great will be passed down to our daughter.

Great GPS overall. Use mostly at work for an ambulance company and has never steered me wrong. Bought it on Black Friday for 129.99 so that was also a plus. Satellite locating is mostly very quick and the routing is spot on. Battery life is excellent. Traffic is also a plus however the traffic delay times it shows are sometimes no where near correct. Overall I am very happy with Garmin and especially my 255wt.

This is the second Garmin nuvi I've purchased in 2 years. The first was a more expensive model that I just paid to refurbish. This less expensive version is better, in my opinion, than the previous. With lifetime traffic updates and e-z to use features I think anyone can learn to use it and love it. I just paid more to troubleshoot and refurbish my older unit and I wish I would have just bought a new 255!

This is an excellent GPS for the money. Love Garmin products anyway. I have a 3-4 year old one and no problems ever. bought 2 of these for gifts and am tempted to get one for me. Just love the improvements and ease of use. Can operate it without reading anything, although I'm sure there are tips worth knowing in manual. Highly recommend Garmin and this particular unit -- Garmin nuvi 265WT GPS

I bought my Nuvi 255WT on Back Friday on the net and had it in 4 days with free shipping. No waiting in lines at the stores like the ones I endured at Wally World and Radio Shack only to find out everything was sold out! I bought this as a X-mas present for myself as we were spending the Holidays in Vegas, Arizona, and California. It was great to find a hotel in Del Mar Beach, Ca. when everbody was getting aggravated and tired from putting on over 400 miles going from Arizona to California in just over 7 hours including lunch and pictures, etc. Just look up hotels and it gives you every one in the area and more. The free lifetime traffic alerts feature was awesome to get out of busy L.A. trafffic as it re-routed us a different way to avoid it. Then as we wanted to try some authentic Mexican food before we left California, we just punched it in and found the cheesiest but greatest little dive with the best Mexican food we ever had. I use this unit everyday and find new shortcuts all the time. I've also let some of my drivers try it, and they've gone out and purchased a Garmin for themselves, though not always the same model as mine. The only thing I'd like on mine would be be bluetooth, but at $119.99 I'm not at all dissapointed. Kudos to Best Buy for always having the best deals on electronics, and I can't remember the last time I've purchased anything electronic from anybody else.

This is the second GPS I have owned, but I have seen and used many. Positives: Overall, I will say it is a good deal for the price. It includes all the standard features you would expect from a typical Garmin GPS, and it was so easy to use that we just got another one for my mom (who has never used a GPS in her life). Generally, I have found that Garmins are quicker to load and more user-friendly than any other model out there. Negatives: 1) The traffic feature is usually about an hour behind, and therefore wrong about 75% of the time. But I'll cut them some slack because the technology is new. 2) The "points of interest" search feature seems to only work when it feels like it. I've had a hard time searching for relatively easy venues (i.e. United Center), and it usually takes more than one search to find what you're looking for. Don't expect to find any small or new businesses with it. Again, new technology but much to be improved.

I've had the Garmin Nuvi 255WT for 4 weeks now and am pleased with the accuracy of the directions, but after owning both TomTom and Garmin devices am disappointed the mid-level Garmin does not provide multiple English language speakers. The computer generated mono-tone female voice which comes as the only option is painful to listen to. Also disappointed Garmin does not allow you to display more info on the main screen such as distance to destination, hrs/mins to destination like the TomTom. I do like how Garmin indicates, when arriving at your destination, whether "on right" or "on left"unlike the TomTom.

I've only used the Garmin a few times but it worked just like it should have. It's very easy to use. The size of the unit is small but I love it's portability and the fact that it doesn't obscure your view of the road. I think it's great that it displays the speed limit in the area you're driving through. I found the map update to be the most confusing thing about my experience.

I've had it only a couple of months but it works as advertised. Clearly helps navigate the Portland metro area, which is complex and hilly. The 255WT handles the local quirks in street layout without a hitch. Our GPS needs are simple, so the 255WT is adequate. We don't hike Mt. Hood or sail the Columbia River bar, so we're not really challenging it. Fast shipping from BestBuy.

My GPS works just fine; however, my wife's does not work as well. I believe it is just a glitch due to mass production. We are going to take that one back since we have the warrantees and get a new one. Love the Traffic updates; on our trip to New York City, that option saved us hours getting it to and out of the City. I would buy one of these for every vehicle I own.